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, 5280 Magazine, 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.
Some personal relationships last a lifetime. Many of them end, however, and people move on. The same is true in funding relationships. Donors and nonprofits must anticipate and prepare for the eventual end of most grants. Major gifts are the lifeblood of nonprofits — enabling them to pay overhead, hire workers and implement the programs… Read more »
Increasingly, charitable donors are interested in “impact investing” with their philanthropically committed capital. They seek more creative ways to align their investments with their missions. Earlier this year, in “All investing is impact investing,” I discussed the growing recognition that grants and investments can generate both financial returns and social impact. In this column, I… Read more »
Last year, U.S. corporations donated more than $18 billion to nonprofits — and billions more if you include the value of employee volunteerism. Successful companies now recognize that philanthropy is a key component of corporate citizenship and overall business strategy. Too often, corporate philanthropy is random and uncoordinated. To be truly effective, it must be… Read more »
More than $40 trillion will be inherited over the next few decades — the largest transfer of wealth in history. Forty-five percent of spouses who inherit will seek and find a different financial adviser to manage those funds. Once the surviving spouse dies, a whopping 98 percent of the inheriting descendants will move those funds… Read more »
In the United States, nearly $1 trillion is committed to philanthropy — sitting in foundations, donor-advised funds and elsewhere. Donors have transferred ownership of these funds to separate entities and received their tax deductions. Yet only a small percentage of those funds is expended on charitable donations for the public good. The great majority of… Read more »
During the holiday season, our mailboxes are overflowing with catalogs, holiday cards — and requests for donations. Our voice message boxes are not much farther behind. At this time of year, when people are feeling particularly generous, nonprofits work hard to raise needed funds for the upcoming year. Although critically important to nonprofit budgets, most… Read more »
As Thanksgiving approaches, most Americans plan to gather with family and friends. For many of us, the upcoming holidays are a wonderful and highly anticipated time to connect with loved ones, express our gratitude for the abundance in our lives and indulge in excess — both in what we eat and drink, and in what… Read more »
In 2013, contributions to U.S. nonprofits grew to more than $335 billion — approximately 2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Of that sum, only 5 percent came from corporations. There are solid business reasons why this number should be larger. New studies demonstrate that corporate social responsibility helps not only the world, but… Read more »
The first community foundation was created 100 years ago in Cleveland. Within five years, additional community foundations sprung up in Boston, Chicago, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Today, there are more than 700 community foundations in urban and rural communities across the United States. With more than $50 billion in combined assets, they distribute an estimated… Read more »
In international microfinance, small loans are made to help people in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty. This concept also works domestically. In the U.S., nonprofit microfinance organizations help low-income people start businesses, create jobs, alleviate poverty and improve their opportunities. Traditional financial institutions were created to help people who already have money or… Read more »