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| Building Your Family's 100 Year Plan: The Series |
100 Year Plan Part III: The Practice of Charity
Brett Anderson and Thomas M. Kostigen
02/02/2004
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The advantages to this instrument stem from its close ties to specific charities. In contrast to the private foundation, the supporting organization exists to serve and support charities around which it is established—those the founder chooses. Later board members (family members remain the minority on the board, the majority of seats being filled by representatives of the designated charity) cannot alter the organization’s intent. The venture philanthropist, having circumscribed the charities to be funded, remains in the leadership role through the organization while, at the same time, developing a solid rapport with the charities that address his or her particular passion.
"There is a very intimate tie between the expert philanthropist and those charities that help that person to give money to them," notes Steenhuysen, "but the supporting organization also helps that person extract information and accountability back from them. The private foundation allows 100 percent of the family members on that foundation board, and the idea is to have the family give to all kinds of different causes. That’s all about the relationships within the family. The other one [supporting organization] is all about the relationships with the charity. I’ve had several families create multiple structures—one structure being their platform for the expert and another being their platform for the family."
Flexibility
In both cases, our charitable trusts and foundations operate much like businesses. Over the long term, the same issues will crop up as in our businesses. Some family members will be extremely interested in and committed to the work at hand, while others will prefer to follow their own paths. Geographic dispersion, as our children and grandchildren relocate to different cities, can create tension between the original mission of a foundation (oftentimes charities are local) and the evolving lifestyles of our families.
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