We will work with you to create a customized philanthropic plan that provides direction on your giving by exploring your family history, the origins of your philanthropic passion, the virtues and values you wish to perpetuate through your giving, your most and least fulfilling charitable experiences and how you would like to involve your family in giving. This includes an assessment of your family’s values and interests as well as development of guiding principles. In many instances we will incorporate a family genogram or diagram to help understand patterns of giving and interest over the course of generations.
Your family’s philanthropic plan may also include values and mission statements that help guide you on your definitions of giving as well as a philanthropic letter of intent that will be your blueprint for giving. This letter of intent document memorializes what you hope to accomplish through your giving and explains the experiences and motivations that led you to your conclusions. This can be a living document that changes over time as you and your family’s definitions of giving change over time as well.
Your individual philanthropic advisor will schedule and facilitate Family Philanthropy Meetings to get family fully involved and share the letter of intent for additional input from other members. After these initial phases we’ll help you develop a strategy that defines roles, selects an investment management and spending policy, allocates grantmaking responsibilities and determines how grantees will be chosen. In addition we will help you set up a course of action for your philanthropy over a period of time as well as an evaluation and reassessment of your philanthropic plan.
If you need help with long-term gift planning, we also provide access to our planned giving specialist. In addition, many of our donors require assistance in succession planning to create legacy statements for future giving.