Start planning your afterlife
Give while you can enjoy it.
Philanthropy is a tremendous way of transferring values.
Your vision for the greater good through civic action will be your legacy for decades to come. Done right, it could play an important role in shaping your public image and demonstrating leadership for a goal that will transcend your lifetime. Without philanthropy you are just a prisoner of your money.
Most families of wealth engage in philanthropy. And while strategies vary, one of the core issues is FOCUS. Focus is at the heart of philanthropic giving and follow-on as the next generation gets involved in the family legacy. A narrow focus has a practical upside: it helps scale value while deflecting off-target solicitations (and there can be plenty).
But narrow giving runs into a tough problem: TIME. Families evolve, and so do the causes that matter to them. A family may support the arts for years, then face an illness that demands serious funding—without enough fresh capital to support both at a meaningful level. New family members can also bring new priorities.
Too much flexibility can dilute the value over time. Too much rigidity can lock a family into causes that later generations no longer feel connected to—and without real conviction, it can all become rather bumpy.
Philanthropy is not a just a tool for personal expression, it is a social responsibility.”
Speaking from the perspective of a the fourth generation to a Swiss family of wealth, it is clear that the giving legacy of the parents has been a strong driver in the giving philosophy of the current generation. In the case of the Weil family, philanthropy was not been confined to a single track lock and key. In fact, the flexibility built into the vision is what has permitted succeeding generations to follow on with the legacy of the parents while defining new tracks and fine tuning the relative efficiency of philanthropic efforts over time.