More About The Giving Pledge

Charlie Rose interviewed the Gateses and Buffet. It is an excellent discussion and explanation of The Giving Pledge. If you have 55 minutes to spare I recommend watching it with your partner or spouse. The discussion makes you think about your own ideas about philanthropy – no matter how big or small.

It is interesting to hear some of their guiding thoughts. With $600 billion in potential pledged assets (according to Fortune), there is a lot at stake to do it right. This idea that you “do what your reference set does” is intriguing. It would be fantastic to bring the learnings and ideas of this reference set to those who have also amassed wealth and have committed a portion to their charitable interests. Success of The Giving Pledge, as defined by Melinda Gates, is having people plan for their philanthropy earlier in their lives. It would be interesting to explore how philanthropic advisors could tap into the work of these committed individuals and share the experiences, learnings and outcomes with the individuals and families with whom they work. Using the train the trainer model, a network of philanthropic advisers could be unleashed to share the wealth (of knowledge)!