Legacy in Motion | What Do I Do Now? Turning Intentions into Impactful Legacy

“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” – Maya Angelou

Inheriting or building significant wealth can bring both opportunity and a unique set of pressures, sometimes leaving a family feeling overwhelmed. It calls into question a new set of priorities, how and where to spend your time and with whom do you keep company. 

Strangers in Paradise, by Jim Grubman does a beautiful job illustrating what it feels like to be catapulted into a new reality after a wealth event. Acquiring significant wealth is like immigrating to a new country—the “Land of Wealth”—which has its own unfamiliar culture, norms, and expectations. This adjustment process is often more difficult than anticipated. Grubman identifies three ways that families cope with the new culture of wealth: 

1. Avoidance: “Immigrants” ten to cling tightly to their past identity and values, often hiding or minimizing their wealth out of fear of being spoiled, targeted, or losing their moral compass. They fail to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to manage the wealth successfully.
2. Assimilation: Individuals in this scenario eagerly adopt the culture of wealth, often letting go of their past identity and values completely. They may overcompensate by adopting materialistic behaviors and also fail to model responsible financial behavior, which can be detrimental to future generations.
3. Integration: This is the most successful and healthy approach. Integration involves maintaining the useful values and skills from their background (like hard work, frugality, and purpose) while also openly learning and adopting the new skills, responsibilities, and mindset necessary for managing significant wealth across generations.

GPA’s offering of Legacy in Motion facilitates this critical integration with clarity and purpose. We recommend the following to successfully integrate:

1. Clarify Your Values and Purpose

Wealth without a clear direction can be heavy. To move from passive involvement to active impact, you must first engage in deep conversations to understand your personal and family values. For many wealthy families, defining a cohesive set of core values is often overlooked in the rush to preserve and grow wealth. Legacy in Motion asks families to stop and reflect on the ethical, social and environmental principles that have guided their journey thus far.

• What values did the founding generation hold dear?
  
• How can these values evolve to reflect the changing world around us?
  
• What values do we want the next generation to champion?

These questions serve as a compass. As you align your vision with what your family believes in, you give the next generation a solid foundation for making informed decisions.

2. Engage the Rising Generation

Don’t let wealth become an unspoken challenge or source of wealth guilt. Start communicating openly about money and its meaning. By involving the younger generation, you foster greater empathy and trust through storytelling, leading to strengthened connection and meaningful conversations about their future role and leadership.

But this engagement needs to go beyond traditional financial education. It’s about helping them connect with the idea that wealth is a tool for change. It is important to note that you can start discussing wealth and how to harness it without disclosing too much until the rising generation reaches the appropriate age and maturity. You can start by having conversations about:

• The Impact of Money: Help them understand how money can drive social good, whether through direct philanthropy or by funding sustainable businesses.
• The Power of Responsibility: Teach them that wealth isn’t just a privilege, but an obligation to others and to future generations.
• The Power of Place: Instill a sense of community where your family lives and where the wealth was generated. Rooting that in the rising generation will be important.
• Giving Back: Encourage their involvement in social causes, whether by volunteering or through smaller scale philanthropic initiatives, so they can experience the power of contributing first hand.

3. Establish a Family Governance Model

A common challenge among wealthy families is the lack of a structured decision-making process when it comes to wealth management. As wealth is passed down, differing opinions, competing interests, and generational divides can create friction.

Legacy in Motion creates a framework for ongoing communication and decision-making within the family. A family governance model ensures that everyone has a voice and that decisions about the family’s legacy are made with consensus.

This model can include:

• Regular Family Meetings: These are forums where each generation can discuss their goals, dreams and challenges related to the family wealth and legacy.
• Clear Roles and Responsibilities: Assign roles within the family, whether it’s managing family assets, overseeing charitable foundations, or simply keeping the family’s vision alive.
• Conflict Resolution Mechanisms: Wealth can amplify tensions, so establishing ways to address disagreements before they become divisive is crucial.

A structured governance system allows the family to move forward with intention, making sure that decisions reflect shared values and goals.

4. Philanthropy Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All: Create a Legacy of Giving

The next generation should have the freedom to define how they wish to contribute to the world. Whether they prefer to focus on global issues or local communities, the key is to provide them with the resources, knowledge and support to create their own impact.

Some next steps include:

• Identifying Areas of Passion: Encourage the younger generation to explore causes they’re passionate about. This will ensure that their philanthropic efforts are meaningful to them, rather than just inherited causes.
• Start Small: Encourage them to get involved in hands-on projects that allow them to see the immediate effects of their giving.
• Leverage Family Resources: Your family’s wealth can provide a platform for creating a larger ripple effect. Establish donor-advised funds or family giving circles to allow each family member to direct charitable funds in a way that feels aligned with their values.

The Bottom Line: Process Yields Purpose

The journey to an enduring legacy shifts the question from “What do we have?” to “What will we leave behind?” As Jim Grubman notes, the most impactful path is Integration: honoring core values while embracing the new responsibilities of great wealth.

Legacy in Motion provides the essential framework for this. By clarifying values, establishing a family governance model, and empowering the next generation through purposeful philanthropy, wealth transforms from a burden into a powerful tool. The answer to “What do I do now?” is to commit to this intentional process of dialogue and clarity. 

About Grant Philanthropic Advisors:
We’re an independent, Charleston-based firm helping clients to focus and maximize their philanthropy—in turn, strengthening the fabric of our communities. Founded in 2019, we help donors move from responsive patterns of giving by assisting clients to identify values and become more strategic in their philanthropy. Our goal is to help donors to become more effective as change-makers.

We work with foundations (large and small staff teams), donor advised fund holders, multi generational families, individuals, philanthropy supporting organizations and corporations to design philanthropic strategies. We work with philanthropies that grant $1 million to $40 million annually.