New philanthropists more global

The wealthiest generation ever is moving toward retirement and turning to its children to keep its money working.

The combination of parental money and youthful idealism is creating a new group of philanthropists who are more hands-on and globally aware than their parents.

The younger generation visits, researches and may do volunteer work with an agency they support, and they are more entrepreneurial in their giving style, say those who work with them. The changes also affect the nonprofits they give to, which are held to new standards of transparency to keep their support.

“I think a new level of accountability is being created, and the organizations who reinvest the funds are receptive to that,” said Shane Jackson of Atlanta, whose family recently sold a medical business and established a charitable fund.

“We can give them feedback in the process, and that helps make their organization better,” he said.

His family supports a variety of international and local charities.

“Younger people are much more focused on return on their investment. And they really want to see and visit with an organization they support,” said Audrey Jacobs, director of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s Center for Family Philanthropy, which helps Georgia philanthropists with research and fund management.

For instance, the younger generation is more environmentally conscious.

“And they will try to bring their parents along,” Jacobs said.

What is going on in Atlanta is reflected nationally. A 1998 study from Boston College researchers estimated at least $41 trillion will be inherited between 1998 and 2052, and $6 trillion will go directly to charities.

Donor-advised funds at the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta swelled from 397 in 2001 to 634 in 2007. Families or individuals establish those funds and maintain an active role in deciding where the grants go. The worth of the funds more than doubled from $134 million to nearly $300 million.

Last year, donor-advised funds provided most of the $75 million doled out through the foundation.

It is unclear how the downturn in the economy will affect giving, but Jacobs said many donors are maintaining or giving more to the family funds in 2008.

Children of the givers are taking bigger roles than previous generations in giving money away.

Swetha Krishnakumar, 19, and sisters Colie Neidlinger, 36, and Tyler Gardner, 32, are children whose fathers made enough money in metro Atlanta to establish funds.

Unlike previous generations, where the men typically made the money and decisions and then left the proceeds behind when they died, their fathers happily involved their children to research and decide where to give.

Krishnakumar’s father began talking to her in her early teens. Neidlinger’s and Gardner’s father have increased their involvement over a decade.

The trend toward making children active partners will continue. Jackson, Neidlinger and Gardner already are thinking about when to begin exposing their toddler children to the organizations they support and the charitable work they do.

“We want to try to get the kids involved as much as possible. Maybe we will get them and go and volunteer at the food bank or on a food drive,” Gardner said.

Jackson said it is important to convey the family’s values of giving away some of what they have been blessed with. He recently went to Honduras to see a medical service the family supports.

“Even for my kids, they don’t understand what we are doing, but they know daddy was gone for several days because he went to help some poor people see a doctor,” he said.

Krishnakumar said her early exposure to giving shaped the way she thinks. Her opportunities make her thankful and conscious of her responsibilities.

“It would be almost a waste of the opportunities I’ve been given if I didn’t turn around and make sure others have the same opportunities,” she said.