Seedlings

The Pillars of Purposeful Philanthropy

In March 2010 my friend Geoff Davis, co-founder and former CEO of Unitus, asked me how I thought Purposeful Planning would influence the world of philanthropy.  I reflected for several hours late that night and what emerged is what I've called the Five Pillars of Purposeful Philanthropy.  

Recently, I shared those pillars with some of my collaborators within the LinkedIn world.  What resulted was a flood of appreciation and powerful suggestions on expanding the universality and impact of the pillars. Over the last couple of days I've contemplated what I've learned from those who reached out to me, as well as from my client experiences over the last three years, and this has led to deepening the Pillars as well as shifting my vision of their purpose.

The pillars are not intended to replace but rather guide and support the processes, strategies, tactics, meetings and effort which an individual or family generates through their philanthropic journey.  The pillars are the "Being" which manifests itself in the "Doing: of giving and service.  Here are the Six Pillars of Purposeful Philanthropy.  Please let me know if you feel there is still something missing from this list.

 

VISION:  Until I know myself, the blinders of the past obscure the pathways to significance. To clearly see the needs of others as well our opportunities to make the world a better place, I must first know myself.  To know who I am, I must first ask who am I…..and then who am I not to be. 

 

ABUNDANCE AND GRATITUDE: We give and share with love so that gratitude can unlock the fullness of life.  We trust in the paradox of the law of abundance -- by sharing and giving our lives are made richer.  There are two keys to the treasure chest of generosity.  With one key we impart freely of both material resources and spiritual plenty.  With the other we gratefully accept all that comes back.

 

PURPOSE AND FOCUS:  Vision and purpose are keys to our philanthropic journey--a journey which takes us from mere givers of money to impactful and purposeful philanthropists.  We focus our strategies and leverage our efforts to make our philanthropic vision real and congruent with our family’s shared purpose(s).

 

COMPASSION: We enhance and empower our fellowmen through purposeful gifts.  We resist any impulse which would demean or create dependency.

 

LEGACY: As stewards of our family’s wealth, we gratefully acknowledge all we have received from the prior generations as well as the wealth we are “borrowing” from the future generations of our family.  We repay both debts through service and example. We trust this shared philanthropic journey will create compassion, resiliency and purposeful self-sufficiency in the next generations of our family. 

 

COMMITMENT AND PASSION: Our philanthropic passion for the causes we embrace creates the enthusiasm and devotion which will ultimately change lives and make the world a better place. We marvel at the interconnectedness of mankind and the interrelatedness of all cultures and communities. There can be no peace and joy for us until we see peace and joy for you too

 

 

Good people treat others as they would like to be treated.   Generous people treat others better than they would like to be treated   Wise people do not indulge in being either good or generous.  Instead, they treat people as they need to be treated – Sufi Proverb

 

Transition Planning – The Bridge to Your Purposeful Tomorrow

“Americans head off to their jobs each day as much for daily meaning as for daily bread.”—Studs Turkel  

Today 15% of the world’s population is over 65.  By 2050 that percentage of the world population is going to explode to 27%.  What will life be like for the boomers and those that follow in their footsteps to retirement? 

A 2005 research project funded by Metropolitan Life, the major insurance company, suggests that four out of five boomers are expecting to continue working to a point when earlier generations moved to the sidelines.  This research yields significant insights into the types of work which boomers see themselves doing and what they hope to accomplish through their extended labor. Retirement as we understand that concept may be changing from “Freedom from Work” towards “Freedom to Work”. 

Retirement planning is a new subset of expertise which is exploding in the financial planning, wealth management, accounting and legal professions.  But much of the planning being done today focuses on how much money one needs to “comfortably retire” rather than how one can achieve a “purposeful retirement.”   The life coaching movement is a billion dollar a year industry and an increasing number of financial planners are moving into the space of offering “life planning services.”

Perhaps we need to step back and ask ourselves whether the word “retirement” really describes what most boomers are contemplating in the next stage of their life.  Retirement for my grandfathers meant that each of them passed away within a short time of their withdrawing from the work world.  My father, on the other hand, has lived almost 27 years past his “normal retirement age” and is still going strong, if not accelerating.  My father didn’t cease to work when he “retired” but has continued to contribute in what to him has been a very meaningful way.

Among the synonyms for the word retire are “withdraw”, “step down”, “leave” and “give up”.  Retreat is defined as to retire.  None of these meanings has a very positive and warm connotation for me. So I’d like to suggest we consider changing our vocabulary and stop talking about “boomer retirement” because I think most boomers aren’t going to retire in the way their parent or grandparent retired from the work world.

I like the word “Transition” when we contemplate what we may want to do in the next stage of our adult life.  Transition fits both the business owner , the self-employed, and the employee.  And, I believe there is a whole new world of opportunity for advisors to assist their clients with transition planning.

