Episode 2: Give Today. Inspire Tomorrow.

America's Finest Funders Hosted by San Diego Grantmakers

SDG Podcast: Give Today. Inspire Tomorrow.

Below are the show notes from the second episode of America's Finest Funders, a podcast that provides expert insight inspiration and practical ways you can make a difference in your community through philanthropy.

This episode of San Diego Grantmakers podcast was recorded on Giving Tuesday, November 28, 2017. SDG President & CEO Nancy Jamison explains how Giving Tuesday began in 2012 as a response to the consumerism and commercialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick off the giving season. She is joined by Dr. Emily Young, Executive Director of the University of San Diego’s Nonprofit Institute, who shares data found in the State of Nonprofits & Philanthropy Report.

Christy Wilson, Executive Director of Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, then joins our co-hosts to discuss end of the year giving, including the tax implications and examples of year end gifts. And in the third and final segment, Nancy speaks with Courtney Brown of Women Give San Diego and Jessica Kort of Leichtag Foundation, about how giving circles support young donors, who want to be hands-on and involved in their giving.

Dr. Young explains that the State of Nonprofits & Philanthropy Report provides a snapshot of what nonprofits and philanthropy looks like in the San Diego region on an annual basis. There is an abundance of interest in people who really want to make a difference and deliver a social good to the region. San Diego County now has 10,844 nonprofits and 92 percent of the organizations are smaller neighborhood based groups with budgets of less than $1 million per year. The topic of diversity, equity and inclusion is important to our region.

“86 percent of nonprofit leaders surveyed have organizational policies that reflect a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion and this is really important because if you think about it, if our region is changing and that the face of our communities are changing, our nonprofits really have to understand how to respond to changing community needs and demands and also what they look like to respond to those community needs.” –Dr. Emily Young

With the current economy, people with investments in the stock market are in a good position this year with what Christy Wilson calls “free money,” money obtained through wise investments. She explains the advantage of making a charitable contribution with appreciated securities to avoid the capital gains. If those same securities were sold with an increase in the cost basis, capital gains tax would need to be paid. So this is another way to use the tax system to benefit philanthropic goals.

“With the needs in the world and right now an increased ability for donors to give away some of the resources that they are blessed to have, this is a really good time to think about how they can use additional resources in some way to give back to the organizations that they're passionate about or the causes that they care about.” – Christy Wilson

While Christy encourages year-end giving, she explains that the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation has adopted the philosophy of philanthropy is 365 days a year. As such, giving is not only about monetary donations, with the donations of time, talent and treasure also opportunities to jump into philanthropy.

The State of Giving Circles Today report shows that women are the majority of giving circle members. San Diego Grantmakers has a number of giving circle members: San Diego Women’s Foundation, Latina Giving Circle, San Diego Social Venture Partners, Women Give San Diego and a number of giving circles associated with the Jewish Community Foundation and Rancho Santa Fe Foundation.

“In San Diego alone, these dozens of giving circles have involved at least 1,000 people over the time that they've been around and they've certainly granted nearly 10 million dollars virtually all staying locally in San Diego, so they can have huge impact just by individuals joining together.” – Jessica Kort

Giving circles have also created an opportunity for mentorship among generations. This new form of philanthropic giving has allowed next generation professionals to join the world of giving. Young donors are passionate about social change and making a difference through their giving.

“Younger donors want to be really involved. They want to be hands on. I read in a study that it's more about impact than funding institutions—funding ways to problem solve or ways to get to the root cause of some issues. That might look like a younger donor with a family foundation really wanting to be in those meetings of a grant being formed… from the beginning rather than later on in the cycle. – Courtney Brown

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