Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/259813
H oward Graham Buffett has no idea how old he was when he first became aware that something called "philanthropy" existed. While his father, financier Warren Buffett, "was busy making money" and building his reputation as the sage of Omaha, his mother, Susan Thompson Buffett, spent "a huge amount of her time engaged in something that helped or supported other peo- ple." As they grew, Howard, as well as his elder sister, Susie, and younger brother, Peter, were caught up in these projects. "It started with giving away time," Howard Buffett, 59, recalls. "A big part of my education was seeing my mom act on [her] beliefs, not just talk about them." The lessons he learned included an awareness of what distinguishes effective philan- thropy from simply sitting down at the end of every year to write a few checks or buying a table for a friend's charitable gala. By the time he was an adult, Buffett says he realized that philanthropy, at its best, "is about listening to people, and trying to under- stand their core needs and find a way to address them." Creating that kind of philanthropic savvy in children and grandchildren is increasingly a focus of today's aff luent fam- ilies. "It's a way for any family to test and articulate their shared values, to define what their family stands for, and to put those values into action," says Peter Karoff, founder of The Philanthropic Initiative, a consulting firm that advises donors on making the leap from supporting a handful of favored organizations—an alma mater, a local hospital, a regional arts group—to developing a coherent giving approach. "The aim is to create a legacy and, for many, if not most, having that legacy include impact," says Karoff. What triggers philanthropic engagement can be as varied as the families involved. "In some cases, an aging benefactor has decided he wants to see his philanthropic gifts fully dispersed while he's still living; sometimes it's a personal experience or event, such as a trip by two members of one family to Ghana, which then became a focus of their philanthropy," says Susan Ditkoff, a partner at Bridgespan, a nonprofit advisory group, and co-head of the firm's philanthropy practice. One element of "next gen" philanthropy that may startle some older parents or grandparents is their heirs' preference for and sometimes insis- tence upon high-impact or transformative giving. Today's younger donors have relatively little interest in seeing their names immortalized on hospital wings, theater auditoriums or college lecture halls. They define "commu- nity" in a very different way, as something that isn't confined to a narrow geographic area or a particular religious or ethnic grouping. They're also more likely to tackle ambitious programs. Bill and Melinda Gates, who have publicly declared their resolve to eradicate endemic diseases such as polio and malaria within their lifetimes, are the poster children for this approach. What distinguishes the Gateses, of course, is the magnitude of their ability to give; the eagerness to take on formidable challenges does not. In the past, donors were willing to spend the 5 percent of a foundation's assets that the law requires them to distribute each year to make lives better. Now, says Sharna Goldseker, managing director of 21/64, which specializes in helping families involve "next generation" members in their philanthropic planning, "the attitude is, 'That's great, but wouldn't it be even better if, by spending 50 percent, we could eradicate the problem entirely?'" What is increasingly common, however, is the focus of parents or grandpar- ents at the head of the family—typically those who still control the wealth—to "The aim is to create a legacy, and, for many— if not most— HAVING THAT LEGACY INCLUDE IMPACT." —Peter Karoff Tisch Timeline (FROM LEFT): Jimmy, Bob, Jonathan, and Andrew Tisch in 2004; NYU's Tisch School of the Arts building in NYC; Preston (LEFT, CROUCHING) and Laurence Tisch place a time capsule in the foundation of the future Tisch Hall at NYU in 1969. OPPOSITE PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARNOLD NEWMAN/GETTY IMAGES (LAUDERS); DAVID BUIMOVITCH/GETTY IMAGES (RIBBON CUTTING); MYLOUPE/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/ GETTY IMAGES (WHARTON); DANIEL C. BRITT/THE WASHINGTON POST/GETTY IMAGES (KENNEDY CENTER); MARVI LACAR/GETTY IMAGES FOR BWR (SHRIVER); AP PHOTO (KENNEDY). THIS PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL HAWTHORNE/GETTY IMAGES (TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS); BEN BAKER/REDUX (TISCHES); BETTMANN/CORBIS (TIME CAPSULE) BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 109 108-111_BC_F_Philanthropy_Spring14.indd 109 2/10/14 2:10 PM