Wright-Violich says that usually during recessions, the giving merely slows, but rarely retreats, the exception being 2000. "It did go down in 2000 to the 1998 levels and then climbed back up," she says.
"In the broader population we're seeing more people participating in the giving experience as a whole, with almost 80% or 90% of our population giving," says Elizabeth Snyder, director of philanthropy in the family wealth advisory practice at GenSpring Family Offices. "I think more and more people through technology and social networks are really participating in the process."
There have been some worries that the death of estate taxes would sap the will to give. Or that a looming recession might in the short-term lower the value of appreciated assets, which kills one of the tax incentives for donations (since giving appreciated items such as stock and real estate is much more preferable from a tax standpoint then simply scrawling out your name on a check). But people who were charitably inclined already for the most part continue to be generous. It has helped that altruism has become chic and trendy.
"Bill Gates and Warren Buffett kicked off quite a movement," says Gavin Morrissey, director of advanced planning at Commonwealth Financial Network in San Diego. "That's why foundations are picking up. That was the best thing that ever happened for foundations."
Making A Difference In A Smarter Way
Still, according to a study Schwab performed, financial advisors often do not raise the subject of charitable giving with their clients, either because they think it's too personal or they don't feel comfortable with how much they know. And some planners say it's important to raise the question, otherwise you're doing a disservice to clients.
Barry Glassman, senior vice president with Cassaday & Co., in McLean, Va., has been involved in charitable fund-raising for more than 20 years, ever since high school, when he and other classmates came together for a friend with a brain tumor who later died during his freshman year at Dartmouth.
"His friends at various schools started up an organization called Campuses Against Cancer," Glassman says, "and we helped provide a lot of the initial funding for the organization that is now the Brain Tumor Society ... and I currently sit on the national board." Glassman also co-chairs an annual 5K run called the Race for Hope held the first Sunday in May, which last year hosted 6,600 runners and raised $1.5 million. He also cooks $100-a-plate dinners himself (OK, with help) for clients and colleagues to raise money for the cause.
Glassman works with high-net-worth individuals who have $5 million to $50 million. For those with philanthropic interest, he says nowadays it's more important to clients to see the impact of the dollars themselves. Philanthropists are also interested in getting their children and families involved-to allow them to control some of the money so that they can see the value of a dollar in a whole new light.
"What most people [have] done in the past, myself included, was to have the children pick a handful of stocks, or give them stocks," says Glassman. "Here's a stock in Disney or here's a stock in Nike to have them put on their wall and track in the newspaper. And that works for about six weeks. Then the child goes back to his normal practice of reading the comics. I've found a much greater impact when the parent has a discussion about philanthropy with their children, and even letting them control dollars to those in need. By owning 40 shares of Nike, it really doesn't teach a child or teen about the value of a dollar. But knowing that $500 can change a family's life suddenly has a much greater impact on his Xbox game purchase."
One thing he does is has his clients come up with mission statements. "This is something typically done at the largest foundations and endowments," he says. "What makes my practice unique is that I'm constantly looking at what the family office environment has-the Rockefellers, Rothschilds and so forth-and bringing that down to those folks with $50 million or under in net worth."
Often that means starting from scratch and rethinking the way that the client has been giving, and plumbing the family's underlying goals to root our the real mission more effectively. One family, he says, parlayed a rather fuzzy desire to prevent cruelty to animals into an elementary school education program that brought abused animals into the classroom. Another man who had been throwing off thousands of dollars to his alma mater for a scholarship that would help only one or two students realized that with the same amount of money he could help 20 students at a community college elsewhere. And that served his real mission-to get as many people into college as possible.