From Family Foundation to Donor-Advised Fund: Nancy Brain

Nancy Brain came from a "basic, working, middle-class family." That all changed in 1993 when her father, the first person in his family to finish college, sold his managed-dental care company for much more than her family ever anticipated.

David Brain wanted to give back - and he had an idea that would help shape his family and their communities for generations to come. He placed half the profits into the Frances Hollis Brain Foundation, named for his wife and her family. Nancy and her sister, Diane, would help him manage it.

"My father wanted us to be philanthropic and find the value of giving back," Nancy explains. "He also wanted us to be engaged in the work so we could have family conversations about something that was important."

Recently the family converted its private foundation into donor-advised family funds at MaineCF and community foundations in Georgia and Kentucky. In Maine, Nancy has worked with other funders to support and advocate for early childhood issues, education, oral health, and refugees and immigrants.

"Now I feel like what I'm doing can make a difference," says Nancy. "There's a lot of satisfaction in that: it has colored the way I look at the world and at my community and has made me really love this community and care for it."