Legacy was the theme at this year’s Core Family Office event “ Embracing Disruption: Pioneering the Next Generation of Family Offices” on August 30 at Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge, CA! Congrats to Puja Sohi and Avneet Kaur, in their 6th year of business with Core Family Office, for curating an incredible panel of topics, including: female leadership, philanthropy, advanced tax strategies, and planning for the family office of the future.
So many amazing leaders shared inspiration and ideas within a network, from the incredible Lorenzo de Medici, AdaPia d’Errico, Jennifer Burnham Grubbs, Abhijeet Mukherjee, Maeesha Merchant, Manna Dabholkar, Jay Kelly, Metta World Peace, Malcolm McNeil, Paul Aver, OG Arabian Prince (N.W.A.)
The event highlighted one of the most interesting sessions where Lorenzo de Medici, from the 1000-year-old de Medici family office, talked about legacy, tradition, love, tiramisu and art. His family’s philosophy of love, community, and innovation drove much of their development in Italy and continues to influence today.
The entire conference offered a blend of diverse skill sets from CPA’s and lawyers to artists and athletes, as well as family offices entrepreneurs and entertainers. A recurring theme throughout the event was that despite the differences of individuals in the room, they all shared these traits:
- Energy
- Thought Leadership
- Connections
- Networking
I was delighted to present on the “Philanthropy and Private Foundations” panel with AdaPia d’Errico, Manna Dabholkar, and Maeesha Merchant, to discuss the larger meaning of philanthropy (greek word for “love people”) and to help bring about how philanthropy allows for the giving of your time, talent and treasure to help others. It’s important to note that in the USA, per Giving USA $450billion is contributed each year by people who want to help others. Importantly, there are three general areas that people tend to give to:
- Relief- emergency situations, flood, hurricane, fires
- Impact- hunger, education, healthcare
- Social Reform- laws around climate change, partnerships
We also discussed the various structures that philanthropy can embody, including:
- Gates Model– focused on data and measurement, this provides the most stringent approach and focuses on outcomes
- McKenzie Scott– trust-based, where donors write a check and ensure trust for people/organizations to deploy resources where they need it most
- Chan Zuckerberg– set up as a LLC to be able to deliver grants and funding, but also helps develop tech and IP
Family Offices decide on these structures for how they give, and even though there are a number of models, none of them are wrong.
If you are interested in learning more about how your family office could benefit from conversations around structure and philanthropy, or if you would like to talk about specific philanthropic opportunities or impact investment, contact Ann Oleson at ann@returnongood.org