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Dear Reader,
Often I take time to reflect upon the themes and patterns in my work. It helps me better understand commonalities among clients, trends in the philanthropic field and helps to point me towards more research and writing projects. The topic of empowering the next generation of a philanthropic family and sharing decision making within the family system has been top of mind the last few months.
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The Great Wealth Transfer | |
I linked to this article from The Wall Street Journal in one of my last newsletters about the "The Great Wealth Transfer" and its intersection with philanthropy. It bears mentioning here again: philanthropy plays a pivotal role in this passage. Parents and grandparents want to share their resources with their communities while expressing their values, and in many cases, they wish to share in the process with their families.
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How do you teach future generations to be good stewards of the resources they have been gifted? How can you be sure your values are passed on to your family along with your wealth? These are questions many intelligent people have been grappling with for the last century. Philanthropy is a cornerstone in teaching sound stewardship while baking values into the family DNA. Getting started in creating a shared philanthropic vision may seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be complicated. | |
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Begin by capturing your family's most treasured stories. What are the stories that should be passed on? Capturing the stories doesn't have to be hard; I have observed families using their phones to record storytellers (interviews between grandchildren and their grandparents are powerful and funny!) or simply ask family members to write it down. Core values will shine through in these narratives and the stories will leave little breadcrumbs of advice for future generations as they navigate the world. In the case of a shared family foundation or donor advised fund, be sure to write down the donor's philanthropic intent and vision for their community and world. Establishing donor intent leaves a clear roadmap for future generations as they make philanthropic decisions together.
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Create rituals that honor values and the family narrative. How do you celebrate family milestones like births, religious celebrations, and weddings? What special family heirlooms or traditions are incorporated in family members' coming of age moments like bar/bat mitzvahs, quinceañeras and graduations? A sense of place matters with family. As families are more likely to be scattered far from each other and the places where they grew up, returning to the same place year after year brings comfort. Knowing your forebears gathered at that same spot can ground a family. How do you honor your family in that space? I know some family foundation boards that gather annually and share a story or memory of the deceased founding family member. It sets the tone for their conversations and decision making together.
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Involve multiple generations in philanthropy. Working across generations creates and undergirds interesting and lasting connections among family members. Making decisions collaboratively about social impact empowers younger generations; allows older generations to share hard learned lessons and experiences; and creates a platform to develop common goals and a shared purpose. As families grow and family members move away from home, a common philanthropic vision can be a powerful connector across generations and branches of the family tree. Values are implicitly passed by sharing in decisions about how to create goodness in their communities.
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Establish a clear governance framework for the family's philanthropic vision. This is the structure that will help families weather the transitions of births, marriages, and deaths. It sets the guidelines for the sharing and passing of decision making to future generations. Governance helps answer questions like, "What are the implications for our grant making when foundation assets grow due to an inheritance? How do we develop and lean into a new funding idea/strategy? At what age does family get a seat at the decision making table?" Good governance includes clearly stated mission, vision and values statements along with policies and practices outlined around giving, spending, investing and conflicts of interest. Some families choose to include a statement of culture.
In my experience, even just a little intentionality by families to develop and nurture rituals, capture stories and write down their wishes can go a long way in paving the path for future generations' successful decision making together.
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Engaging multi-generational families in building and nurturing a shared philanthropic vision can be complex. In her book, Dr. Roberta Gilbert clarifies how dynamics play out within family systems. Relationships, sibling order, a strong sense of self all parlay into the dynamics at the family table. Understanding the Bowen Theory yields stronger skills to navigate nuanced topics, more fruitful collaborations, and ultimately greater community impact. A fascinating read!
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Erica Pandey of Axios offers a snapshot of our world's current food insecurity, rising costs and waste, and how we can lean in to help solve the problem. In April, "Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned...that rising food prices could push 10 million more people into poverty globally." This statement certainly grabbed my attention and motivated me to learn more. | | | |
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In this article, Stanford Social Innovation Review tackles the issues of Homelessness and Affordable Housing. As inflation increases across our country, I hear philanthropists asking more and more questions about the issue and how they can help facilitate solutions to successfully house more people. Daniel Heimpel offers compelling, outside of the box thinking on the roles of philanthropy and government.
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As we turn the page into summer, I wish you time to unplug, relax and enjoy time with the people you love. | |
KAKY M. GRANT / PRINCIPAL
843-276-3974
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