The Energy of Philanthropy By Margaret May Damen, CFP, CLU, ChFC NABBW’s Philanthropy Expert Sixty-seven years ago, a 13-year-old girl caught in the horrors of the holocaust wrote in her diary, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Anne Frank believed in the goodness and compassion of people. We certainly need more conspicuous compassion in the world. Today, four out of five people believe we have lost sight of the fundamental values upon which our country was founded. Philanthropy is one of the three sectors by which we participate... Read More

Philanthropic Therapy: Can Meaning and Money Mix? By Margaret May Damen, CFP, CLU, ChFC NABBW’s Philanthropy Expert “Philanthropic Therapy: Can Meaning and Money Mix? Once again, I was rewarded with an “aha moment” as I experienced George Kinder’s life planning and financial coaching session. The Kinder Institute of Life Planning takes a holistic approach when designing a wealth holder’s financial plan. Holistic to the point that one of the Institute’s participants, CFP Rick Kahler, in Rapid City, South Dakota, is a leading proponent and co-founder of the Healing Money Issues... Read More

The Virtues of Passion in Changing Times By Margaret May Damen, CFP, CLU, ChFC NABBW’s Philanthropy Expert “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens Gridlock in Washington, riots in London… has Charles Dickens’ epic novel A Tale of Two Cities become more fact than fiction some 152 years since it was first published? And what does all this have to do with philanthropy (the third sector)? From my perspective, quite a lot. If one believes as I do, the sage wisdom of the late... Read More