Arabella Advisors’ analysis and research is often used as a primary resource by leading media. Here is some of our recent coverage:
“Fast Food and the Family Farm”
In this article published in the Summer 2008 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, principal and managing director Bruce Boyd examines how ensuring that the food on our dinner tables is produced locally is better for both our health and our environment. Boyd also explains how local food can create enormous local economic opportunity.
Click here to view the article.
Click here to download a copy the article (pdf).
“Doing Good at a Distance”
Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors was featured in the June 2008 issue of Town & Country as part of an article on giving abroad. Christel Dehaan, former owner of Rseort Condominiums International (RCI) and philanthropist, consulted Arabella Advisors with her international giving. This article looks at how seeking Arabella Advisors' services helped Dehaan ensure that her donations were achieving their desired impact.
Click here to download a copy the article (pdf).
“In U.S., a Multitude of Forces Drains the Spirit of Giving”
In this article on May 23, 2008, Kessler comments on the frustration and loss of confidence that donors have had with disaster relief charities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Sept., 11, 2001. He explains that many clients are asking sophisticated questions about the impact of their dollars as they consider whether to give: "They want to know how the money is being used and what impact it is having." In the context of the recent disasters in Myanmar and China, geopolitics has also emerged as the dominant factor in hampering donations.
Click here to view the article.
Click here to download a copy the article (pdf).
“The Biggest Bang for a Benefactor”
In this interview that aired on National Public Radio's Marketplace Money on December 29, 2007, Eric Kessler sheds light on a new breed of philanthropists that is using business strategies to determine how they give. Kessler comments on Arabella Advisors' newly-released High-Impact Giving Opportunities, which highlight ten of the most pressing issues for donors to consider when planning their giving. Marketplace Money's Tess Vigeland explores high-impact giving and how it relates to this emerging group of philanthropists.
Click here to listen to the interview.
Click here to download a transcript of the interview (pdf).
“Good Deeds, Better Returns”
In this article published on December 17, 2007, Arabella Advisors princical and managing director Bruce Boyd explains how banks are encouraging their clients to give to charity. As the wealthy are giving their money away at increasing rates, wealth managers show clients how doing good can yield higher financial returns.
Click here to download the article (pdf).
“Pick a Charity With a Purpose”
MarketWatch columnist Marshall Loeb interviews Eric Kessler in this December 17, 2007 column about strategic giving. Kessler lists five necessary questions donors should ask themselves before committing funds to a charity. Loeb cites Arabella Advisors' High-Impact Giving Opportunities as a starting point from which donors can pick a charity with a purpose.
Click here to download the article (pdf).
“Be Cautious and Smart Before Writing That Check”
Arabella Advisors is cited in this Chicago Tribune article published on December 13, 2007. The article cautions donors from giving without first researching the charities they intend to give to, along with assessing which issues are in most need of support. The story draws upon Arabella Advisors' High-Impact Giving Opportunities, which helps donors assess which issues can give them the most bang out of their buck.
Click here to download the article (pdf).
“Where Does Your Money Really Go?”
Arabella Advisors principal Eric Kessler is cited in this article about charity accountability. The special report discusses the need for nonprofits to be accountable, yet no organized body or easy-to-understand information resource for donors and the general public exist.
Click here to download the article (pdf).
“Learning to Give”
In the Winter 2008 issue of Wealth, a financial magazine published by Northern Trust, Eric Kessler discusses the importance of how instilling philanthropy in children begins at home. Kessler emphasizes getting off to an early start in encouraging young people to give while letting them pursue their own philanthropic interests. The featured article draws on Kessler's knowledge and experience in family philanthropy.
Click here to download the article (pdf).
“The Value of Philanthropy: The Wealth Manager's Perspective”
In the Investment Management Consultants Association's November/December 2007 issue of The Monitor, Arabella Advisors' Bruce Boyd writes about philanthropy and philanthropists from a different perspective - the wealth manager's. Boyd explains how wealth managers' clients can see value in caring as much about their philanthropy as they do for their investments.
Click here to download the article (pdf).
Blog
Mitch Nauffts writes about Arabella Advisors' High-Impact Giving Opportunities on PhilanTopic, a blog by the Philanthropy News Digest published by the Foundation Center. Nauffts introduces HIGO as part of a larger discussion on how to "advance thoughtful and effective giving".
Click here to read this blog (scroll down to entry posted on December 8, 2007).
