December 2023

Dear Reader,

One of my favorite artists, Hans Hoffman, once said, “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” The world feels especially noisy right now. Layer in the gantlet of holiday gatherings and my instinct is to simplify. What is the “necessary” of this season? For me, it is focusing on the nexus of family and the sharing of intangible gifts, transcending transactional gift giving. 

Morning Mist (1958) by Hans Hoffman

Berkeley Art Museum

I think back to my childhood and celebrating Christmas on Lookout Mountain with a large, extended family. The anchor in these memories is my grandmother. She focused her conversations with us on ideas, not things. She probed our thoughts about current events and our community. She spoke of helping our community and the most vulnerable. In these conversations, she translated her values and world view.

Family Time, the Holidays and Philanthropy

As you gather with family this year, we encourage you to:

  • Take stock of the intangible gifts you have to share with your family this season. What is important for them to know about you and your life philosophy? How do your parents, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews view the world today?
  • Share stories about family and life experiences. Speak to the lows and highs of life! Share stories about your mentors in life. Who shaped the way you think and why? How did they solidify your values?
  • Translate your sense of place and community in these conversations. If your family does not all live in the same place, articulating what a community means to you can be powerful. Community can be a place, a faith community and/or a group of friends.

Focusing conversations in this vein pushes family members outside of themselves, builds common ground and sparks empathy for each other and those in their community. This is foundational to sustainable family philanthropy.

Generosity In Action

One of our clients is passionate about creating access to quality educational opportunities for all students in South Carolina. They have generously funded the expansion of the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund to Allendale County in South Carolina. The Scholarship Fund is available to hard-working, high-achieving students in South Carolina who have been accepted at one of the state’s qualifying colleges or universities. We're excited about the potential for this program in the Allendale community.

Our clients Wes and Betsy Fuller had a vision for providing more teacher training opportunities related to the issue of Dyslexia. In a partnership with the Citadel's Zucker School of Education, a new Center of Literacy Excellence has been launched to focus on supportive measures to ensure all children receive high quality literacy instruction. Seeded by the Fuller's generosity, the Center supports the professional development of pre-school through 12th grade (PK-12) educators to meet the diverse needs of students including English as a Second Language learners and others with exceptionalities.

Gift Ideas that Inspire Generosity

If you are still looking for gift ideas, we're sharing inspiring reads that caught our attention this year. We believe in the power of reading to spur our imaginations to create a better world. One of the biggest philanthropists of our time agrees. Bill Gates shared in a recent interview that reading has fueled his philanthropic imagination over the years. In fact, he just published his 2023 holiday book recommendations that includes reads on climate, global healthcare and innovation. 

In case you missed it, here is the link to our last year's gift recommendations.

Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens by Rajiv Shah

(Adult Readers)


Rajiv Shah, President of Rockefeller Foundation, writes with pervasive optimism about change we can make to solve the world's largest problems. He encourages civic leaders to be vigilant in their curiosity, seek out unlikely partners and frame simple questions.

Fragile Neighborhoods by Seth Kaplan

(Adult Readers)



This is written for anyone who is passionate about focusing their giving in a specific geographic area. Kaplan explores the roots of generational poverty in impoverished neighborhoods. He shares 10 lessons for philanthropists to consider as they map out their place based strategies.

Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder

(High School to Adult Readers)



Kidder compassionately captures the story of Dr. Jim O'Connell's care for Boston's unhoused population. He puts human faces to this issue and the collaborative work of healthcare agencies, nonprofits and government.

Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals

(ages 2-6)



This whimsical book celebrates and inspires the act of composting through the eyes of children and animals. It playfully ties the cycle of composting to everyday life.

Thank You Earth: A Love Letter to Our Planet by April Pulley Sayre

(Ages 4-8)


Sayre combines beautiful photography and poetry to illustrate the beauty of Earth's life cycles, colors, shapes and patterns.

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts

(Ages 3-8)


Young Jeremy's grandmother helps him discover a "need" versus a "want" based on the cool shoes everyone seems to be wearing. Learning to be grateful for what you have and helping others rebalances Jeremy's perspective.


We wish you healthy, happy and fun holidays focused on meaningful conversations with the "necessary" people in your life.

Gratefully,

Kaky + The GPA Team
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