PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 12, 2014
Family foundations let rich leave legacy
Non-profit foundations are increasing with more affluent families instilling right values in rich heirs
BY
From success to significance: Stephanie Cordes, a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, stands with her father Ron (far left) and mother Marty at their home in New York. Ms Cordes quit her job as an advertising sales assistant at Conde Nast to work full- time for the Cordes Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation her father created, following in his footsteps to one day become his legacy. - PHOTO: NYT
STEPHANIE Cordes, a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, has a present from her father, Ron, that she treasures. It's a handmade pink scrapbook, titled, "5 Life Lessons From Dad." Inside are whimsical photos of her with friends and family alongside typed pages containing his simple guidance. The chapters are: "Seek your passion." "Do your best." "Good enough is never good enough." "No excuses." "Make a difference." "Go for it." She was moved. But what really touched her was a letter he wrote to her last fall, which concluded with: "You are my legacy." And she is, in more ways than one.
In mid-January, Ms Cordes, 24, quit what she had called her dream job, working at Conde Nast as an advertising sales assistant, to work full-time for the Cordes Foundation, the non-profit family foundation her father created when he and his two partners sold their firm, AssetMark Investment Services, to Genworth Financial in 2006 for US$230 million.
"I am going to be the legacy of the foundation," said Ms Cordes, who is an only child. "It is really important that I am involved because it is going to be mine eventually." According to the most recent statistics, the number of family foundations like the Cordes Foundation has exploded since 2001. There are now more than 40,000 family foundations in the US, making grants totalling more than US$21.3 billion a year, up from about 3,200 family foundations doling out US$6.8 billion in 2001, according to the Foundation Center in Washington.
These non-profits are on the upswing for several reasons. First, friendly tax breaks make the charitable vehicle appealing. And it offers philanthropists who want more control over their giving a way to give with fewer restrictions than would come with a donor-advised fund or writing a cheque to an established charity.
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