Motivations for giving

Please note: This article does not constitute advice. Barclays Private Bank does not endorse any of the companies or individuals referenced in this article.

People come to philanthropy for many reasons and with a range of personal experiences, professional skills and perspectives. 

Those who have the most rewarding experiences have often reflected on their values and seek to align these with their giving. Having a strong sense of purpose about what you are doing (and why) can also provide you with energy to sustain your efforts over time.

The benefits of early reflection

When diving into the complex world of giving, it may be easy to bypass initial thinking about why you really want to do this and what you expect to get out of it. 

Bringing your motivations to the light provides you with an important opportunity to:

• (Re)focus your priorities and articulate what values are most important to you.
• Assess how your motivations converge (or conflict) with others involved in decisions, such as family members.
• Ascertain if there are inconsistencies between your motivations and the needs of the communities or causes you wish to support (which may lead to a re-evaluation of priorities).
• Provide clarity to others (such as advisers or team members).
• Fuel your passion for giving over time.

Clarifying your values, interests and drivers 

Before you can truly understand your motivations for giving, it is often helpful to consider the following alongside family and other team members:

• Why do you want to give?
• Are you drawn to any causes or communities? 
• What frustrates you about the world? What gives you hope?
• What have you given your time and money to in the past, and why? 
• Has someone inspired you to give?
• What do you want your legacy to be? 
• Is faith a driver?
• What values do you want to pass on to others in your family? 
• Are you driven more by your intuition and feelings, or by an interest in evidence? 
• What have you learnt about your style of working? What might you need to be at your best? 
• What do you hope to get out of the experience on a personal level?
• Are you more likely to ‘go it alone’ or do you see value in sharing ideas and pooling resources with others? 
• Are there any reasons to include/exclude family members?
• Do you wish to give discreetly or be open and public?  
• Do you intend to align giving with your business or keep it entirely separate?

It can be useful to record your answers and any other questions that arise as you go through this process. Returning to these insights regularly will help you stay rooted in what really matters to you.

Giving alongside family 

For some philanthropists, involving family is an important motivation and there is no doubt that working together can be rewarding.

Reasons to involve your family may include: 

• Bringing, and keeping, the family together.
• The opportunity to discuss, share and demonstrate your values. 
• Developing new skills and working together to address challenges.
• Creating longevity to, and a legacy for, your giving. 
• Learning about what moves, motivates and inspires family members.
• Fostering a sense of family commitment, purpose and contribution to society as a balance to the privilege that comes with wealth. 

While managing philanthropy as a family can help forge greater bonds, be aware it can potentially also be a source of tension or conflict. This may be particularly true where differing opinions, values and personalities are involved. 

There is no right time to involve family, but openly discussing your aspirations and interests early on can encourage an ongoing commitment to giving.  

Involving the next generation

Philanthropy is one way that parents can show the connection between wealth and responsibility.  

Talking about your values and philanthropy, involving others in giving decisions and providing family members with a role in a family foundation are all possibilities. However, it is important to bear in mind the following:

• Try to inspire rather than force children (you may have aspirations that your children do not yet share). 
• Some family members may be naturally more engaged or interested than others.
• There can be generational differences of opinion. 
• You may have a lot of interest in philanthropy within your family but little appropriate skill or experience.

You might consider the following questions before involving children in your giving: 

• What are my reasons for wanting to involve the next generation?
• What are my expectations of them (and are these realistic/fair)?  
• Have they expressed any interest in philanthropy?
• Am I modelling the behaviours I wish to see in my family members? 
• How will we ensure we are being fair to, or inclusive of, each family member?
• What perspectives do we have that may clash? 
• What are our respective strengths?
• What may our likely points of tension be, and how will we manage them? 
• As a collective, what skills might we be lacking and what could we need to support us?

There are ample educational programmes and resources for families wishing to explore giving together. External support can help you to unearth assumptions and save you money, time and headaches down the line.  

