Capturing the Impact

FamilyArc came alongside one of Don’s clients, a family foundation in Central Florida, to tell the stories of two of their grantees. Our curation team worked with the grantees to identify the best people to interview, and our biographers conducted background research and wrote custom questions for eight interviewees.

The interviews were held via videoconference, and recorded and saved on the foundation’s private archive. Our biographers then crafted their research and interview transcripts into engaging and easy-to-read stories of the real people and communities impacted by the foundation’s gifts. Each story was professionally edited for grammar and accuracy and underwent a review process by the grantees for final approval.

Perpetuating the Values

Our curators also worked with the grantees to obtain photos and videos that corresponded with the written stories, and our archivists pulled all of the pieces together to design the foundation’s archive. “Visual elements such as video and photographs help us understand a broader story,” Don said. “It allows an individual to connect with a greater purpose and vision that has been years in the making.

We hope it will not only preserve the past, but also guide future visions—whether that be family values or legacy-building through gifting of financial resources.”

Perpetuating the Values

The collaborative efforts of the grantees and FamilyArc provided the family foundation with five written stories (more than 6,000 words), two videos, and dozens of photos—all preserved on the foundation’s private archive. The foundation can now enjoy photos of the state-of-the-art medical technologies their grants purchased and learn about the life-saving impact made in the community. They can view video testimonials from college students who had their eyes opened to poverty and even changed their career paths because of the influence of a community engagement program. “To see the accomplishments generated by foundation dollars through photographs, video, and storytelling helps our governing board and community-at-large understand what it is to be a ‘living legacy,’” Don said. Through the art of written and visual storytelling, FamilyArc strives to connect family members with their shared values, encourage continued generosity, and strengthen the legacy of family foundations. Personally, Don has found that understanding his clients’ values helps him develop stronger multigenerational relationships with the families he serves and also better equips the families for family governance responsibilities. “I am a strong advocate for the work done by FamilyArc,” Don said. “FamilyArc is one of the few (if not the only) firms working with families solely to marshal, attractively present, and preserve an intangible family treasure: the family legacy.”