I had the opportunity to talk with a TEC group in Michigan last week. During the workshop, we got into a conversation about the role of philanthropy for teaching money values for younger generations.
I found the two companies in the room that were third generation businesses were the most interested in this topic. I suspect this is because these companies are highly successful and the owner/managers are worried about their children not understanding the value of money and the hard work that it takes to produce the money that the family enjoys.
The two companies that were most interested in this topic had a problem that first and second generation companies don’t have. Both businesses had a high level of success the entire time their children were alive. The children of these companies had a world view that money grew on trees and making money was not an especially difficult proposition.
Most business owners we speak with are so focused on keeping their business healthy that they have no time or energy to consider serious philanthropic activities. What I learned from my workshop last week is that third generation owners are more likely to consider philanthropy as a method of helping them achieve several of their goals.
The future will tell us how this theory works out.
Josh Patrick
Filed under: Estate Planning, For Business Advisors, For Business Owners, Wealth Management | Tagged: business philanthropy