“Doing good the hardnosed way”
In an article published on December 1, 2007, the Financial Times outlines a new breed of philanthropists who are applying business strategies to the way they give. The article centers on Arabella Advisors’ insights on the growing trend among philanthropists to treat their giving as an investment and to expect a meaningful social return from it. As Eric Kessler explains, “It’s about developing an investment strategy and taking an analytic approach to your time horizon, risk tolerance, goals, and outcomes.” Kessler also provides his understanding of the four steps donors must take in order to achieve their philanthropic objectives: Identify a vision; determine the most efficient and tax-advantageous method to achieve it; establish a clear implementation plan with the charity; and develop a clear mechanism for assessment.
Click here to download the article (pdf).
Eric Kessler writes in the Fall 2007 EGA Journal about the need for grant makers, especially those focused on environmental issues, to be prepared to respond quickly when natural and human-made disasters strike. He also encourages grant makers to not neglect their own internal disaster preparation and think through what steps they need to take to ensure continued effectiveness should a natural disaster strike in their own backyard.
The Fall 2007 issue of the EGA Journal includes an article by Matthew Anderson-Stembridge on the environmental movement within the evangelical community. Working with Arabella Advisors, Anderson-Stembridge has developed the Creation Care Fund(CCF) to provide resources to evangelical Christian environmental churches and advocates who are taking a moral stand to bring greater attention to conservation efforts and climate change:
In the July 2007 issue of Research Magazine, reporter Ellen Uzelac focuses on the reluctance some financial advisors have around starting a conversation with their clients about philanthropy. However reticent some financial advisors may be to providing advice on giving, recent trends, as described by Eric Kessler , among inheritors and “new wealth” investors are pushing some advisors to add philanthropic guidance to their list of client services. While a few financial advisors are providing in-house services around giving, many are turning to firms like Arabella Advisors to provide much needed assistance in this area of wealth management:
"Citi to Open Microfinance Donor Fund"
On June 13, 2007, an article in The Wall Street Journal focused on a new initiative of Citigroup, Inc. that will “connect wealthy philanthropists with poor entrepreneurs around the globe” through a charitable fund that will donate to microfinance institutions in developing countries. As suggested in the article, Citi has asked Arabella Advisors to assess and analyze these charitable contributions:
[Citi] plans to launch a charitable fund in late June through which individuals and organizations can make donations of at least $50,000 to microfinance institutions. These financial institutions offer loans and other services to hardscrabble entrepreneurs in developing countries who don't have access to banks…
Donors interested in microfinance should be aware that it doesn't offer the same recognition, such as dinners or buildings in one's name, as other charitable pursuits do, said Melanie Schnoll-Begun, director of Citi Philanthropic Services, which advises clients on making charitable contributions. It can be difficult to see one's gift at work due to the physical distance between donors and recipients and the slow pace of change.
Citi plans to give donors regular updates on the projects they're funding and has hired an outside firm [Arabella Advisors] to provide independent, analytical reports, Schnoll-Begun said, "so our clients can really see what's going on behind the scenes and how we're using the capital."
"Worst Practices in Family Philanthropy"
At the 2007 Conference on Philanthropy of the International Association of Advisors in Philanthopy (April 26-28), Eric Kessler discussed the challenges families are faced with when they give and what practices they should avoid.
Click here to listen to Eric Kessler's presentation.
"Paying Money to Donate Money"
On March 9, 2007 The Wall Street Journal published an article about individual donors who turn to professional advisors to increase the effectiveness of their philanthropy. The article cited Arabella Advisors as a leading firm providing strategic planning and due diligence for charitable investments:
Donor consulting is a growing business…Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors, founded two years ago in Washington, D.C., is expanding to a new office in Chicago this week because of growing demand.
"To Tithe or Not? These Days the Issue Only Starts There"
On December 30, 2006 The New York Times explored the increasing sophistication of faith-based donors who follow the tradition of end-of-year tithing. Eric Kessler explained how the growing complexity in tithing mirrors trends in the larger world of philanthropy and how Arabella Advisors helps donors ensure that results from their contributions are maximized.
One specialty of Mr. Kessler’s firm is working with clients to determine how much they should tithe, using an online survey [www.GiveSomeThought.com] as a starting point. In asking for goals and appraising financial suitability, the survey acts in much the same way as might an initial consultation with a financial adviser about college education savings.
