Why Family Offices Are Adopting a More Strategic Approach — and What This Means for NPOs

There are an estimated 250 to 300 family offices in Switzerland, collectively managing around CHF 600 billion, as well as numerous multi-family offices. If global estimates and trends are applied to Switzerland, many of these entities are involved in philanthropy. It is therefore worthwhile for nonprofit organizations to include family offices in their fundraising strategies.

UBS recently published a report on philanthropy trends among family offices through 2026. Among other findings, the report shows that family offices are acting more strategically and expanding their influence across entire ecosystems. Read on to find out what this means for your fundraising approach.

Philanthropy Is Becoming More Professional

Before exploring current trends, it is helpful to briefly define the term family office. Generally, a family office is a firm that manages—and ideally grows—a family’s wealth independently of banks. Many family offices are also involved in philanthropy, whether through direct donations, collaboration with foundations, or impact investing.

The UBS report highlights how family offices are expanding and adapting their philanthropic activities, driven by several key developments.

On the one hand, there is a clear trend toward the professionalization of philanthropic activities. This includes the use of sophisticated instruments such as results-based financing, blended finance mechanisms, and more rigorous frameworks for measuring impact. On the other hand, families increasingly want to play an active role in shaping how their capital is deployed to address social and environmental challenges.

In addition, the global transfer of wealth is gaining momentum. According to the World Economic Forum, assets totaling USD 80 trillion are expected to change hands in the coming years. A significant share of this wealth is likely to remain in private hands, giving its owners considerable influence over the direction of investment and funding.

These developments are prompting family offices to support families more professionally, combining advanced tools, expertise, and strategic advice.

Moving from Traditional Philanthropy to Social Impact

Family offices are increasingly expanding their role beyond traditional philanthropy, placing social impact at the center of their activities. Rather than simply awarding grants, they coordinate capital, leverage expertise, and build partnerships to implement the family’s mission more effectively.

While philanthropy remains at the core, it is increasingly integrated into operational business activities and the overall investment portfolio. Family offices act as a link between purpose and implementation: defining mandates, overseeing reporting, and aligning investments, philanthropy, and external engagement.

Some families have even established their own foundations within their family offices. Forward-looking family offices leverage not only financial capital, but also influence, expertise, and networks. Their decisions are increasingly guided by sustainability, leverage, and long-term impact. Capital is deployed strategically to foster innovation, bridge structural gaps, and support initiatives that may fall outside the scope of public institutions.

The result is a mission-driven model that delivers sustainable and measurable value.

What This Means for Your Fundraising

Before making funding decisions, family offices are increasingly asking complex questions about impact and effectiveness:

How sustainable is the impact? Does the initiative address root causes or merely symptoms? Are mechanisms in place to drive long-term systemic change? Can the initiative influence policy frameworks? And how do different instruments within the portfolio interact?

These considerations shape how family offices allocate their capital—and highlight the level of rigor applied to their decision-making.

For nonprofit organizations, this has clear implications: family offices should be approached as long-term partners rather than one-time donors. Projects should demonstrate measurable impact, and relationships should be actively developed and maintained over time.

Book Recommendation

In his book Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Jim Collins presents compelling examples of impact measurement. One particularly striking case is the implementation of impact measurement in a symphony orchestra—an example that may pleasantly surprise you.

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