A lot has been written over the past couple of weeks about the request made by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates to their peers that they each pledge to give away 50% of their fortunes before they die. Here's an article from the New York Times. Frankly, I'm not sure what this means.Many of the people quoted as having made the pledge had already made arrangements to give away most of their money, and are just now announcing it. Even Mr. Buffet concedes, “It’s not like all or half of the money represented is added money, but some of it is added.” And I suspect that much of the money being given to charity will be given to charitable foundations. That's not necessarily a bad thing - it adds to the charitable assets available - but it doesn't immediately help nonprofit organizations, and it limits the amount available to those organizations in any given year.
Perhaps the most important factor in the pledge program is that it brings the idea of charitable giving to the front pages of newspapers for a couple of weeks. If this announcement encourages just a few people to give more philanthropy than they would have before, then it has done some good. And maybe that's all we can ask.
If you would like some ideas about how you can do some good, or if you are an organization looking for help in finding new donors, give me a call.