But beyond that, Mr. Kessler helps givers oversee specifically how the money is to be used, working with the donor and the church to reach agreement on whether it goes to religious education, for example, or perhaps to building upkeep. He then tries to set benchmarks in order to measure how efficiently the donated money is being spent.
“It doesn’t matter if they are giving $100 or $100 million,” he said. “People now want to make sure that their money is used well.”
"The Season of Giving – Sometimes with Tags Attached"
Writer Alexander Soule examines the growing trend to earmark donations for specific purposes, even when giving relatively small contributions. This article describes donors’ concerns over grantee accountability and ensuring their philanthropic legacies. Eric Kessler added:
(Benefactors) are taking it to heart that they can’t just die and leave it all to their kids,” Kessler said. “The question we hear most often is how soon is too soon to get our kids engaged (or) when can we invite kids to family foundation meetings? That is the wrong question -- the right question is when can we start transferring the (values) of philanthropy … You don’t have to be a Bill Gates to have a lasting impact in Westchester.
Click here to read the full article.
"Four Steps to Smart Giving," November 22, 2006
Eric Kessler borrows four strategies from financial management that help donors be more effective in their philanthropy.
Click here to read the full article.
You can listen to the following NPR interviews, featuring Arabella Advisors’ Principal, Eric Kessler, in live streaming audio from your own computer. Just click on the title below.
The Motley Fool Radio Show, November 25, 2005
Motley Fool founder and co-President, David Gardner, interviewed Eric Kessler on his weekly NPR radio show. David asked about things you should look for before you give money to an organization.
As the American Red Cross was welcoming its fourth CEO in six years, smart philanthropists were increasingly concerned about the impact and governance standards at their favorite charities. Eric Kessler warned in this Marketplace Commentary that you should look before you give.
"How We Help: Choosing Causes With Caution"
This November 6, 2005 article described the many ways
in which corporate philanthropists are and are not incorporating
high-level due diligence in their charitable planning.
With mounting governance scandals surfacing within well-respected
charities, Eric Kessler contributed the Arabella Advisors’
perspective on smart corporate giving:
”They [corporate donors] want to pass the ‘front page test’ as I call it,” Kessler said. “The last thing they want is to find out that they’re giving to an organization that’s getting in trouble.”
Kessler says his firm does research on nonprofits the same way a mutual fund would investigate a potential investment – evaluating the strength of the management team, its fiscal controls and the efficacy of the organization. It also looks for any signs of trouble that could lead to negative press.
"Ready for Results – Advisor Helps Charitable Givers Pick Winners"
This paper in Arabella Advisors’ home-town runs a weekly column on the nonprofit community. The January 9, 2006 column focused on Arabella’s efforts to help private donors.
What’s the first rule of effective giving? Combine
a soft heart with a hard head.
After working with nonprofits for 15 years, Eric Kessler
has learned that rule and a few others. Now as a donor
adviser, Kessler applies those rules to help philanthropists
get the most out of their charitable dollar…
…Kessler recently performed due diligence research
on charities supported by Alexandria-based Motley
Fool…”When we decided which charities
to select, he gave us some guidance, figuring out
which ones were the most effective,“ said Carrie
Crockett, who administers Foolanthropy….”And
we need to think critically when we are giving a lot
of money,” she said, reciting Kessler’s
advice.
The irreverent online investor education community has made a big splash in the area of corporate philanthropy with their annual Foolanthropy campaign, assisted in part by the due diligence advice of Arabella Advisors. In an effort to help their millions of online members be smart donors, Eric Kessler teamed up with Patty Moss of Ernst & Young’s Personal Financial Services group to write this December 16, 2005 article on charitable tax deductions and effective philanthropy strategies:
http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2005/commentary05121609.htm
(And you can learn more about Foolanthropy at www.foolanthropy.com)
The leading society magazine of Westchester County, NY published an article by Arabella Advisors in its December 2005 edition. The article encourages donors who may already have an emotional commitment to a particular organization to step back and think strategically about how they can most effectively support and evaluate that group's work.
Financial consultant and investment manager Michael Guerin featured Arabella Advisors in the December 21, 2005 installment of his regular Inside Business column. Guerin questioned Eric Kessler about opportunities for effective and expanded philanthropy under the special Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act (KETRA) charitable deduction allowance, created to encourage philanthropy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Click here for the article.
Home | Contact Us | info@arabellaadvisors.com
Copyright© 2007 Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors. All
rights reserved.