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www.privateairny.com Private Air New York | Summer 2016 62 PHILANTROPHY ompson, who is 60, says that he realized about 10 years ago that he wanted to focus his giving on education. "A lot of people are inspired by the arts," he explains, "but I get inspired by walking into a Boys and Girls Club and seeing kids reading and using computers, who don't normally have access to books or computers." Following a targeted approach allows you to give more money to certain organizations and therefore to make more of a lasting impact, notes Borowiec. e next step to developing a structured giving plan is to find organizations that are filling a need that matters to you. "Explore the community around you," advises ompson. "Politics are local, and giving tends to be local in nature as well." Borowiec advises his clients to research the organizations to which they want to contribute. "Volunteer there yourself to learn more," he says. "Find out what you can about the structure of the organization." ompson says that it is important to meet with leaders of the organization. "Understand who is running it," he recommends. "Find out what their passion is in order to ensure that your dollars will be well spent." He adds that it is important to check data that supports an organization's claims. "Find the data that shows that they are getting results," he says. When he was beginning his career, ompson says he was able to devote more time than money to charities. He explains that as his career grew, however, he had less time and found it tempting to "just write that check." He advises donors to narrow down their fields of interest. "Ultimately, I found that I could only effectively serve on one board at the peak of my career," ompson says. "I could engage in others peripherally, but I did not have the time to do more... Now that I am in the entrepreneurial stage, I still don't have the time, so I focus on what is important to me." One of those focuses is e Bottom Line, a Boston-based charitable organization that helps students get into college and stay in college. ompson says he likes the fact that the organization is data driven, so he can see exactly where his time and money go. A final step to developing structured giving is to develop a financial plan that works for you and your family. Borowiec recommends a donor-advised fund as a way for his clients to "smoothly step into organized giving." A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a mechanism that allows donors to give to a public charity, to receive an immediate tax benefit from the IRS and to be able to recommend grants from the fund to their favorite charity over time, according to the American Endowment Foundation. Here are some of the advantages of a DAF. 1. After you make contribution to the Donor Advised Fund (often of cash or appreciated stock), you receive the maximum deduction allowed by the IRS. 2. You can name your Donor Advised Fund, your Donor Advisors and Successor Donor Advisors 3. Your contribution is placed into a tax-free investment or interest-bearing account. 4. At any time, you can recommend grants from your account to qualified charities. 5. You may pass your DAF on to your heirs (by naming them as the successor Donor Advisors), without the burden of an estate tax. Other benefits of strategic giving can include minimized capital gains tax and reduced concentrated stock. "Donor-advised giving allows you to set your own course with your giving," says Borowiec. "You can really focus on a specific organization, and you can then pass along your assets." As the father of two sons, ages 22 and 25, ompson says the legacy aspect of strategic giving is important to him. "ey (his sons) have seen what I have done and what I have been involved in, and, when they are in that place in life, they will have the resources to follow my legacy if they choose to do that." Borowiec, who has four young daughters, says it is very appropriate to involve children in the strategic giving process. "Kids can be very passionate about giving, and we can teach them that their giving can have a strong impact." With that philosophy in mind, U.S. Trust provides curriculum for families who are looking to build that passion, says Borowiec. He mentions that he recently met with three clients who are siblings in their 60s and who have children and grandchildren. "We want to encourage financial empowerment for that second and third generation," Borowiec says. "We have developed a curriculum that we can teach (heirs) face-to-face or with an online component." Borowiec says that this open mindedness in terms of bringing heirs into the conversation about their financial future is resulting in less third generation loss of wealth. "We recently met with a family that wanted to get 17 children involved (in their financial legacy). ey were looking for us to design a program that included summer jobs in the foundation...You didn't see this kind of involvement 10 to 15 years ago... It is a major shift." As an advisor to his clients, Borowiec says he works to identify his clients' goals and objectives. en he brings in his team of experts into the discussions. As someone who was raised in a working middle class family, ompson stresses the importance of giving back to his community. "From a personal standpoint, I feel a strong obligation for giving," he comments. "Having a more focused approach helps me do more with what I have."

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