Gena Rotstein's blog

When to tell... What to say?

Over the past few weeks a couple clients have asked me about how and when to share their family wealth and social capital plans with their children and other family members.  This of course is different for each person and each family so there is no hard and fast rule.  There is however some general things that all wealth creators should consider when planning for the transition to the next generation or out into community:

1. How much is enough? As Warren Buffet said, "I want to leave enough for my kids so that they will do something, but not so much that they won't do anything."  Allison Maher from Family Wealth Coach calls it Knowing Your Number.  What do you need to live on and your inheritors to live on to be comfortable, what do you want government to take in taxes and what do you want your community to receive."

What is your six word memoir?

I was out for dinner with a dear friend this evening and he asked me what my six word memoir is.

Here's what I came up with:

Always asking, "What most needs doing?"

What is your six word memoir?

#NPM16

This morning I gave the keynote address at the CAGP conference in Banff, Alberta.  The presentation is on Next Generation/Rising Generation philanthropists.  Below is a copy of the transcript and the slides.

In the fall of 2012, Place2Give Foundation received its Canadian charitable status and in 2015 we received our US charitable status.

Partners In Health (PIH) is a ground-breaking global health and social justice organization that brings high quality health care to some of the poorest areas of the world. They do this not as an act of charity, but as a fulfillment of fundamental human rights.

For the second year in a row, Dexterity Consulting will be partnering with REAP Calgary to bring a social captial discussion as part of the Down to Earth Week in Calgary, Alberta April 11-15.  The Capital for a Cause summit is being brought to you in part by Dolan Wealth Management - Raymond James and Toniic.  We started exploring this topic when the price of a barrel of oil was still fairly strong.  Since those initial planning days, the Canadian dollar has tanked, oil is still trading at $40/barrel and tens of thousands of people have been laid off.  So why are we talking about social capitla management now?  It might seem counter-intuitive.  It is for this very reason that we are undertaking this discussion at this time.

I have been thinking about the concept of EXPOSURE for the last couple days in a number of contexts:

  • Role of media and access to government
  • Expanding skill-set 
  • Connecting with new networks or re-connecting with old ones
  • Exploring new areas of your city

In Canada it is the Family Day long weekend.  Over the past two generations the make-up and definition of family has shifted from a nuclear - Mom, Dad and 2 kids to any combination therein including same-sex couples (thankfully our legislation is catching up with these shifts in family dynamics).

This post comes courtesy of Sybil Verch of Raymond James. Please make sure to view this interview with Sybil entitled The Wealthy Life.

Before you say “I do,” it’s a good idea to sit down and discuss your finances. Even if you’re already married or in a committed relationship, scheduling a regular “financial date” to proactively talk about moneywill help avoid any unpleasant surprises in the future. Here are some ideas of what to talk about:

A community focused and community funded restaurant in the inner-city neighbourhood of Inglewood, in Calgary, Alberta is the latest social business to launch in Calgary's growing social enterprise sector.  It's mission is to be a beautiful space where people come together to create, enjoy, share and become inspired.

What is a community built restaurant?  It is one where each of us in the neighbourhood take a financial stake in the success of the business.  During the day, it is a coffee and co-work space in the evening it is a pub featuring craft nachos, unique salads and craft beer.  In the summer the patio opens up for curbside dining, people watching and overall neighbourliness.  In essence, we are building the buisnesses that we want to have in our community and we are taking ownership of their successes.

For more information on Main Street investing check out Michael Shuman's book Local Dollars, Local Sense or catch this video.