Good Giving
Frequently Asked Questions
For Individual Donors, Families and Family Offices
1. What is Good Giving?
Good Giving is an independent consultant providing philanthropy education and planning services to families and individual donors, and their professional advisers, as an integral part of strategic wealth management.
The firm also works with companies seeking to develop or reinvigorate a corporate giving programme as part of their CSR.
Randi Weaver is the founder and principal of Good Giving. She is supported by a network of specialists who can be engaged in projects on an "as required" basis.
2. How does Good Giving introduce its philanthropy advisory service?
Good Giving understands the importance and relevance of philanthropy in strategic wealth management and wealth transfer.
The Good Giving network has experience in all areas of giving: as benefactors, running large and small charities and as philanthropy advisers to individuals, families and family offices. We can see the whole picture, but our focus is on creating donor satisfaction, as defined by the donor.
Philanthropy advising can be both proactive, as standard part of wealth management or estate planning, or reactive, in response to the sale of a business or other wealth crystallisation event.
3. What is tailored philanthropy?
Tailored philanthropy is a charitable giving programme developed in stages for, and in consultation with, one family, family office, family business or individual benefactor. Most donors find it beneficial to involve their tax advisers, accountants, wealth managers and legal advisers at certain stages to ensure that their philanthropy is completely aligned with overall strategic wealth management, tax considerations and estate planning.
4. What is the Written Philanthropy Plan?
The Written Philanthropy Plan summarises what has been learned during an initial period of "discovery". The Plan develops by:
Understanding motivations and objectives in giving
Identifying key priorities
Defining a charitable mission and
Creating a vision and drafting guiding principles
The Plan is written by the philanthropy advisor, before we proceed with research, due diligence and introduction of suitable projects, and is later updated to include the final decisions made by the philanthropist, including the chosen beneficiary organisation(s) and specific project(s) selected.
Good Giving clients place great value on the written plan, validating the time and effort that goes into its creation. They, and their advisers, benefit from having this clear and concise reference guide close to hand, as it focuses attention and resource on the key priorities and facilitates decisions about unsolicited requests for support. It both reinforces and boosts the approach chosen and documents the giving of both "time and treasures".
5. If I work with Good Giving, can I continue to support the causes I currently support?
Yes. If you have identified causes or organisations in the past whose work you admire, Good Giving will help you incorporate them into your philanthropy plan. In many cases, we would anticipate helping you to build stronger links with a cause, not eliminating or replacing them.
6. Should people donate a certain amount of money or for a minimum period of time?
This is a personal choice and decision. Good Giving recommends that through discussions with a wealth manager, legal adviser or accountant, a philanthropist starts the process with a solid idea of their "capacity to give", i.e. donation size and the time horizon.
7. How are charities and other beneficiary organisations assessed and by whom?
Many individuals and families will choose to support existing charities and grant-making foundations, rather than initiating programmes and projects of their own. In these cases, after a period of "discovery" and planning, involving all interested family members, Good Giving will draw up a long list of possible causes and projects. Through a high level review, Good Giving will help the family to narrow this list of possibilities to around 3-5 organisations or projects. Good Giving will then conduct the due diligence on these organisations via research and site visits and prepare a final report. The final decision on which and how many beneficiaries is left to the donor.
8. What is Good Giving's view of Risk Assessment in philanthropic giving?
Good Giving advocates the use of risk analysis in philanthropic giving and considers it on a par with risk analysis in investment management. Good Giving seeks to understand a donor's risk tolerance and to ensure the donor understands that not all projects succeed.
Beyond this, there are two main factors of risk to be considered: 1) the financial stability of the beneficiary organisation and the specific project, to avoid loss of the donation early in project development and 2) reputational risk to the family or individual benefactor in being linked to a particular cause, or ganisation or geographic region. Good Giving works with specialists in the area of risk identification and mitigation to cover this important, yet often overlooked, dimension of giving.
9. What kind of reporting can I expect?
Good Giving can serve as a bridge between the donor and the beneficiary organisation to determine the type and frequency of reporting required and its availability.
10. Does Good Giving offer tax, legal, or investment advice?
Good Giving does not offer tax or legal advice related to philanthropy, but can make an introduction to firms specialising in these areas, if required. Usually, Good Giving works in partnership with a philanthropist's established legal and tax advisers, and often, at their invitation.
11. How does Good Giving charge for philanthropy advisory services?
Projects are designed and costed on an individual basis, using a fee-based daily rate.
12. Does Good Giving provide consulting services to nonprofits?
No, not unless it is a foundation or charitable trust established by a family or family business. We believe that serving both donors and nonprofits can create a potential conflict of interest. We are dedicated to serving the needs of families, family offices, family businesses and individual donors.
13. Is Good Giving available to conduct family retreats?
Yes. Although not required, we feel that a family retreat can be an excellent way to conduct the "discovery" or planning phase of a philanthropy project.
14. Does Good Giving advise in the specialist areas of Family Philanthropy and Next Generation?
Yes. We are very enthusiastic about working with multiple generations on shared philanthropy projects.
Planning for future generations and creating a positive legacy increasingly involves dedicating some time to re-visit family philanthropy. Donating time and money in a satisfying way is a project that can, and often does, involve multiple generations.
15. What is Good Giving's special commitment to Youth Philanthropy?
Good Giving likes to involve children as young as 7 or 8 in philanthropy planning for a family. Children can make valuable contributions and also, in this subtle way, children learn that wealth carries responsibility, a responsibility for the well-being of their family and of others too. Through a family's charitable trust or foundation, older children and young adults also learn about the processof decision-making and governance, useful tools inside and outside the family.
Taking these lessons outside its client base, Good Giving is a supporter of TheBigGive's "Philanthropy in Schools" project (www.thebiggive.org.uk/schools-philanthropy). This project aims to inspire the next generation of philanthropists by engaging secondary school students in philanthropy. It teaches the benefits of intelligent charitable giving by encouraging thorough research on a wide range of charitable projects and culminates in the donation of actual funds, not just a hypothetical amount. Good Giving provides both educational and financial support to "Philanthropy in Schools".
16. Does Good Giving advise in the specialist area of Sports Philanthropy?
Yes. This is one of our areas of specialisation. We are very enthusiastic about working with professional athletes and the sporting community. Early work undertaken by Good Giving consisted of developing written philanthropy plans for individual professional athletes and assisting football clubs in formalising their charitable giving plan, ensuring alignment with their wider community involvement programme.
Professional sportsmen have a very clear need to plan and document the giving of both time and money. Good Giving understands and facilitates this, for the benefit of the athlete, their agent and their publicist, as well as their financial advisers.
For other professional advisers
17. How does Good Giving work with other professional advisers in the area of philanthropy advising?
Good Giving approaches philanthropy planning as a collaborator. Good Giving looks to partner with legal, tax and jurisdiction specialists in the areas of "vehicle structuring" and tax. We work with an individual's or family's wealth managers to ensure the giving budget and timeline are manageable.
Good Giving is also available to contribute to wider discussions about estate planning and family succession.