Lead your giving. Don't just respond to it.
4Impact partners with small private foundations and family offices to move from reactive grantmaking to a proactive, values-driven strategy — one that follows the causes your family cares about most.
The inbox is running your grantmaking. It doesn't have to.
Every small foundation and family office we meet is dealing with a version of the same problem. The mission is genuine. The commitment is real. But the day-to-day is dominated by inbound requests — grant applications, LOIs, warm introductions, the friend of a board member. Decisions get made in response to what shows up, not in pursuit of what matters most to you.
4Impact helps you flip that. We’ll lead your giving with strategy, so the causes you care about most get the majority of your attention — and your dollars.
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Family-run foundations with meaningful assets but few or no dedicated program staff. We become the philanthropic expertise you'd otherwise have to hire — without the overhead of building a team.
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A recent liquidity event, an inheritance, or a family decision to formalize giving means you're building the foundation from scratch. We help you set the mission, define focus areas, and design a grantmaking approach that will serve the family for decades.
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Your family office covers wealth, tax, estate, and lifestyle — but philanthropy is the missing capability. We plug in as your family's philanthropic advisor, working alongside your existing team.
The foundations and family offices we work with.
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We help the family or board articulate what the foundation is for — the values, the causes, the geography, the change you want to see in the world. The output is a clear strategy that guides every grant decision.
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Instead of waiting for applications, we go find the organizations doing the best work in your focus areas. You review a curated shortlist informed by evidence, not inbound noise.
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From due diligence and site visits to grant agreements and impact reporting, we handle the operational side of grantmaking so the family can focus on the meaningful conversations.
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Bringing children, grandchildren, or younger family members into the foundation's work is one of the most important — and hardest — things a family does. We design conversations, learning experiences, and shared grantmaking that make it real.
How we work with foundations and family offices.
A clear approach, tailored to your foundation's stage.
Discovery. We meet the family and board to understand history, values, current giving patterns, and where you want the foundation to go.
Strategy. We define (or refine) the mission, focus areas, and grantmaking guidelines together.
Implementation. We research prospective grantees, present recommendations, and support the family through decisions and grant execution.
Stewardship. We monitor outcomes, refresh the strategy annually, and help the family see what the foundation is making possible.
Matt Rubinoff, Principal & Founder
Matt founded 4Impact after two decades in the social sector as a nonprofit founder, executive, and strategy consultant. He holds certificates from Stanford University's Effective Philanthropy for Advisors program and Georgetown University's Nonprofit Management Executive program, and is a graduate of Emory University, where he was a Kenneth Cole Community Building and Social Change Fellow. He lives in San Clemente, California with his wife and three children.
Let's talk about your foundation.
A 20-minute conversation. No deck, no pitch. Bring your board's current giving pattern, or a strategic question you've been sitting with, and we'll show you how 4Impact would approach it.