Philanthropy Development Programs & Services

The National Committee on Planned Giving has been promoting a program for several years called "Leave a Legacy." It’s simple: leave money –any amount-- to one or more charities in your will. It’s the simplest form of planned giving. But the program offers no guidance on how much to give, which charities are most efficient, or which reflect an individual’s interests or concerns. It works for those already involved in philanthropy, no matter how large their estate.

When an individual has worked hard to establish a successful business and made wise investments for their family, they may not have had time to be engaged in philanthropy. They still may want to do something that will make a difference on a broader scale in their lifetime or through their estates. Estate and tax considerations may figure in the decision. A family foundation or donor-advised fund may be the route for them.

These kinds of institutions have the potential to become important vehicles for the perpetuation of personal values as much as they have the ability to help a person or family to retain control over the wealth they’ve created. Articulating these personal values at the outset in a clear, definitive manner will serve to preserve them as well as avoid confusion and conflict in the future.

Various programs and movements have developed to address the preservation of values as reflected in institutions of wealth. Strategic wealth planning is the flip side of planned giving. Rather than starting with the needs of the charity, it is based on the financial resources of the donor and uses their personal values to guide both investments and charitable giving.

E.G. Link presents an interesting, but highly time-consuming method he calls Family Wealth Counseling in his book Getting to the Heart of the Matter. The planning concepts are useful and call for great introspection. Unfortunately, few financial planners are licensed psychologists as well, and this is nearly the level of personal sensitivity needed for planners to carry out his program effectively.

What, then, are the essentials for planning a family foundation or donor-advised fund that will respect the money involved AND the values that will be given flesh by the grants made in the future? Planning for a family foundation and making grants is more than writing checks, filing legal forms and managing investments.

Making grants is not something that most people learn in school. Making grants means adhering to rules, guidelines, timetables, and quality criteria. Making grants is shaping projects to fit with the vision and the mission of the foundation. How do the new trustees establish the rules, guidelines, timetables, and quality criteria? That’s part of the plan.

The first part is creating a mission statement that reflects what is important to the donor on a personal level. Everything else flows from that. That mission statement will provide guidance for future generations no matter how society changes in the years to come. It should state what the donor wishes never to change. It should indicate where future generations can have discretion in making additions and changes.

Create a timetable that is fair to the donors and the charities. While it might be convenient for current or future generations to meet only once a year, good causes may not be on the same schedule. Donors may miss wonderful opportunities to put their money and values to work by having an inflexible giving schedule.

Give guidelines about who will make decisions in the future. A donor may feel that knowing a charity well enough to make a major grant means being personally involved with it as a volunteer. Should this be a qualification for future trustees or decision-makers? Is bloodline to be a determining factor? What happens if the family dies out? Make provisions now. Make sure that the successor will be as close to your viewpoints, or as objective, as you feel is important to the perpetuation of your values.

It may be a minister. It may be a person in a political office. It may be a bank.

Be general when possible about naming organizations to receive grants, but specific about causes. Organizations have lives like people, but causes –like values—are eternal.

How will making a plan help in perpetuating values while respecting wealth? By instituting policies and procedures, the process of screening, reviewing, evaluating, and choosing which proposals will receive funding is made more time-efficient. It saves money for those travelling for meetings as well as administrative costs if there is a professional handling the fund. Future family generations will never be confused about how to direct grants because the founder has left the legacy of a mission statement.

Since there are dozens of other variables that can go into making a plan for the family foundation, the planning process is not necessarily a one-shot effort. After the first several granting cycles, minor bugs are certain to appear. Reflect on the mission, and make adjustments. That’s part of making the plan: Allow for occasion revision, but never lose sight of the mission.

How many financial planners are really prepared to mold such a visionary plan for their clients? Your specialty may be taxes or estate planning that only goes as far as bequests. There are options and resources to help you and your clients.

There is a new field of consulting called philanthropy management. Philanthropy management consultants offer a variety of services that range from planning policies and procedures to administering small foundations. Most operate on a local or regional basis. Some have established relationships with estate lawyers and financial planning professionals; others operate in cooperation with a local chapter of the National Council on Planned Giving.

The Association of Small Foundations has information and conferences to help their members. They can be reached through their web site at www.smallfoundations.org. The National Council on Foundations, at www.cof.org, is oriented to larger institutions, but still has a wealth of information to assist the novice. Many states have local affiliates of these organizations.

Your clients’ values are reflected in their wealth. By assisting them in the planning process, those values will grow along with our nation’s economy and be integrated into the wealth of the family’s philanthropic institution for generations to come.