Did you know that business owners are philanthropically the most generous people in the United States? According to Fidelity Charitable, the median annual donation for an entrepreneur is 50 percent higher than those who are not entrepreneurs. They bring philanthropy home. 

This is just one of the many topics Phil Cubeta discussed during his Bringing Philanthropy Home presentations for local professional advisors and donors that were hosted by the Community Foundation in May. As a 2022 Charitable Gift Planners Hall of Fame member, Phil has dedicated his career to helping bring philanthropy home for donors using his baseball analogy.   

During his presentations, Phil helped participants understand the differences between estate planning and legacy planning. While estate planning focuses on the efficient transfer of assets, legacy planning focuses on facilitating the effective transfer of an appropriate amount of financial assets to future generations of family members in ways to improve lives. When working with families, Phil encourages them to think about what is most important to pass on to future generations – it could be a family business, values, or estate. Using his baseball analogy, this exercise helps families cover their bases: 

• First Base – Financial Security 
• Second Base – Estate Planning 
• Third Base – What Remains 
• Home Base – Achieving Lasting Impact 

While on First Base families think about ‘How much is enough for us?’ and the funds available to pay for such things as utilities, long term care, and other bills. Those on Second Base are asking themselves, ‘What will we have left over at death?’ and are completing their estate planning. They are doing things such as protecting assets, making annual family gifts if appropriate, transferring business interests, creating trusts, and making sure they have completed Powers of Attorney and health directives.  

As they move onto Third Base, families are asking ‘What remains?’ How will the rest of my funds be used to support philanthropic goals using charitable tools like a bequest, or partnering with an organization like the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region? And finally, at Home Base families achieve lasting impact. They have their vision of a better world and a realistic philanthropic plan to support that vision. This plan has also been clearly communicated with the heirs. Phil recommended doing this in person or through letters or videos accompanied by copies of the legal documents needed at time of death. 

Phil ended his interactive and engaging presentation with the following closing reflection from Michael Shaunessy, “What kind of person do you want to be? In what kind of world?”

If you would like help bringing your philanthropy home, please reach out to Michelle Lippart Hardwick, Director of Gift Planning at 920.702.7622 or via email at mlippart@cffoxvalley.org or David Weiss, Director of Donor Services at 920.702.7615 or via email at dweiss@cffoxvalley.org.