Thinking on foundations,
governance, and legacy.
The ideas and perspectives are my own; I use AI as a tool to help refine their expression.
The Character of an Institution
A foundation is a legal person, but what kind of person are we creating? A reflection on why institutional character begins before the rules are written.
Read more →The Founding Moment
Ask a lawyer when a foundation is founded and she will point to the moment of formal registration. But there are far more founding moments on the path to creating a foundation than the one the law recognises.
Read more →Institutional Drift
Institutions rarely drift because people stop caring. More often, they drift through reasonable decisions made by responsible people. A small exception becomes a habit. A practical solution becomes a principle.
Read more →The Day Expertise Stops Being Enough
I have rarely sat in a board meeting where expertise was missing. And yet there are moments when a question enters the room and something starts to shift. Not because people do not understand the complexity — because they understand it from their respective expertise.
Read more →The Quiet Influence of the Investment Committee
Investment expertise can be delegated. Responsibility cannot. A reflection on the relationship between a foundation's assets, its purpose and the judgement required of its board.
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