Transition planning will be more dynamic and rewarding than retirement planning.  It will be much more than spreadsheets and numbers. 

I envision that Transition Planning will deal with the whole person and not just the financial and investment equations.  It should involve collaboration between all of the varied disciplines and professions which serve clients who are approaching the bridge to the next stage of adulthood.

Transition planning invites us to dream and reflect, to stretch our thinking and planning horizons, and to explore more deeply than ever before what stirs our soul and ignites our passion.  It invites us to tackle the question of what lies beyond success; to discover the path to significance.

What do you think a great Transition Plan would include?

“58% of those 50 to 59 aspire to work in seven areas that combine the seriousness, income and other benefits associated with work with the desire to contribute to the greater good.”—Met Life 2005 Research Report entitled “The New Face of Work Survey”

Egyptian Wisdom on the Gates of Heaven

“Never forget the importance of living with unbridled exhilaration. Never neglect to see the exquisite beauty in all living things. Today, and this very moment, is a gift. Stay focused on your purpose. The Universe will take care of everything else”—Robin Sharma, author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

In the movie Bucket List Morgan Freeman plays a highly intellectual, intelligent mechanic who, as he says, "spent 45 years greased up under the hood of a car" so that his children would have the kind of life he'd always dreamt about for himself.

As was true for many men of his generation, he wanted to be sure that his children "would never want for anything and they didn't."  He sacrificed and worked and toiled for a lifetime, always putting his family's needs ahead of his own long-cherished dream to get a college degree and become a history professor. And his lifetime of self-sacrifice bore much fruit: His three children went to college and became successful professionals.

Jack Nicholson plays a character whose life was characterized by debauchery, lasciviousness and personal over-indulgence, always keeping an eye wide-open for his self-interest. If he had a legacy it would be his vast business empire. But his relational bank account was overdrawn.

In their shared hospital room Nicholson and Freeman forged a bond, and quickly became friends despite the fact the two men were complete opposites and would never have crossed paths, were it not for their terminal illnesses.

Despite his wife’s strong protest, in the last weeks of his life Freeman chooses to accept Nicholson’s generous invitation to jet around the world in Nicholson’s private plane scratching off places on their bucket lists.  I still struggle with Freeman’s choice to spend that time with Nicholson rather than with his wife and family.  But this is fiction and it was the screenwriters’ way of sharing with us the most profound wisdom the Bucket List has to offer. 

In their global odyssey exploring sites Freeman had always wanted to see, Freeman repays Nicholson’s generosity by teaching him that the love and life lessons we leave behind can be our most enduring and important legacy.

As they are overlooking the Egyptian pyramids, Freeman tells Nicholson that according to Egyptian lore, you're asked two questions at the gates of heaven:

1. Did you experience joy in your lifetime?
2. Did you bring joy to someone else in your lifetime?

How would our lives change if not just once but each time the sun sets we asked these two questions:

1. Did I experience joy today?
2. Did I bring joy to someone else today?

“Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.”—Billy Graham

Three Red Marbles

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Three Red Marbles story is one I first heard many years ago.  A friend recently shared another version of it with me.  I’ve taken the liberty of shortening it a tad but hope it still penetrates into your heart as deeply as it does mine.

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, ragged but clean, hungrily surveying a basket of freshly picked green peas.

I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the grocery store owner) and that small boy next to me.

"Hello Jimmy, how are you today?"
 
"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya."

"How's your Ma, Jimmy?"

"Doin’ better Sir.  Gittin' stronger alla' time."

"Good. Anything I can help you with?"

"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."

"Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.

"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."

"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"

"All I got's my prize marble here."

"Is that right? Let me see it" said Miller.

"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."

"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.

"Not zackley but almost . . .";

"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble", Mr. Miller told the boy.

"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller."

I moved to the check-out counter where Mrs. Miller, who had noticed me absorbing the dialogue between Jimmy and her husband, proudly said, "There are two other boys like Jimmy in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Tom just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store."

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with Tom Miller’s compassion. A short time later I moved to Colorado but as the years passed I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Last summer I returned to that Idaho community for a family reunion and learned that Mr. Miller had died.  Several members of my family were going to the visitation.  So I went along to pay my respects to this fine man.  Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to greet Mrs. Miller and offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line I noticed three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts . . . all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, who was standing by her husband's casket.  Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved next to the open casket.

I noticed that one by one, each young man stopped, briefly placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket, then moved on to leave the mortuary, wiping his eyes.

As Mrs. Miller greeted my relatives and then me, I reminded her of that story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she led me to the casket.   "Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Tom "traded" them.  Now, at last, when Tom could not change his mind about color or size . . . they came to pay their debt."

"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Tom would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."   With loving gentleness she lifted his lifeless fingers. Resting underneath were three shiny red marbles.

 

"Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.”—Billy Graham