Many people would like to leave money for the common good when they retire or after they have completed their life experience. Some people would like to set up private foundations because they would like to give back to the world that has given them so much. This is pretty noble stuff, and it’s extremely popular in the United States. Today, there are nearly 76,000 private foundations in the US, and that number is growing every year.
If you are a financial investment adviser to the rich, or if you want to set up your own private foundation, there is a very good book that I think you should read. It’s quite comprehensive, and I think it could help you a lot in achieving this goal. The name of the book is;
“Private Foundations: Tax Law and Compliance, Third Edition” by Bruce R. Hopkins and Jodie Blazek, published by John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York, New York, 2008, (768 pp.).
Private foundations don’t just give away money, they give away well-placed money and can greatly influence our society, so while some people think it’s all about money and gifts, it’s more than that. And the authors go to great lengths to explain this in the first two chapters. Hopkins and Blazek also explain the soul-searching that must be done before a family makes the decision to establish a foundation.
The authors explain that almost $37 billion will be donated in 2007 and this will represent almost 13% of all charitable giving in the United States. So this is a large amount of funds coming back to help the greater good. But even if you have a small foundation just for your family, you won’t be alone, more and more of these types of foundations are being formed every year, and the amount of spending they do is increasing as well.
The authors admit that during periods of recession, the number fluctuates, but the reality is that foundations are part of the foundation of our nation. In fact, I think you should pick up a copy of this book, read it, and think about it. Please consider all this.