You may even develop a family charter or guiding document that clarifies decision-making, roles, goals and expectations. These conversations can also help you establish the most appropriate structure for your giving and ensure you are set on a path for a rewarding family experience.

Case studies

Perspectives on giving 

Two philanthropists share the experiences and approaches that have shaped their families’ giving.

Case study: Sonal Sachdev Patel: A celebration of shared humanity

Sonal Sachdev Patel, CEO of GMSP Foundation, reflects on the value of commonality and connection for her family and the frontline organisations she supports.

Established by my parents Ramesh and Pratibha Sachdev in 2006, God My Silent Partner (GMSP) is a family foundation that supports organisations on the ground in the UK and India.

We have built our foundation on the same values that guide our family: trust, love and humility, and a sense of shared humanity. Our values celebrate individuality but insist we look deeper – past skin colour, gender, sexual orientation or other circumstances of fate – to find connection and commonality.  

A philanthropy of ‘profound feeling’

This has led to a philanthropy combining head and heart. A philanthropy of data, insights and strategy but also profound feeling, which can be hard to measure and hard to articulate.

In practice, this means rejecting the traditional power dynamic between funders and their grantee partners, challenging our privilege, ceding our power and operating with transparency, patience and humility.  

Because strong frontline organisations are best placed to identify and respond to the needs of marginalised people, we provide our grassroots partners with unrestricted funding over several years. That way, they can direct resources where the need is greatest. This is often towards areas others won’t fund, such as covering the cost of rent, training and marketing materials. 

Investing in the resilience of teams and leaders

Meaningful change requires a workforce that isn’t constantly burnt out. We invest in the wellbeing and resilience of the leaders and teams powering the organisations we partner with. And we look to bring all our assets to our philanthropy, including the network of people we know and the platforms we can access. We can then open these up to our partners.

When we put our belief into practice, we call it ‘spiritual solidarity’ – a deep connection and commitment to the humanity of our partners and the people they support. We are a family foundation, and when you believe in what we do, you know we are all part of the same family. 

Case study: Paddy Walker: Giving across the generations 

Paddy Walker, Managing Director of investment business J Leon, explains how his ancestors’ origins have helped sustain a sense of purpose for his family’s philanthropy.

Our family’s history is very important to our philanthropy. My wife’s ancestors were Jewish Russian and came to England at the close of the 19th century. And in 1956, my mother-in law, aged just 16, fled Budapest and walked to Vienna during the rebellion against Soviet rule.

The importance of roots 

The experiences of these previous generations still inform what we do today. As a fifth-generation family office, we invest half our balance sheet in real estate. Land ownership has always meant a great deal to displaced people. 

The family’s philosophy is to run our investment portfolio as well as we can, and to use a meaningful proportion of surpluses to support charitable activities. At an early stage, we decided not to rely on external experts. Instead, we manage our activities through a family philanthropy council, which meets at least four times a year. 

Inspiring young people

Engaging with the next generation is also a significant motivation for our family and we try to identify causes that will inspire our young people. 

We also run what we refer to as a Family Voucher System. Every year, we make a sum of money available to all shareholders and family members. Those under 16 receive a smaller grant, with the size depending on their parents’ wishes. 

The younger generation can donate this to a cause that is important to them, without recourse to a parent, family member or company officer. 

There is one condition: the young people must engage with their selected charity and have visited the charity in person, if possible. The scheme has greatly improved the family’s understanding of giving. It also acts as a release valve for shareholders who want to reflect their personal philanthropy choices in areas not covered by J Leon’s main charity programme.

‘A wonderful family glue’ 

Every two years, we run a weekend family forum. As part of this gathering, we provide a brief update on our investment performance and hear from family members on the causes that interest them. 

This philanthropic effort has been a wonderful family glue, and it’s a joy to work with charity teams and see at first hand the impact of our grant-making. 

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