Are generous families and their advisors prepared for the future?
Generous families and business owners have many people serving as their advisors. They range from attorneys and wealth managers to the staff of community foundations and family foundations. Each brings a different perspective on the value and use of money and other assets.
But what those families and business owners are really seeking is help with finding meaning in their money. How can their resources be used effectively to pass on values to their heirs, benefit society, and even leave a legacy? On these issues, U.S. Trust and Foundation Source reported in separate studies that families and business owners seek advice first from their peers. They’d like their advisors to help, but find that advisors either don’t discuss the issues or do so through a technical lens. Even foundation staff can become too focused on process and not enough on purpose.
Those families’ heirs are proving fully willing to leave their parents’ advisors and even their foundation if they’re not finding compelling ways to connect money and meaning. Those younger generations are the face of trends challenging how families will define community, how they’ll work and volunteer together, and how they’ll use their resources for social good.
To navigate those trends, families will need philanthropic tools that are resilient – able to anticipate and shape change and to bounce back after stress. They’ll need to re-examine issues of governance, leadership, participation, and strategy. Their advisors will need to ask different questions – ones that go beyond tax deductions and nonprofit effectiveness. They’ll need to help families navigate the collision of how families work and how philanthropic tools work as both evolve in the 21st century.
Fortunately, there are pioneers charting paths for us. They’re collecting their ideas through networks such as the National Center for Family Philanthropy and Purposeful Planning Institute, education providers such as the American College and 21/64, and free resources by experienced consulting firms such as The Philanthropic Initiative and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Need a starting point on your journey through the trends and tools I’ve described? You can learn more during the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance’s 2016 Family Giving Luncheons at five locations around the state. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
About Tony Macklin, CAP®
A Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®, Tony consults with donor families, grantmakers, and their advisors about purpose, use of resources, action planning, and learning. He is also managing the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s “Community Foundations Family Philanthropy Network.” He previously served as executive director of the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, a multi-generation family foundation. He facilitated changes in visioning, impact investing, grantmaking, trustee education, and back-office management for the family. In twelve years at the Central Indiana Community Foundation, he led grantmaking initiatives, advised generous entrepreneurs and families, attracted $39 million in assets and co-investments, and launched a social enterprise. He currently serves as a senior advisor to the Impact Finance Center, peer reviewer for The Foundation Review, and trustee of Awesome Boulder.
tony@tonymacklin.com
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