Whether your clients want to use philanthropy as a way to bring their family together, or whether, like this client, they simply want to teach their children about giving, family offices have a key role to play.
We have delivered a variety of philanthropy workshops, ranging from large events at private banks for 40 or so 17- to 25-year olds, to a three-hour tailored workshop for the 11 and 13-year old children of one of our clients. The most important thing we have learnt in this time is you have the keep the whole process of giving fun. Philanthropy should be enjoyable, it should be rewarding and it should unashamedly make people feel good. People tell us the time they feel best about their philanthropy is when they can see they are really making a difference with their money. As one wealthy donor said: “The good feeling that comes from writing a cheque fades rapidly if you can’t see that people’s lives are improving.”
As trusted advisers to wealthy families you can be instrumental in ensuring philanthropy is enjoyable for your clients by helping them understand the impact they create with their giving. But how do you make philanthropy fun for the younger generation?
It is important to remind your clients that what excites them might not necessarily excite their children. NPC advises families to encourage their children to find and research their own issues of interest. One way of inspiring young people about giving is being asked to discuss how they might use £50m to change the world. While most families won’t be giving their children £50m to give away, you could suggest clients do as one father did and set aside a smaller pot of money for children to give to an issue of their choice. Other families encourage their children to save a third of their pocket money and match whatever money they give, introducing children early on to the power of leverage. You should remember though that getting young people interested in giving doesn’t have to be about the money side of things. One family we worked with chose instead to run a competition among their children to decide on the name of the foundation.
One way you can help your clients to engage their children is to arrange for them to see a charity’s work first hand, or enlist third party experts to help you arrange this kind of visit. Some families visit charitable projects on their holidays or encourage their children to get involved in gap year projects. Mark, for example, was the eldest son of a family in London, who chose to spend part of his gap year volunteering in a children’s orphanage in Kenya that the family was funding. On his return the family decided to continue to support the charity based on the report Mark was able to provide.
As well as visiting projects, advisers can help their clients to find other interesting opportunities to get involved in a charity’s work. You may have clients who are keen to offer skills and expertise to a charity perhaps by becoming a trustee. Or younger members may be interested in volunteering or fundraising for a charity. One teenager who took part in an NPC workshop run in partnership with a private bank, was so inspired after visiting a charity helping children with autism he decided to run the London marathon in the charity’s name.
If your clients’ children want to meet other young people in their position, a good place to suggest they start is the Young Funding Network (YFN). YFN is set up by children of members of The Funding Network (a networking forum and ‘public giving circle’ which brings members together to co-fund charities put forward by other members). YFN provides a fantastic opportunity for young adults to fundraise together for projects they are passionate about.
There are several other ways family offices can help to make philanthropy enjoyable and rewarding for their client’s whole family. As mentioned above, many clients tell us the real rewards of philanthropy come from understanding what their donations have achieved. Family offices can play a role here by suggesting to clients they think about reviewing their grants. They can help the family think through what aspects of charitable work have given them pleasure and why. Did the family, for example, like one project because they were able to build strong relationships with the people at the charity? Or did they particularly enjoy being able to offer expertise as well as money?
It is also important to encourage the family to talk about what didn’t work as well and how they could improve things. Family offices often act as good intermediaries in discussions such as these and can help the family consider how well they have been working together. Do all family members feel the decision making process has been fair and democratic? Are the grants achieving she chose to focus her giving on disabled children she finds it much easier to turn down unsolicited requests. She simply says the particular project falls outside her area of focus.
With the majority of today’s high net worth individuals being self-made rather than inheriting their wealth, many are keen their children understand the importance of giving something back. Family offices have an important role to play in meeting their clients’ desires to engage the next generation in philanthropy.
One family NPC worked with thought their 10-year-old daughter wouldn’t be interested in a visit to a charity working with terminally ill children and only took her along because they couldn’t find a baby-sitter. Three days later she was still talking non-stop about the charity. It just shows that if families can be helped to get their children involved in philanthropy, everyone might be surprised at how rewarding it can be.
