A self-assessment framework for families, foundations, and individuals who want to understand whether their giving is truly aligned with their values — and where the gaps might be.
"Most families have the generosity. Most have the structure. What's missing is the alignment — between generations, between values and strategy, between what the founder intended and what actually continues."
— TovanaBloomHow to use this guide: For each question, circle or mark the number that most accurately reflects your current reality — not your aspiration. Be honest. The gaps you identify are where the most important work lives. Complete this individually first, then if applicable, discuss as a family or board.
Scale: 1 = Not at all / Not yet 3 = Partially / Inconsistently 5 = Fully / Consistently
Before strategy, there must be clarity about what you actually believe. This section assesses whether your core values are explicit and shared.
Our family / organization has a clear, documented statement of the values that guide our giving — not just a mission statement, but the deeper beliefs underneath it.
Every person involved in our giving decisions — board members, family members, staff — could articulate these values consistently without looking at a document.
When we make a grant decision or giving choice, we can trace it directly back to our stated values — not just our available budget or a relationship.
A mission statement and an actual mission are different things. This section explores whether what you say guides your giving actually does.
Our mission statement accurately reflects what our giving actually prioritizes — not what we wish it prioritized, or what we believed five years ago.
If the founder or primary decision-maker were no longer involved, our giving would continue in the same direction — because the mission lives in the institution, not just in one person.
We review our mission at least annually to ask whether it still accurately reflects who we are and what we believe — not just whether we're executing it.
The most common place alignment breaks down is across generations. This section examines whether your next generation is a co-author of the mission or an inheritor of obligations.
The next generation in our family or organization has had genuine input into our giving priorities — not just been informed of them.
We have explicitly discussed what we hope the next generation will carry forward — and what they are free to change or evolve.
The next generation would describe their relationship to our giving as ownership and purpose — not obligation or inheritance.
Aligned giving creates measurable, meaningful impact. This section asks whether you know if your giving is working — by your own definition of what "working" means.
We have defined what "impact" means for our giving — in terms that reflect our values, not just sector-standard metrics.
We review our giving at least annually to ask whether it is creating the change we intended — and make adjustments based on what we learn.
Important gaps exist between your intentions and your infrastructure. Values are implicit, mission alignment is inconsistent, and giving decisions may be driven more by relationship or circumstance than by a clear framework.
Focused Intensive — Purpose Planning. Begin with a values discovery session to excavate what you actually believe before building any governance or strategy on top of it. This typically includes a values mapping exercise, a purpose charter draft, and a giving criteria framework — all developed in 4–6 weeks. This single engagement changes the quality of every philanthropic decision that follows.
You have real strengths and identifiable gaps. Some dimensions are functioning well; others — often generational alignment or impact clarity — are revealing where the architecture hasn't caught up to the intention.
Seasonal Retainer — Alignment & Governance Work. A structured multi-month engagement combining purpose deepening, governance framework design, and facilitated family or board dialogue. We identify your lowest-scoring dimension and address it first — typically generational succession readiness or impact clarity — while building the broader alignment architecture in parallel. Quarterly convenings keep the work moving.
Your giving is well-aligned across most dimensions. The work at this stage is about deepening and future-proofing — ensuring the alignment you've built can survive leadership transitions, generational shifts, and the passage of time.
Annual Partnership — Legacy Alignment + Generational Succession. Full-scope engagement spanning legacy documentation (oral history archive, ethical will, values charter), next-generation engagement and coaching, and governance refinement. This is the work that transforms a well-functioning foundation into one whose mission survives any transition. Includes annual impact documentation and family retreat facilitation.
Your giving architecture is functioning at a high level. The opportunity is succession-proofing and institutional knowledge preservation — ensuring what you've built continues with full integrity beyond any individual.
Annual Partnership — Legacy Preservation + Succession Architecture. Even exceptional foundations benefit from the deliberate work of story capture, institutional knowledge documentation, and next-generation leadership development. TovanaBloom's oral history archive, ethical will design, and succession transition ceremony services are built for families at this stage — ensuring that what has been built with care is carried forward with equal care.