Giving away money is simple [and often requires little thought]. Giving money away effectively, however, is an entirely different matter.
Our goal at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors is to help donors individuals, families, trusts and foundations create thoughtful, effective giving programs. Those programs can focus on solving local community issues, in trying to help the citizens of a country halfway around the globe or anything in between.
Effective philanthropy is our only mission and it is rooted in John D. Rockefeller’s belief that in order for philanthropy to have any lasting impact, it must be managed in the same manner as a business. This tradition carried through five successive generations of the Rockefeller family. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors was originally a part of the family office and of Rockefeller Financial Services. The Rockefeller family very much wanted to share what it had learned in more than 100 years of philanthropy that has touched every part of the globe. In our current form as an independent nonprofit service we assist a diverse range of donors as they strive to establish their own legacies through thoughtful philanthropy.
Charting Your Course
At Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors we view the process of developing a giving program as a journey. Like any journey, you’ll need a road map a plan for the philanthropy advisor who both follows your cues and acts as a guide, to ensure that you reach the desired destination. To help you develop this philanthropy road map, your philanthropy advisor will work with you to answer a number of questions. Before charting your course, you first need to answer a few fundamental questions.
1. What internal forces drive you to give?
Each of us has a distinctive set of motivations to give in addition to our values. It’s important to recognize what they are, because if your giving doesn’t honor those motivations, it won’t be satisfying. For example, are you:
- Motivated by your heritage; maybe your family has always cared about education, or about preserving beautiful places;
- Thinking about your legacy that you’d like to leave behind, or how you’d like to be remembered; or,
- Looking at giving as a family activity, something all ages can join in together.
At first blush, it may be hard to grasp how understanding giving motives helps make choices, but it does help clarify what’s most important to you: causes you grew up with and remain connected to; issues that represent what you stand for and who you are; or problems around which your whole family can rally.
Next, it is necessary to explore the aspect of your motivation that deals with the kinds of affiliations and causes that interest you, and the goals you want to achieve for each.
2. What external issues tug at both your heart and your head?
There are plenty to choose from. Use the following categories to help map out those that resonate with you:
- Big problems: poverty, disease, global warming
- Specific challenges: literacy, Parkinson’s
- Places: Montana, Appalachia, Afghanistan
- People: artists, children, refugees, innovators
- Institutions: schools, museums, ballet companies
Once you have a sense of the kind of issue you’re attuned to, you can begin separating the good causes that just aren’t yours, and you can explain clearly to yourself and others what you’re giving to.
3. How do you want the change to happen?
There are many worthy nonprofits that address literacy issues: some run tutoring programs in local community centers; others partner with school systems or social service agencies; still others try to figure out the best techniques to teach adults; and then there are groups that exist solely to advocate for funding. So it is important to consider how an organization tries to solve a problem, not just which problem it tries to solve.
Each of the following types of nonprofits have distinct approaches:
- Grassroots groups: small; tight focus; on the ground person-to-person; very local;
- Major community institution: big presence; wide range of activities; broad base of support, deep relationships and history;
- National organizations: flagship players, extensive network, high visibility, deep capacity for research or advocacy.
At this point its important to assess with your philanthropic advisor how diversified your philanthropy portfolio should be. He or she will work with you to ensure that you allocate funds in a manner that keeps with your stated goals. By doing so, you will not risk diluting your gifts, nor will you inadvertently miss a worthy organization that could benefit significantly from your gifts.
Further, this is a good time to explore broadening the geographic range/reach of your giving. For example, your original plan might have been to tackle literacy. Over time, you may become interested in taking a different route to solving the problem. This could include granting greater access to English classes to new arrivals in the United States or to help people in other countries learn to read in their native languages.
4. How do you want to get involved?
You’ll need to decide how to invest your time as well as your money. Think about these options:
- Number of gifts: One gift? Ten? 100?
- Type of gifts: General support? Specific projects? Challenge grants?
- Level of involvement: Anonymous giving? Work on a project? Lend professional expertise? Fundraising? Board service?
- Assess your impact: Is it enough to know that the groups you chose are hard at work on hard problems? Do you want general reports on what groups are doing? Periodic progress updates or detailed reports on outcomes?
It’s important to remember that there’s no right or wrong level of giving or involvement. Some people like to diversify and spread the wealth around, while others like to make big bets. Some want to spend their time where they give their money, but others prefer to stay in the background. Some focus on the problems that nonprofits address, but others want more specific information about results.
What’s Next?
At this point, you and your philanthropic advisor together will have framed out a plan for your giving. The only thing left to do is choose which organizations to fund. Your philanthropic advisor will closely examine crucial parameters of each potential beneficiary organization. These include the organization’s size; maturity; experience and track record; its donor base; fiscal stability; and its leadership and management. Only those that meet legal, financial and ethical guidelines will be among the group from which you’ll make your selections.
Once you’ve made your choices, we recommend that you discuss them with your family,
so they will understand how you reached your decisions. Further, it’s a great lesson for kids to understand what motivates you to give and hear how you chose among a number of good causes.
It’s important to inform the nonprofits of your decision as soon as possible. This applies to those that you will support and those that might have received your support in the past, but no longer fit your giving plan. The sooner a nonprofit knows whats coming (or not), the sooner it can adjust. Similarly, talk to other givers about great groups that for whatever reason you might not be able to continue supporting. See if you can get word about their work to people for whom they’d be a perfect fit.
This might appear to be a great deal of work, but when you’re done you will find that you have gone far beyond detailing a plan for your money. You have created a living document that will evolve with your giving interests and abilities for many years to come, and be both a launching pad and an anchor for future generations as they follow your example.
Nothing is more personal than our finances - how we earn, invest and donate our money are often reflections of who we are. For this reason, you most likely selected a financial advisor who understands and respects your goals, and acts accordingly.
The same should be true with your philanthropy. When the time comes that you are interested in exploring whether you need a philanthropic advisor, it is most important that you find an advisor who takes the time to listen, to talk with you about your motivations, interests and goals, and then works closely with you to turn them into a giving program.
Precisely this collaborative methodology and unparalleled experience are at the core of how we help donors create thoughtful, effective philanthropy.