Neoliberal legacies: Planned giving and the New Philanthropy

Studies in Political Economy

Volumn , Issue 81, 2008, Pages 27-48

  Raddon, Mary Beth ^a  

^a BROCK UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 45249122203     PISSN: 07078552     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/19187033.2008.11675072     Document Type: Article

References (70)

1. John J. Havens and Paul G. Schervish, Millionaires and the Millennium: New Estimates of the Forthcoming Wealth Transfer and the Prospects for a Golden Age of Philanthropy (Boston, MA: Boston College, Social Welfare Research Institute, 1999).
2. The catchphrase "new golden age" is vague allusion, but some historians of previous "golden ages" have shown how philanthropic largess functioned to consolidate the class hegemony of the industrial barons, as their money served to give credentials and employ their sons in elite professions while giving their daughters exclusive venues for carrying out high-minded projects for shaping good citizens. See Peter Dobkin Hall and George E. Marcus, "Why Should Men Leave Great Fortunes to their Children? Class, Dynasty and Inheritance in America," in Alicia H. Munnell and Annika Sunden, (eds.), Death and Dollars: The Role of Gifts and Bequests in America (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2003).
3. Ginsler and Associates, The Donor's Guide to Canadian Charities (Kitchener, ON: Ginsler and Associates Inc., 2000).
4. See Katharyne Mitchell, "Transnationalism, Neo-Liberalism, and the Rise of the Shadow State," Economy and Society 30/2 (2001), pp. 165-189,
5. Theda Skocpol, "Voice and Inequality: The Transformation of American Civic Democracy," Perspectives on Politics 2/1 (2004), pp. 3-20.
6. William K. Carroll and Murray Shaw, "Consolidating a Neoliberal Policy Bloc in Canada, 1976 to 1996," Canadian Public Policy 27/2 (2001), p. 196.
7. Samantha King, Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy (Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2006).
8. Angela Eikenberry, "Philanthropy and Governance," Administrative Theory and Praxis 28/4 (2006), pp. 586-592;
9. King, Pink Ribbons, Inc.
10. Nine estate lawyers, including five who specialize in planning and four specialists in litigation, were interviewed about changes in patterns of charitable giving or disputes involving charities that they have seen over the duration of their practice. Four of the nine practice in downtown Toronto in four of the premier firms in estate law. Three of these direct a large group practice in their respective firms. One is in independent practice serving middle-class clients in Toronto. The other four pratice in established firms in three other southern Ontario cities. Of the six men and three women, all but one has been specialized in estates for 10 years or more. These interviewees are referred to as L1 through L9 in the text.
11. The aggregate value of estates of American parents who had children after the war is estimated to be $10.4 trillion. John J. Havens and Paul G. Schervish, "Why the $41 Trillion Wealth Transfer Estimate is Still Valid: A Review of Challenges and Questions," The Journal of Gift Planning 7/1 (2003). Comparable estimates of Canadian estate values are not available, largely due to differences in Canadian and American tax reporting.
12. Tom Fennell, Ann Walmsley, and Glen Allen, "A Trillion Dollar Windfall: Baby Boomers will Inherit Tremendous Wealth in the Next 20 Years, Leading to a Big Spending Increase," MacLean's (5 November 1990).
13. Robert K. Miller Jr. and Stephen J. McNamee, "The Inheritance of Wealth in America," in R.K. Miller Jr. and S.J. McNamee, (eds.), Inheritance and Wealth in America (New York and London: Plenum Press, 1998).
14. Havens and Schervish, Millionnaires and the Millennium.
15. Stephen C. Nill, Planned Giving Aims to Tap Release of Assets (Charity Village News Week, 1996), (accessed 12 March 2007).
16. The decade to which this forecast applies was not specified. Paul Dalby, "Will the 'Me Generation' Become Generous Givers? Many will be Inheriting Part of about $550 Billion; Charities Hope People will Plan their Donations," The Toronto Star (8 May 2003), p. K04.
17. Paul L. Menchik and Nancy A. Jianakoplos, "Economics of Inheritance," in Miller and McNamee, (eds.), Inheritance and Wealth in America. Havens and Schervish's estimate has received the following critiques: The projected economic growth in their simulation neglects market downturns and economic recessions; their baseline of personal wealth in 1998 was established at a time when stocks and bonds were unusually high; current family wealth cannot predict the value of the final estate because families tend to spend down their assets after retirement; increased longevity will further reduce assets; and much income is now annuitized, so it is unavailable to be transferred. Havens and Schervish reply that their model is cautious and that $41 trillion is the lowest projection of three reasonable scenarios that they model. They also point out that they have taken into account the different patterns of spending and accumulation of the wealthy and super wealthy compared to the majority of families. See Havens and Schervish, "Why the $41 Trillion Wealth Transfer Estimate is Still Valid."
