Feinstein

White

Chances are, more charities than ever have asked you to give this year.

Needs are up and contributions are down, they say; all need more.

Giving well can get complicated, so, as the year ticks toward its close and there’s still time to reap the tax benefits for giving in 2008, we asked big-time givers for advice that might help small-time givers respond to the many requests.

Two men with wealth at their disposal, John Hazen White Jr. and Alan Shawn Feinstein, and representatives of United Way and the Rhode Island Foundation shared wisdom reaped from decades of giving.

White, who inherited his Cranston company, Taco, which makes pumps and components for water-based heating and cooling systems, calls giving “the greatest joy in my life.”

His advice, echoed by Feinstein, is to give with “good heart.” Be aware of needs, look for things that have touched you, and “really care about what you’re doing,” White said.

White’s son, now 21, was born two months premature. “He was in a very life-threatening situation” at Women & Infants Hospital, White said, so donating to that institution was “an easy call.”

Feinstein, who has devoted all his time to philanthropy since retiring in 1996 from a career he describes as writing about collectibles such as stamps, autographs and coins, keeps his focus on fighting hunger and encouraging children to make a difference.

He once owned the contract for the Boston Red Sox trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. He said he bought it for $99,000 and sold it for $996,000, with the proceeds going to anti-hunger efforts.

Giving doesn’t have to be just about money. Feinstein also visits between 114 and 128 schools each year to speak at assemblies. White likes to drop in at the senior center next to his Cranston Street office.

Many people can give blood. Caring people are always needed to give attention to children or help in a soup kitchen. Volunteer opportunities, ranging from trail and beach cleanups to building houses to driving someone to a medical appointment, are everywhere. Some people think it’s enough to throw a dollar into the plate at church, White said. But giving requires more thought than that.

United Way of Rhode Island gets most of its money from about 400 companies whose employees contribute through payroll deduction. “People can give more without hurting because it’s over time,” United Way spokesman Alan B. Neville said.

Whether it’s a percentage of income, some portion of a windfall, coins in a jar or the proceeds from giving up a vice or a luxury, figure out how much you have to give. That’s the pie.

Is the pie smaller this year? “Absolutely,” said White, who gives from his company’s earnings. He said he won’t make new commitments “until I see where the economy’s going,” but he is keeping up with five-year commitments he’s already made.

Feinstein isn’t happy with the economy, either, but he said it won’t change his plans for the coming year. What limits him, he said, is time.

Neville said United Way hasn’t evaluated its 2008 numbers yet, but he has observed an “interesting dynamic” that when times get tough, the people who have a job and are in a position to give “oftentimes become more generous because the need is so great.”

The Rhode Island Foundation says it hasn’t yet felt the economic downturn. With assets of nearly $500 million, said Melanie Coon, vice president for communications, its grants for 2008 are expected to reach nearly $27 million, an increase of $1 million over 2007. She credited spending rules and prudent investment policies.

Next comes dividing the pie. When big givers make decisions, they stick to their priorities.

United Way of Rhode Island narrowed its focus in 2004 to what it found were three top priorities: helping children succeed in school, job training and creating jobs, and working toward affordable housing and eliminating homelessness.

Feinstein said he stumbled on a way to make his money work harder. One year he promised to match donations up to $100,000. Donations far surpassed $100,000, he said, which gave him an idea. Now, each spring, the Feinstein Foundation puts up $1 million in challenge money to fight hunger nationwide. He offers $100,000 later in the year to help Rhode Island nonprofit organizations with their fundraising drives.

Last spring, his hunger-fighting challenge helped raise $174 million for food banks across the country, he said. Each organization gets a percentage of the $1 million based on their percentage of the total raised nationally.

“Many agencies say that featuring this in their mailings and telephone solicitations has increased their donations two or three times their usual returns,” Feinstein says on his Web site, www.feinsteinfoundation.org.

Locally, in the 12 years he’s offered the $100,000 challenge, he said, his $1.2 million has helped raise a cumulative $900 million.

Although there’s no way of telling whether donors gave more because of the challenge, he said it is seen as a spur. Similarly, donors can challenge friends to match them in contributions. Some employers, if asked, will match employee contributions.

Another way to make the most of your donation, Feinstein said, is to “give to agencies that have the lowest expense ratio.”

To investigate a charity, check out GuideStar ( www.guidestar.org), which has data on 1.7-million tax-exempt organizations, or Charity Navigator ( www.charitynavigator.org), which offers a list of best practices of savvy donors and tips for avoiding scams. Other resources are the Council on Foundations ( www.cof.org) and the Chronicle of Philanthropy (philanthropy.com).

United Way of Rhode Island has a trust that pays for its administrative costs, Neville said, allowing donors’ dollars to go straight into programs. Charity Navigator shows the local United Way spent 84.3 percent on programs in 2006, with administrative expenses at 7.5 percent and fundraising at 8.1 percent.

Banquets, mailings and incentive gifts also add to costs. Donors can reduce those costs by declining gifts, giving without being reminded, requesting receipts by e-mail and asking to be removed from mailing lists.

Donors are advised to guard their identity. White said a time of great need “is the time of the biggest potential scams.”

Advice culled from the Web sites say to beware of names that sound like, but aren’t, legitimate charities; never open an attachment on an unsolicited e-mail; never give credit-card information without verifying that an organization is legitimate, and never disclose a Social Security number, password or personal identification number.

White calls sharing with someone who needs it “my favorite thing in this lifetime.”

Because of his and Feinstein’s contributions, Johnson & Wales University now has the Alan Shawn Feinstein Graduate School and the John Hazen White School of Arts and Sciences.

“It’s a nice thing” to drive by a building and see your name on it, White acknowledged, but he said other satisfactions go deeper. At Johnson & Wales, where 85 percent of students get scholarships, White likes the idea that a high percentage of students are the first generation in their families to graduate from college.

He cites another example: “If Women & Infants saved the life of my son, and we give something that will help save the lives of five more kids . . . . ” The feeling is beyond describing. White said people learn about giving from their parents.

Feinstein is an exception to that, White said. Feinstein doesn’t come from a long line of philanthropists. He said his parents “were very good, guiding people,” but he became a philanthropist because “I made a great deal of money and I’m not a spender on myself, so I wanted to use the money” to help others.

“I believe we are all eventually measured by the number of lives that we positively impact on,” he said. “If you’re doing things for other people, I believe you’re enriching your own life.”

He promotes community service in schools with grants and scholarships, as well as by telling young people “No one is too young to make a difference.” He tapes a six-minute cable show each week to recognize children for outstanding work.

“I love to hear from children who have been encouraged to do good deeds.”

Feinstein, who is Jewish, said his philosophy comes from a New Testament verse, Matthew 5:16, which he paraphrases as “Let the good you do be known so that it will encourage others to do likewise.”

The King James translation renders it: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

White puts it this way:

“In this time when people are very reluctant to let go of a nickel, I just think there’s certainly someone out there who needs $1 more than I need $10.”

dnaylor@projo.com