Your Most Important Investment Is a Life of Service
"Living well has at least two parts to it: living a life that makes you happy and living a life that is of service to others...To find an activity truly fulfilling, you must both take pleasure in it and feel a strong sense of connection between it and a larger purpose for your life." - Christopher Eisgruber, President of Princeton University.
Eisgruber references the work of Kwame Appiah, a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist, in his welcome address to the class of 2017 on September 8, 2013. (For more, see: 8 Ways to Donate Locally.)
This article is a departure from my usual financial or investment discussions. Instead, I want to talk about something even more important, something that has been integral to my life since I was a child and something that has become more even imperative over the past few years.
I agree with Mr. Eisgruber: living a life that is of service to others is one of the best pieces of investment advice I can give you. It is a very powerful phrase, and one I have taken to heart. My lessons in philanthropy began early as I learned about the power of giving from my grandparents. From an early age, I was raised to understand that giving back was simply something that was expected of me. But more importantly, that doing so was truly one of life’s greater joys.
Donating Time
As I approached my 50th birthday, and my children had reached ages that demanded less of my attention, I decided that I was ready to do more than simply donate money to my favorite causes. I was ready to give of my time as well. After thinking about it and discussing it with my wife and my mother (who has served on numerous local boards), I decided on the group I wanted to align with. As a result, for the past four years I have been honored to serve as a member of the board of directors of the Food Bank for Westchester. I say honored because I have been very fortunate in my life and I feel a powerful imperative to give back to those members of our community who haven't shared the same blessings. I have had the great pleasure to see, over and over, how giving of my money and my time can make a real difference in my community. (For more, see: Most Effective Charitable Organizations.)
I can tell you from personal experience that the act of giving is incredibly powerful and life affirming. There is so much need in the world that it can be hard to know how to start. I recommend that rather than focus on the enormity of the problems, think instead how you can help one single person. You can serve a meal, help build a house, provide a mosquito net, teach someone to read, mentor a child, dig a well, etc. The ways in which you can help someone are limited only by your time and imagination. When you put philanthropy in those terms, it becomes much easier to see how the efforts of one person can make a real difference in the life of someone in need.
Direct Donations
If you are inclined to donate money, you can enjoy the tax benefit of that contribution. Direct donations can be made in cash (which I wouldn’t recommend), by checks or credit cards. Donations can also be made with highly appreciated securities. This has the added benefit of allowing you the tax deduction of the gift while avoiding the capital gains tax that would have been incurred on the sale of that security. Recent tax laws also allow giving directly from a retirement plan, which has its own positive tax implications. Before doing anything, please discuss your options with a tax professional.
Whatever you decide, I urge you to do something today. Pick your favorite charity and send them some money today. Then try to make philanthropy a core part of your life. And make sure to talk to your children about what you're doing and try to involve them as much as you can so that it becomes part of their lives. The time is now to begin living a life in service to others. (For related reading, see: Donations: How to Maximize Your Tax Deduction.)