Doing More by Funding Fewer

Many family foundations are realizing they can have greater impact by giving more money to fewer nonprofits. 

Lately, several of my clients - private family foundations with $10M–$30M endowments - have also landed on this very idea. This often means streamlining their portfolios (for example, moving from 30 annual grants to 20) so they can make larger, more meaningful investments in the organizations they continue to support.

While most of my clients are philanthropic through inherited family foundations, they’re also incredibly busy people with demanding jobs, children, travel schedules and full lives. That’s one reason they hire me: I manage foundation operations, support family engagement, and keep stakeholders accountable so board members and trustees don’t have to carry it all themselves. 

What’s been interesting to watch is how much emotional complexity can surface once a family decides to narrow its giving.

In theory, “fewer, larger grants” sounds straightforward. In practice, it often means revisiting long-standing relationships, traditions and personal attachments. A grant that looks relatively small on a spreadsheet may still carry years of family history or emotional significance. Sometimes a family member has served on a board for decades. Sometimes an organization was one of the first causes a grandparent funded. Sometimes no one feels particularly connected to a nonprofit anymore, but no one wants to be the person who suggests ending the relationship, either.

This is where philanthropy becomes much more than allocation strategy.

Part of my role is helping families navigate those conversations thoughtfully, balancing impact goals with relationship dynamics, honoring history without becoming overly constrained by it, and creating space for honest discussion about what the family wants its philanthropy to accomplish now.

Interestingly, streamlining often creates more energy, not less. Families feel more connected to the organizations they continue funding. Meetings become more focused. Trustees feel less spread thin. And nonprofit partners benefit from deeper, more consistent support.

Doing less can feel uncomfortable at first. But done thoughtfully, it often allows families to engage more meaningfully with the work they care about most.