18. See Statistics Canada, The Daily (1 November 2005), (accessed 12 March 2007).
19. Paul G. Schervish and John J. Havens, "Gifts and Bequests: Family or Philanthropic Organizations," in Alicia H. Munnell and Annika Sunden, (eds.), Death and Dollars: The Role of Gifts and Bequests in America (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2003).
20. Michael Hall, Larry McKeown, and Karen Roberts, "Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating" (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2001). A report attributed to the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy puts the figure as high as seven percent. See Dalby, "Will the 'Me Generation' Become Generous Givers?"
21. Debra S. Judge, "American Legacies and the Variable Life Histories of Women and Men," Human Nature 6/4 (1995), pp. 291-323,
22. T. P. Schwartz, "Durkheim's Prediction about the Declining Importance of the Family and Inheritance: Evidence from the Wills of Providence, 1775-1985," The Sociological Quarterly 37/3 (1996), pp. 503-519.
23. They predict that the major portion of the intergenerational transfer will be allocated to heirs ($24.6 trillion), and about half of this will go to heirs of the wealthiest seven percent of estates. The rest will go to estate taxes and estate settlement expenses.
24. Schervish and Havens, "Gifts and Bequests," p. 141.
25. See Charles Clotfelter, "Comment on Schervish and Havens," in Munnell and Sunden, (eds.), Death and Dollars, p. 167.
26. See also Malcolm Burrows, Editorial: Change in Charitable Planning Support, Demographics and Style/Products (Planned Giving Pulse, 2006),
27. Statistics Canada, The Wealth of Canadians: An Overview of the Results of the Survey of Financial Security (2005),
28. Dalby, "Will the 'Me Generation' Become Generous Givers?"
29. They base this conclusion in part on the findings of "Giving USA," which reported that aggregate charitable bequests grew by 168 percent from 1980 to 2000. Schervish and Havens, "Gifts and Bequests," p. 139.
30. Havens and Schervish, Millionnaires and the Millennium.
31. These lawyers' observations are confirmed by a trend study of generosity over a 30-year period. The National Survey on Household Expenditure shows that among households that donate, those in the lowest income quintile tend to give as much or more in charitable contributions and gifts to individuals as a percentage of disposable income than do households in the top income quintile. Paul Reed, "Generosity: 30 Years of Giving," in Canadian Social Trends (Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2001).
32. See Stephen J. McNamee and Robert K. Miller, Jr., "Inheritance and Stratification," in Miller and McNamee, (eds.), Inheritance and Wealth in America.
33. The foremost Canadian organizations include: Imagine Canada (est. 2005 from the alliance of the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (est. 1981) and the Coalition of Voluntary Organizations (est. 1974)); the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (est. 1996); and the Association of Fundraising Professionals - Canada (international organization, est. 1960 in NY).
34. Kathryn McMullen, A Portrait of Canadian Fundraising Professionals (Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks and Association of Fundraising Professionals, 2003).
35. F. Minton and L. Somers, Planned Giving for Canadians: A Guide to Institutionalizing and Managing a Successful Planned Giving Programme 2nd ed. (St. Catharines, ON: Somersmith, 1997).
36. Ken Ramsay, Editorial: The Next Decade in Gift Planning (Planned Giving Pulse, 2006), (accessed 12 March 2007).
37. David Lasby, The Philanthropic Spirit in Canada: Motivations and Barriers (Toronto: Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, 2004).
38. For example, the survey found that only 36 percent of spontaneous donors intend to claim the tax credit, compared to 64 percent of donors who plan in advance the amount of their gift. Ibid.
39. Louise J.A. Greig, A.M. Parachin, and F.M. DuMoulin, "A Donor and Donee Perspective on Key Issues in Charitable Giving," in Estates News: Of Plans, Schemes, Strategies, Plots and Conspiracies (Toronto: Canadian Bar Association - Ontario, 2001).
40. Karen J. Cooper, "Budget 2006: Elimination of Capital Gains Tax on Certain Gifts," Charity Law Bulletin 94 (2006), (accessed 12 March 2007).
41. Both the Liberal and Conservative parties campaigned on the promise to squash the capital gains tax on charitable gifts. The policy emerged as a recommendation of the Senate Committee on Banking Trade and Commerce in 2005 after lobbying by Imagine Canada and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners.
