Giving More With Less

U.S. foundations lost close to $150 billion in 2008, forcing them to decrease their donations to philanthropies. For philanthropic families, parents must be particularly diligent in teaching their children how to carry on the philanthropic tradition with fewer funds.

In order to teach children the importance of philanthropy, parents use a few different methods:

• Set up minifoundations with fewer resources for the children to manage 
• Allow the children to choose which charities will to receive 30% of the foundation grants 
• Form junior boards of directors and put the children in charge of individual tasks

The economy is forcing these children to find ways to stretch their money. For example, by pooling their resources they’ve been able to establish larger programs than they could on their own. These young philanthropists view donations as investments, and they measure the results by the number of people served.

See Shelly Banjo, Not Your Father’s Foundation: Giving More With Less, WSJ, April 10, 2010.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Wealth Counsel) for bringing this to my attention.