Most people agree that higher education is worthy of philanthropic support. In 2016, nearly half of all donations from the largest 50 donors in the United States went to colleges and universities. That same year, U.S. colleges and universities accepted $41 billion in contributions. In early 2015, higher education endowments totaled more than $535 billion,…
Our Publications
Bruce DeBoskey is an award winning, nationally-syndicated author of columns and articles in newspapers and magazines such as The Denver Post, The Miami Herald, the Chicago Tribune, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Albuquerque Journal, the Sacramento Bee, the Kansas City Star, the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Charlotte Observer, the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram, the Costco Connection, Boston College's Corporate Citizen Magazine, The Denver Foundation's Give Magazine, the Boulder Jewish News, Investments & Wealth Monitor, Company Week and many more. Bruce's columns are distributed by the Chicago Tribune News Service to over 600 newspapers and other news outlets across the U.S. and abroad.
Set a new table, create a “safe zone” for effective family philanthropy
Philanthropic strategists often work closely with families to help them establish, refine or refocus mutigenerational family foundations and donor-advised funds. Some of these families enjoy long histories of open communication across the generations – about money, values and charity. Many others, however, find these topics extremely difficult to broach. Multigenerational family philanthropy creates a unique…
Strategic philanthropy: Seven lessons in seven years
Seven years ago, I began working closely with families, businesses and foundations to help them achieve greater impact for themselves and their communities through philanthropy. Over that time, much has changed and I’ve gained practical experience and learned valuable lessons within this very special niche. The field of strategic philanthropy is more sophisticated and complex…
Women’s voices ring clear in world of philanthropy
As women in the Baby Boomer generation begin to retire, women in the Gen X and millennial generations are assuming well-deserved and hard-earned leadership positions in the business, government and nonprofit sectors. This transition is impacting philanthropy in significant ways. Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964, and range in age from 71 to…
Changes to federal policies could drastically affect philanthropists, nonprofits
Ever since the United States was founded, charitable support of nonprofit organizations has been a fundamental part of its social fabric. Every day, nonprofits touch millions of Americans’ lives. They provide for essential human services, advocate for core democratic values and support people, animals, arts and the environment. Plus, nonprofits account for 11.4 million jobs…
Focused mission statements help donors decide where to direct their money
When setting up a giving plan, most individuals, families and businesses begin with two basic questions: “Where do we start?” and “To which organizations should we give?” The answers to these two questions are essential to any strategic giving program — providing the framework for every subsequent decision a donor will make. Donors of all…
Risk, philanthropy go hand-in-hand
Risk is the likelihood of an undesirable outcome. Every action includes an element of risk. Philanthropy is no exception to this rule. In fact, charitable donations — because they seek to solve seemingly intractable problems — are often referred to as society’s ultimate “risk capital.” Risk and return analyses are important considerations when making any…
Tax Form 990: A treasure trove of information for strategic philanthropy
To achieve their goals, philanthropic families and businesses seek to partner with nonprofits that can demonstrate operational sustainability and effectiveness over the long term. For those making this decision, IRS tax form 990 contains a treasure trove of available information. Many otherwise-savvy donors fail to take advantage of this useful tool. Each year, tax-exempt organizations…
So What?
My first boss famously asked his analysts the same question in meetings. The question was, ‘So, what?’ That one simple question forced us to go a level deeper to understand and articulate our rationale for the action we were proposing. ‘So, what?’ can take many forms such as ‘For what purpose?’ or ‘To what end?’…
Seven trends in philanthropy to expect in 2017
2016 was a great year for philanthropy. It included record levels of giving and impact investing and more strategic approaches to charitable efforts. 2017 will likely launch its own unique trends. I’ll be watching for these highlights: Reduced tax incentives for giving Many knowledgeable observers predict that Congress will reduce income tax rates for the…