The new guy, Part 3: Learning the world of philanthropy

Whicker Philanthropy is a rather mysterious word.

At first glance, it could be mistaken for the title of a typical college course: "Beginning Philanthropy 101," "Special Topics in Philanthropy," or even "Graduate Level Philanthropic Practicum." Far from being that complicated, however, philanthropy is really a very simple concept. Roughly defined, philanthropy is the giving of one's finances or time in response to a strong, internal concern for the welfare of people in need and to support a specific cause.

Most of us have been involved in philanthropic activity of one kind or another: helping out at church, volunteering for a local nonprofit event, donating regularly to a cause, participating in workplace giving campaigns, buying magazines to help students. These are all common types of giving. Even though some of them might seem commonplace nowadays, the impact of doing even a little can last for a lifetime.

Consider, for example, an endowed fund, which I have been learning much about in my new job with Southwest Florida Community Foundation. The Community Foundation manages funds that have been created by donors to support a variety of causes, including: human services, the environment, the arts, animal welfare, historic preservation, and education. Anyone can set up fund with SWFLCF, and donors can also give to existing funds that directly support communities in Southwest Florida. Currently, SWFLCF manages more than 320 endowed funds. This large number reflects both the generosity of local donors and the confidence that those donors have in the Community Foundation.

One of the greatest advantages of this Community Foundation is its flexibility. Funds can be tailored to the philanthropic interest of each donor. SWFLCF offers six types of funds: Unrestricted Funds, Field of Interest Funds, Designated Funds, Scholarship Funds, and Donor-advised Funds. You can read the descriptions of these on our Web site: www.floridacommunity.com.

One of the greatest gift-giving ideas that I heard over the holidays came from one of the many articles that I regularly read regarding philanthropy. The writer, tired of receiving gifts that she really did not want and frustrated over the knowledge that her friends and family had no idea what to give her, established a fund to benefit her favorite, local nonprofit organization.

She then

instructed all wouldbe gift-givers to make a donation to her fund instead of buying her obligatory gifts. Her fund grew with every passing holiday and birthday. She benefited, her friends and family benefited, the local nonprofit benefited, and, ultimately, her cause benefited. What a great idea.

In closing, let me encourage you to consider the establishment of an endowed fund of your own. Growing your fund in the way that the writer above suggested is just one easy way that you can be involved in this type of philanthropy, and you don't even need a course syllabus to guide you through the process. Just leave it to our Community Foundation "counselors!"

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has been supporting the communities of Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry through endowed funds for 33 years and during that time has provided more than $39.5 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves. For more information, please call 274-5900, or visit our Web site at www.floridacommunity.com.