Shea Soucie, principal and co-founder, along with partner Martin Horner, of the Chicago- and Naples, Florida-based interior architecture and design firm Soucie Horner Ltd., spoke with Crain Currency about her progression from family business to interior design expert.
You and your partner came from the family business world to join forces on launching an interior design company focusing on an ultra-high-net-worth clientele. What was that experience like for you?
At the very beginning, we ran our business from Martin’s basement and my second bedroom. Even then we were lucky in that we both understood intuitively how to listen to clients and read between the lines to uncover their aspirations. Yet we also put in the hard work — which we were used to, since we both grew up with parents who ran family businesses. Working hard was a pillar of our upbringings, so we didn’t think twice about it. There was never any question we were going to deliver on our promises and stand behind our work. We’d seen firsthand the way that builds trust and grows reputation. We did whatever it took to get the work done. We loved what we were doing, so it never felt like work. It still doesn’t!
Today, your business has expanded to include a rug company called Shiir and a boutique property in Michigan called the Wickwood Inn. How do you expand into new areas while keeping the same ethos of your brand?
Martin and I talk a lot about culture and what it means to us. But it’s not enough just to talk about it. We actively nurture our culture with intention. We’ve been working with an organizational psychologist named Kris Lonsway for 15 years, who’s taught us the art of team-building and how to instill culture in those teams. Our people are the engine that runs our businesses, and we want them to feel inspired, that they’re learning and growing and that they have a voice. Culture is the foundation that supports our teams, so they want to lean into their work, which in turn supports our brand and allows it to expand.
The other part is that our core values — which guide every decision we make — are the same across all our businesses. It doesn’t matter whether we’re designing an interior for a client, selling a rug to a designer or hosting a guest at our inn. They’re all going to get something beautiful and luxurious from us that they can trust and have confidence in, whether it’s a room, a rug or an experience. That’s how we keep our ethos consistent.
How do you work with clients looking to design homes that are both residential and investment properties? How do you approach the two?
Soucie Horner is unique in that we’re as much about the business of beauty as we are about the creation of beauty. Part of that is understanding the need for return on investment for each of our clients. How much did they pay, and what’s the estimate on the architecture and the FF&E — furniture, fixtures and equipment — based on the scope of their project? What do they need the ROI to be, and does it make sense, given the scope? Everyone’s return is very different, and it’s our job to understand it and design to it.
In terms of key themes in the interior design space, what trends are you seeing your clients asking for?
Probably the biggest thing we’re seeing is that since COVID, our clients think of their houses very differently than they used to before the pandemic. Many of our clients have multiple homes, most often a mountain house, a beach property and a city dwelling. Today, they’ve gotten used to having fun and working from all three of those homes. It used to be that you’d get away from work by going to your vacation home. Homes today, though, aren’t for specific activities — they all need to accommodate work, play and relaxation, no matter where in the world they might be.
Where do you see your brand headed in the future?
We’re going to continue to grow and bring our clients, customers and guests along on the journey — a journey of design discovery. Whether we’re designing their home, customizing their handcrafted Shiir rug or creating a memorable experience for them at the Wickwood Inn, we’re going to continue to tell their unique stories in ways that are highly personalized. That’s what it means to us to be a lifestyle brand and to create for our clients, customers and guests the kinds of spaces, products and experiences that express their individual aspirations for living well.
Family foundations: Evaluating impact and goal-setting
By HANNAH SHAW GROVE
Many successful families are private about their missions and philanthropic priorities, so it can be hard to establish a benchmark for giving and social impact. And it can be equally challenging to find a community to connect with for best practices and sharing knowledge.
In January of this year, we spoke with 225 family foundations with endowments between $250,000 and $500 million to better understand their plans for 2024. What we learned covers plans for their grantmaking and endowments, philanthropic priorities and challenges, as well as areas where they’d like to collaborate with other foundations and expand their knowledge.
As family offices and family members evaluate impact and set goals for the year ahead, these key findings can help spur new ideas and foster a better understanding of areas to focus on.
Better together: Complementary approaches
Many respondents use a combination of charitable vehicles and approaches to achieve greater impact and align their assets with their values. For instance, using a private foundation and a donor-advised fund together may deliver a higher charitable deduction while offering other benefits. Whereas a planned gift, such as a charitable gift annuity, could offer an income stream to the donor or their family members in conjunction with a significant gift to a nonprofit.
| Percentage Use | Vehicle/Method |
| 79.5% | Private foundations |
| 47.0% | Direct gifts |
| 128.7% | Donor-advised funds |
| 9.1% | Impact investing |
| 7.3% | Charitable trusts |
| 5.9% | Planned or legacy gifts |
Getting down to business: Priorities in 2024
Priorities for this year spanned a variety of topics, but the top goal for nearly two-thirds of respondents was involving the next generation of their family in the foundation. About three in 10 will look for new grantee partners, while about one-quarter will look for ways to collaborate with other foundations.
| Percentage | 2024 Priorities |
| 62.3% | Involving the next generation in foundation activities |
| 30.2% | Seeking new grantee partners |
| 23.6% | Collaborating with other funders |
| 17.6% | Responding to disasters and emergencies |
| 16.6% | Working with a financial adviser or wealth manager on charitable giving |
| 13.6% | Adding or changing board members |
| 10.6% | Working with a philanthropic adviser |
| 7.0% | Adding foundation staff |
| 3.5% | Investing in technology to drive philanthropic impact and/or efficiencies |
Growing pains
While most hurdles cited by private foundations were related to creating and measuring impact with limited resources, the top concern for the year ahead was engaging the next generation. As noted previously, engaging the next generation was also the top priority for family foundations. Being cited as both a priority and a challenge is a clear indication that families know that engaging the next generation is important and difficult, requiring special attention to flourish.
| Percentage | Expected Challenges |
| 34.5% | Engaging the next generation |
| 29.6% | Measuring impact |
| 26.7% | Creating bigger impact |
| 25.7% | Devoting sufficient time to foundation matters |
| 25.7% | Prioritizing grant opportunities |
| 17.0% | Keeping pace with inflation |
| 15.5% | Doing more with less |
| 14.1% | Better serving our grantees |
| 10.2% | Addressing unexpected needs |
| 7.3% | Understaffing |
| 6.3% | Communicating with the rest of the sector |
Learning for life
Since private foundations typically operate over an extended time frame, learning is critical to the organization’s continued success. About 40% of family foundations want to know more about best practices in order to run their foundations more effectively and efficiently. Other topics that rank high for foundations have to do with ensuring the ongoing involvement of family members and trustees to build a lasting legacy.
| Percentage | Interested in Learning More About |
| 39.6% | Foundation best practices |
| 35.5% | Managing succession |
| 34.0% | Ways to get family involved |
| 28.9% | Building a legacy with a foundation |
| 27.4% | Regulatory changes |
| 23.9% | Foundation governance |
| 22.3% | Foundation compliance |
| 20.3% | Grantmaking tools |
| 19.8% | Hearing from other funders |
| 15.2% | Tax-efficient planning |
| 13.2% | Using generative AI in grantmaking |
| 10.7% | The role of public policy in philanthropy |
| 6.6% | Sunsetting |
Leading a family foundation can sometimes feel overwhelming, but having a bird’s-eye view of the common challenges and priorities of similar organizations can serve as a critical input to setting and achieving goals. In our experience, every private foundation is unique, with its own mission, systems and processes. However, there is much to gain from connecting with the community of grantmakers and learning about trends at large — and where your foundation fits into the picture.