 Pioneering PRIs for Better Giving
 This month, the White House and the U.S. Treasury Department proposed a rule that would encourage foundations to use innovative charitable tools such as Program Related Investments (PRIs) to benefit communities in need across the country. As one of Good360’s strategic partners, our team wholeheartedly welcomes this important step towards more accessible “impact investing,” as this policy change is more than a generation overdue. With many wealthy groups and individuals seeking new ways to share and leverage their donations for greater impact, common sense tells you there has to be an easier way to give and get. Simply put, PRIs are investment tools that can allow a private family foundation or any wealthy donor “to give it, get it back and give it away again.” More than just a tax shelter, PRIs enable donors to “recycle” their charitable giving and help more worthy causes over and over again. Good360 connects companies that have goods with nonprofits who need them. Their innovative model enables them to leverage on average $70 worth of donated goods for every dollar given – delivering a tangible benefit many times greater than the gift itself. Good360 has already adopted a PRI initiative that is designed to give cash donors more ways to get a return, financial or otherwise, for their investment. Our program, the Preeminent Humanitarian Charitable Fund, can provide donors with a broader range of transformational and measurable charitable giving options. The funds garnered through a PRI with Good360 can make a meaningful difference to the nearly 30,000 prequalified nonprofits of all shapes and sizes in its global network. Benjamin Franklin, arguably America’s original “impact investor,” was one of the first to ever use a Program Related Investment in his planning strategy. Through PRIs, he was able to do good with the hard-earned profits accumulated in his lifetime and entrust others to protect the causes that were important to him. His sage planning was so successful that many iconic American families such as the Carnegies, Fords, MacArthurs, Packards and Rockefellers followed in his PRI footsteps. Even Bill and Melinda Gates have recently started using PRIs to better leverage their impressive portfolio, maximize return and create a positive impact. Just a few weeks ago, in fact, well-known businessman and philanthropist Steve Case brought together more than 80 exceptionally wealthy individuals and families to explore various ways their philanthropy might benefit educational reform, help alleviate poverty, escalate medical research and promote greater international giving during their lifetimes.
The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation hopes that the proposed rule will spark a dialogue leading to updated regulations that better serve the public interest. To comment on the proposed rule for PRIs, visit the Federal Register. A PRI with our Preeminent Humanitarian Charitable Fund will let you do more with your portfolios for a lot less and they do not preclude other important charitable giving tools such as principal gifts, annual funds, special endowments, planned gifts and more. Note: Ben Everidge is President of CSSC Philanthropic Services, Inc., of Troy, Michigan. CSSC Philanthropic Services is a full service charitable wealth advisory firm that is helping Good360 expand its international network through targeted donations from wealthy households and private family foundations. He is a ten-year veteran of U.S. Senate, House, committee and campaign staffs and has been raising money for charities like Good360 since the 1980s. |
