First, they're much more comfortable leaving their assets to charities than to Uncle Sam. And second, they are just as concerned with leaving their mark on their communities and not just through building companies. It would be a big mistake to try to shame the new monied, especially the young, paper millionaires in Silicon Valley or Seattle, into higher giving. It's likely to be far more productive to try to design programs and processes that match the interests and business culture of the new wealthy. But they also are interested in efficient management and specific outcomes.
Some intriguing models exist.
And he's marketing such efforts to the new wealthy. In Silicon Valley, F. Gibson Myers, a general partner at venture capital firm Mayfield Partners has recently launched the Entrepreneur's Foundation. He has signed up 30 companies in the past year or so. The first step is help companies build volunteer and community outreach programs. Then he seeks pre-IPO stock to build an investment fund that, in its approach, should resemble a venture capital model.