Recent research from NCFP affirmed that continuous reflection and learning are critical to practicing effective family philanthropy. We sat down with Flora Birdzell and Kimberly Myers Hewlett, members of the Flora Family Foundation (FFF) Family Council, to explore why they prioritize learning in their roles and how learning as a pair has had exponential results when it comes to understanding issue areas and approaches, FFF’s work, their collaboration with other funders, and ultimately the impact they have as grantmakers.

Benefits of Board Member Learning and Learning Together

Learning is often the first agenda item to fall off the list during busy times. And even when foundation trustees have carved out time for learning, it can be challenging to share the knowledge with fellow board members, especially when lessons prompt difficult conversations or the need to pivot approaches and practices. Myers Hewlett and Birdzell attest to the benefits of prioritizing learning—and how those benefits were enhanced by engaging in the process together. Says Myers Hewlett, “In Flora, I found a strong thought partner to work through how we would apply what we learned to our own work. Sharing our ideas with our family members together gave us more confidence to propose next steps. Additionally, our family members were able to hear two distinct, but aligned perspectives which also helped them understand what we had learned more comprehensively.”

A commitment to learning has been ingrained in the culture of FFF since its founding. In addition to social impact, FFF was created as a training ground for the next generation of the Hewlett family to engage in philanthropy. While learning is built into the FFF culture more than it is at many foundations, Birdzell and Myers Hewlett have made an effort to learn and contribute to the family council’s collective knowledge.

In the past two years, they have participated together in two NCFP Learning and Action Cohorts: Trust-Based Philanthropy and Women’s Power and Influence. Engaging in formal learning opportunities together had many advantages. Over the course of these two programs the pair:

  • Built a shared understanding of the topic at hand
  • Reflected on what they learned together and asked questions of one another
  • Shared knowledge and recommendations with other family members
  • Felt supported to integrate what they learned into their work
  • Deepened their relationship with one another

Notably, learning together spread the onus of sharing and teaching what they learned with their family council peers and others in the field. And bringing what they learned back to their organization was critical to crystallizing the strategy of FFF’s new Black Maternal Health Initiative (BMHI).

Read the full article about lessons in family philanthropy by Maggie McGoldrick, Flora Birdzell and Kimberly Myers Hewlett at the National Center for Family Philanthropy.