As some of you know, I have a philanthropic bent to my practice which can consume me at all the "wrong" times (at least from the metric of personal microeconomic gain). How is it that we seem to go through periods of time where we see with greater clarity what makes life important and then revert to actually answering phone calls from bucket shops with hot stock picks? (One sure way to try to get rid of those calls is to sell them YOUR services when they call you - "hey, I draft wills and trusts; do you have one? No? Look, that's really irresponsible, you know. What if something happens to you on the way home from work?" Click).
But charities have a way of drawing us in. First, if the cause is noble, we are in a fairly good position to actually help them. Although siblings find it incredible, customers and clients pay significant sums for professional services, participation in their lives and commitment - and, what really shocks MY siblings - our clients follow my advice. Second, the boards and committees that provide perspective on whether or not a charity is on the right track with their approach, or perhaps is missing an opportunity, or making bad strategic decisions given the current philanthropic climate can use 'outside' advisers from disparate industries from their mission. And third, enthusiasm for the success of our favorite charities fuels our enthusiasm for the success of our clients.