42. This increase in donations refers to inflation-adjusted averages. David Duff, "Charitable Contributions and the Personal Income Tax: Evaluating the Canadian Credit," in Jim Phillips, Bruce Chapman, and David Stevens, (eds.), Between State and Market: Essays on Charities Law and Policy in Canada (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001), pp. 422-423.
43. Boston College, "Center on Wealth and Philanthropy," (accessed 12 March 2007).
44. Peter Frumpkin, "The Face of the New Philanthropy," The Responsive Community 10/3 (2000), pp. 41-48.
45. Schervish and Havens, "Gifts and Bequests," p. 149.
46. Terrance S. Carter, "Donor-Restricted Charitable Gifts: A Practical Overview Revisited," The Philanthropist 18/1&2 (2003), pp. 5-35 and 121-164;
47. Frumpkin, "The Face of the New Philanthropy"; Shamin Lalini, "Dancing the Intricate Tango: Charities and Donors Take the Floor," The Philanthropist 16/2 (2001), pp. 104-110.
48. Carter, "Donor-Restricted Charitable Gifts," p. 5.
49. Frumpkin, "The Face of the New Philanthropy," p. 47.
50. Neil Brooks, "The Tax Credit for Charitable Contributions: Giving Credit where None is Due," in Phillips, Chapman, and Stevens, (eds.), Between State and Market.
51. Teresa Odendahl, Charity Begins at Home: Generosity and Self-Interest among the Philanthropic Elite (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1990).
52. Miller and McNamee, "The Inheritance of Wealth in America."
53. Mariana Valverde, "The Mixed Social Economy as a Canadian Tradition," Studies in Political Economy 47 (1995), pp. 33-60.
54. Paula Maurutto, "Charity and Public Welfare in History: A Look at Ontario, 1830-1950," The Philanthropist 19/3 (2005), p. 159.
55. Kathy L. Brock, "Judging the VSI: Reflections on the Relationship between the Federal Government and the Voluntary Sector," The Philanthropist 19/3 (2005), p. 168.
56. Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, "News Release: Eliminate Capital Gains Tax on Donations to Registered Charities of Listed Securities and Environmentally Sensitive Land" (15 December 2004), (accessed 12 March 2007).
57. Brooks, "The Tax Credit for Charitable Contributions."
58. Cooper, "Budget 2006."
59. The remaining revenues come from several other sources, such as unreceipted donations (four percent), fees (six percent), gifts in kind (two percent), donations from other charities (four percent) and investment income (four percent). Receipted donations from corporations provide only one percent of revenues for nonfoundation charities. David Sharpe, "The Canadian Charitable Sector: An Overview," in Phillips, Chapman, and Stevens, (eds.), Between State and Market.
60. Canadian Fundraiser eNews, "Professional Advisers: Building a Culture of Philanthropy is a Task that Takes All Hands" (30 April 2006), (accessed 12 March 2007).
61. Neil Brooks, "The Role of the Voluntary Sector in a Modern Welfare State," in Phillips, Chapman, and Stevens, (eds.), Between State and Market.
62. Jennifer Wolch, The Shadow State: Government and the Voluntary Sector in Transition (New York: The Foundation Center, 1990), p. xvi.
63. Brenda Cossman and Judy Fudge, (eds.), Privatization, Law, and the Challenge to Feminism (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002).
64. The job of fandraiser is quite representative of the charitable sector as a whole in terms of its distribution by gender and sector. Most fandraisers (60 percent) are employed in small organizations of fewer than 25 employees, which tend to be in the arts, culture, and humanities, or social services subsectors. In these jobs with smaller charities, extrinsic factors associated with job satisfaction (e.g., pay, workload, stress, opportunity for career advancement) are the least favourable. For fundraisers at all levels of the profession, survey scores on satisfaction with Work-Life balance are lower (at 59 percent) than for comparable employment categories (at 71 percent) and for the labour force as a whole (75 percent). McMullen, "A Portrait of Canadian Fundraising Professionals."
65. Patrick Burman, Poverty's Bonds: Power and Ageney in the Social Relations of Welfare (Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 1996).
66. King, Pink Ribbons, Inc.
67. Michael Kane, "Plan to Give - Long Term: There is such a Thing as Spare Change. 'Donor-Advised Funds' and Life-Insurance Policies can be used to Aid Charities," The Montreal Gazette (3 January 2005), p. B4.
68. The Family Office, "Building a Culture of Philanthropy: The Opportunity of a Lifetime" (2005), (accessed 12 March 2007).
69. Lisa Duggan, The Twilight of Equality? Neoliberalism, Cultural Politics and the Attack on Democracy (Boston: Beacon Press, 2003), p. xi.
70. David Harvey, A Brief History of Neoliberalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005).