How Clarity Unlocks Generosity
Imagine you’re the owner of a successful business. It’s time to start planning your estate and the future of your company. Where do you begin?
You want to provide for your children and grandchildren, but the reality is more complicated than simply dividing assets evenly.
There are too many children to name a single business successor. Leaving ownership to your heirs could create conflict, damage relationships, or even threaten the future of the company. And much of your wealth isn’t liquid cash. It’s tied up in the business you spent decades building.
What does inheritance look like when wealth isn’t sitting in a bank account? How do you plan your estate to protect your family’s present and future?
These are the kinds of questions many donors are wrestling with when fundraising professionals approach them about charitable giving. When nonprofits begin the conversation with the organization’s needs, they can unintentionally push even generous donors away. Every family faces uncertainty. They are trying to solve problems that directly affect their children, businesses, and futures. It is not apathy that prevents giving. More often, it is decision paralysis.
It is not apathy that prevents giving. More often, it is decision paralysis.
A Little Clarity
Thompson & Associates’ estate planning process, called Periscope Path, was designed to help families navigate that uncertainty. Through the process, families clarify their values and goals, and they structure their finances and estate plans providing confidence for their future.
We begin with three questions:
- Do you have enough money to live on for the rest of your life?
- What is the smartest way to provide for your heirs?
- Would you rather the remaining assets go to charity or to the IRS?
The order matters.
First, families need peace of mind that they themselves will be secure. Then, they need confidence their children and grandchildren will be cared for wisely. Only after those concerns are addressed can many donors fully engage in conversations about charitable giving. And often, after answering the first two questions, families discover they have far more capacity to give than they ever imagined.
And often, after answering the first two questions, families discover they have far more capacity to give than they ever imagined.
Now imagine again that you’re the business owner. If you were still overwhelmed by questions about your children and the future of your company, would you feel comfortable making a significant charitable commitment? Probably not.
But if you had a clear plan in place, one that ensured your business could continue thriving after your death and that your heirs would be provided for, would you feel more open to a conversation about philanthropy? Most of our planning clients would say yes.
New Possibilities
Consider one real-life example.
One couple we worked with had a $3.2 million estate, including $1.2 million in qualified assets. They had three children between their late twenties and early thirties, along with three grandchildren and the likelihood of more to come.
Initially, they felt stuck. They wanted to support their family, but they also feared the consequences of giving too much, too quickly. It took them years to build financial stability for themselves. That struggle is what led to their eventual prosperity; it taught them discipline and responsibility. They did not want to rob their children of those same formative experiences by handing them unrestricted wealth all at once.
Through the planning process, they developed a more intentional structure for their estate:
- Each child will receive an immediate $50,000 distribution at the time of death.
- Each child will receive $25,000 annually until the youngest child reaches age 50, funded through a $1.5 million allocation.
- An additional $1 million is reserved for major life events and unexpected needs, such as purchasing a home or medical emergencies.
- At ages 55 and 60, the children receive larger disbursements.
- At age 65, the trust will dissolve, distributing the remaining assets to the children and grandchildren.
The couple structured their estate to provide for their children without creating unhealthy dependence.
After fully funding their family goals, they still had $550,000 remaining for charitable giving.
Before Periscope Path, they were too overwhelmed by questions of family responsibility to seriously consider philanthropy. Once they addressed those concerns, they realized their capacity for generosity was far greater than they had believed.
What’s the Story?
When you sit across from a wealthy donor, a gift request may seem relatively small compared to their resources. But family almost always comes first.
Every donor walks into the conversation with unique concerns. The better we understand their story, the better equipped we are to help donors give with confidence instead of hesitation.
The better we understand their story, the better equipped we are to help donors give with confidence instead of hesitation.
In my next blog post, I’ll discuss how diversifying giving strategies to meet a variety of donor situations can not only increase charitable support for nonprofits, but also help more families experience the joy and fulfillment of philanthropy.
©2026, Eddie Thompson, Ed.D., FCEP
Founder and CEO, Thompson & Associates
“If we merely aim for the industry standard, then our goal is mediocrity. Emulating the average nonprofit, we are destined to live with all the problems the average nonprofit faces. So, we suggest you aim to be exceptional in your approach to fund development.”
