One of my clients, a family foundation, had three generations of board members, a wonderful mix of varied experiences and goals. The senior generation wanted the foundation to continue to support the traditional charitable causes it had funded for years. The grandchildren were much more interested in environmental issues and preventing family violence. They were deadlocked, and tempers were rising. Working together, we were able to ease the deadlock and address everyone's needs and desires to a slightly different degree. The process of arriving at a compromise also provided wonderful opportunities for respectful communication among the different generations.
Step 4. Make decisions: Let's decide. It's time for a decision. Many of the questions have been asked and answered. The decision is in the form of a giving plan, which includes the amount of money a client wants to give and the amount of time he or she intends to volunteer. My clients have selected initiatives, nonprofits and leaders whose missions and strategies are working to make the changes they want to see. The giving plan also includes the top three issue areas they've decided to address and the percentage of the total amount they've decided to donate to each such area.
Step 5. Implement decisions: Let's take action. Once decisions have been made and a plan developed, it's time to assign responsibilities to implement the plan. How will they make this plan actually work? Who will do what and when? My clients divide responsibilities, set regular meeting times and report on tasks and assignments.
Step 6. Assess and evaluate: Did we accomplish what we had hoped? As with any plan, there needs to be a clear, focused way to evaluate results. Did we accomplish our goals? Did our money do what we hoped it would? Will we continue with these organizations and endeavors, or will we have a change of focus? Are our children getting involved? I urge my clients to take time to reflect annually on how well their money was used and how well they feel they did as donors.
It may seem that only your wealthy clients are donors, that only the wealthy need to think about philanthropy. It's not true. Chances are that all your clients have given some amount of money away. And whether they've bought a dollar raffle ticket or donated thousands of dollars to a favorite charity or volunteered time, they're donors, philanthropists. Like most givers, they have desires to be engaged in helping others and making the world a better place.
And like most givers, they may not have a well-thought-out system to determine whether the resources they give are being used as effectively as possible and whether they reflect their personal or business values, philosophy and priorities. If they have a system for giving, they may not have communicated it to their spouses, partners or other family members. If they're a part of a family foundation, others in the group may have a different focus or desire for the organization's giving.
As a professional, my role is to make people aware that planned giving provides an opportunity to have an impact on the greater society. It creates chances to contribute to the community by expressing personal or business reasons for giving. Simply put, planned giving provides my clients a voice in the greater world-an opportunity for them to be heard.
Susan Lazar is president of Susan Lazar Consulting Inc. in Minneapolis.