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Boulder Daily Camera

Enid Ablowitz

The Daily Camera

Making Money Matter

October 14, 2002

To Give Simply, Simply Give

By Enid M. Ablowitz

I’ve seen a lot of changes in the 14 years I’ve been a fundraiser and donor advocate. Giving has historically been a part of our culture, but in the past few years there has been a sea change in the way people give. Like many things, giving seems to have become complicated.

Living in the east during the 70’s and 80’s, I was a volunteer fundraiser. It was part of what you did if you were involved in the community. I remember the awe I felt when I became a Director of Development at CU. I was thrilled with the opportunity to facilitate philanthropy, but it took time to transition from being a passionate volunteer to a passionate professional. All my life I had understood the power of education to change lives. Fundraising for scholarships, professorships, laboratories, and innovative programs was a joy. As a professional, my work often involved educating and involving donors about how to give for specific outcomes.

Throughout the 90’s, there was a burgeoning public awareness of private support for non-profits. The national conscience was raised along with the national prosperity. There was a correlation between the rising standard of living and the rising visibility of giving. Development professionals proliferated, serving not only in the large, traditional bastions of philanthropy, but also in smaller, grassroots organizations. While there had always been tax incentives to give, few beyond the very wealthy took advantage of them. Fundraisers and allied professionals like attorneys, accountants and financial planners began to incorporate charitable giving techniques and tools into their practices, making the strategies more accessible to their clients and donors. Articles were appearing in popular magazines and newspapers about giving; philanthropy was no longer just about “old” money and well-connected social circles. Philanthropic estate planning became mainstream as retirement assets grew beyond many people’s wildest dreams.

Tax-driven philanthropy can be complex, yet giving doesn’t have to be. Our lives are already complicated. When we choose to give, to do what we can to impact something important to us, many of us want to find the simple way. Sure, we want to be “smart” about what we do, but sometimes simple is better. I’m concerned that there are people who might like to give more, but get so caught up in trying to “do it right” that they never do it at all!

The world of philanthropy can become “off-putting”. The complexity of the tax laws seem to have translated into giving vehicles that mirror that complexity. Choosing the right one can be daunting without a clear roadmap. Sure there are situations where strategic asset choice, transactional timing or inter-generational wealth transfer planning is appropriate, but too often the mechanisms of giving overshadow the purposes of the gift. The marketing of charitable annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, donor-advised funds, private foundations and a multitude of other ways to make gifts, while appropriate for some donors, may confuse or alienate others who want to take a more simplified approach.

In my view, part of the responsibility of the fundraiser, attorney, accountant, financial planner, banker, or other person giving advice about giving is to understand the donor’s need for and tolerance of complexity. Then, the way the gift is made fits the donor’s needs. Otherwise, the donor may be looking at “pro-formas” out of context and sometimes even before the conversation about what the gift would accomplish. Unless the charitable intent is absent and the “gift” if really a tax strategy, the donor is less likely to feel satisfied with their giving if the process is too cumbersome. Advisors can provide very helpful information to donors and there are some very effective giving strategies. Just be sure that you don’t get caught up in more complexity than you really want or need.

Volunteering in that rural college town taught me a lot. There were farmers and college professors, doctors and shopkeepers. Some people were just getting by, some were ‘comfortable’, and there were a few ‘wealthy’ people. Giving was just something everyone did and every year people tried to give a little more. It was part of the community’s expectation—to take care of one another. People gave to the United Way, Rotary, and the Boy Scouts. People left money to the hospital or the university in their wills, and some even created endowments. The conversations about giving were simple and people were generous.

If you want to give, just do it. Don’t be put off by the perception of complexity. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Enid Ablowitz is the Vice President for Advancement at the University of Colorado Foundation, Inc., and Director of Advancement for the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities. She has been working as a donor advocate for more than a dozen years. Her book, Making Money Matter: Eight Steps to Thoughtful Giving was recently published. For information on how to obtain a copy, contact her at enidablowitz@hotmail.com.

You may contact Enid Ablowitz by email at enidablowitz@hotmail.com

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