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Abstract: 

Family foundations often begin as true “family” enterprises, with the founders and their families handling all aspects of governance and operations. However, even small grant-making foundations require a significant amount of work, from screening grant applications to bookkeeping, check-writing, and government compliance. Eventually, the idea of hiring paid staff may become enticing. For larger family foundations, the addition of an experienced executive director and other professional staff can dramatically increase the foundation’s efficiency, effectiveness, and overall social impact. Judicious use of professional staff also can promote harmony within the family by absorbing some of the responsibility and strain of keeping the foundation running day-to-day. By recruiting and retaining the right employees, a family foundation can build a powerful team to fulfill its mission. This article provides general guidelines that family foundations should follow to effectively recruit, retain, and—where necessary—terminate executives and staff. Many of these guidelines also are relevant to the recruitment, retention, and—where necessary—election and removal of board members and foundation officers.

Keywords: Hiring Qualified Individuals; Performance Issues; Progressive Discipline Policy; Privacy; Whistleblower Policy; Recommendations Policy; Non-solicitation Agreements; Termination Meeting

Affiliations:  1: Clark Hill PLC.