Philanthropic Advisory

Getting Started | Implementation & Operations | Engaging the Next Generation | Legacy Planning

Getting Started

For individuals and families new to giving, it can be challenging to sort through the wide range of charitable vehicles and discern which one works best for your desired outcome.

Our seasoned professionals will help you explore options that address your charitable goals and objectives both creatively and comprehensively. We can formulate a custom giving strategy for you and your family, ensure proper coordination with your estate and tax planning, and help you ensure that administration of your charitable giving runs smoothly over time.

Clients face a host of threshold questions and issues at the outset of their philanthropic journey, including:

What charitable goals and objectives do I hope to accomplish through my philanthropy?
How much of my own time and energy do I want to invest in my giving? How and to what extent do I want my family to share in the work of our family’s giving?
What are the legacy considerations for the focus of our family’s giving after I am gone?
How can I shape a giving program that is responsive to the needs of others, to my interests, and to what is happening in the world?
How can I infuse equity considerations into my giving?
How do I learn about nonprofit organizations working on issues I care about?
How do I know if the organizations I support are achieving what they set out to do?
What is involved in managing the affairs of a foundation or other vehicle through which I execute my giving?
How can I maintain my privacy or share my story?

Goal Setting, Strategy & Planning

We start by getting to know you, your family, and your interests. Then we will help develop a strategic plan and design a program consistent with your goals.

Choice of Entity

Clients have a range of questions at the outset of their charitable giving. Would a private foundation work best? A donor advised fund? Another option, or a combination of entities? How will it impact our estate and tax planning?

Our advisors help you choose the charitable giving vehicle, or a combination of vehicles, that will enable you to achieve the impact you envision. Our team of advisors includes lawyers specializing in estate planning and nonprofit formation and governance, tax and investment professionals, and philanthropic advisors who can help implement the giving program of whatever vehicle you choose.

Negotiating gifts of cash or tangible assets

We can help you negotiate complex charitable gifts such as gift annuities, art collections, real estate or large cash donations. Our team of advisors can assist with identifying the appropriate charity, conducting due diligence, overseeing appraisals and negotiating terms including naming rights, ownership, copyright, and ongoing stewardship.

Sample Client Engagements

Facilitated a family retreat with two generations of a family to design and plan for a newly created family foundation.
Helped a client design and implement a climate-change grant making strategy that is consistent with her other charitable giving interests.
Helped form a national nonprofit that helps youth get active and make change, first as a private operating foundation and then as a public charity.
Assisted family members with highly appreciated post-IPO stock dispose of the stock in a tax efficient manner, including combination of gifts to charitable remainder unitrusts, private foundations, and public charities.
Negotiated a significant gift of fine art to a premier cultural institution from a foundation created by the estate of a renowned artist. Read more.
Helped a multigenerational family open and contribute to a donor advised fund (DAF) to be used for next-generation giving.

Learn More

Implementation & Operations

The level and scope of our work varies based on client needs and their desired level of engagement. We offer a full range of philanthropic, legal and investment management services and will tailor our services to your needs.

Engaging the Next Generation

We focus on next-generation planning in all aspects of our practice, fielding questions from clients about how best to engage their children or grandchildren in the practice of the family’s philanthropy.

Legacy Planning

Everyone defines their legacy in different ways. We work with clients to understand, shape, and preserve their definition of legacy for future generations.

Tandem Use of Private Foundations and Donor Advised Funds

The Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation Case Study

In the course of her long career, Rollie McKenna created an archive large enough to fill three rooms. Despite her inherited wealth and stated wish to establish a foundation to preserve her art and provide opportunities for young photographers, her estate plan proved inadequate to carry out her wishes. Two years after her death, her legacy remained neglected and uncataloged in a warehouse outside of Boston.

The Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation Case Study