(lively music) - Welcome to "Forum 360."

I am your host, Leia' Love, where we have a global outlook from a local view.

Today I am so excited, we have Miss Karen Hrdlicka, who is the Director of the Center of Philanthropy.

And she is going to talk to us today about Emerging Philanthropists Institute that they have.

So, thank you so much, Miss Karen, for joining us today.

How are you?

- Great, thanks for having me.

- So tell me a little bit about what you do with the Akron Community Foundation, and with the Center for Philanthropy.

- Sure, the Akron Community Foundation, there's community foundations throughout the United States.

But the Akron Community Foundation serves Summit and Medina Counties.

And what we do is, we have grant making that we do for the community from regular, a large endowment that we have.

But my job is to work with people that have donor advised funds.

So there's people that have philanthropic mindset, they want to give back to the community.

But sometimes they're giving as they're going.

And so they create donor advised funds so they can continue to give when they're retired.

Some people just like to build up some money and give more significant gifts.

But the benefit to anyone who is a donor advised fund holder in our community, is they get access to the Center of Philanthropy.

And I am trained under 2164, which is an organization that was started to train people on philanthropic advising, with the idea that people come to age of being philanthropic at the age of 21.

And that people really start thinking about their legacy at the age of 64.

So, that's what I do.

- So, let's back up just a little bit.

- [Karen] Sure.

- Define what philanthropy is for everyone who is watching, and not sure what that exactly means.

- If I asked you before you took the class, what would you had said?

- I probably would of just said people who have a lot of money who just give out to donations and to organizations.

(chuckling) - And I think you would be in the majority when you think about that.

But we look at it a little differently.

If you really look at the name philanthropy, it's really the love of your brother.

And we talk about a community foundation is really invested in improving the community in which they stand in.

And so, we talk about philanthropy in four different areas.

Time, volunteer work.

According to a national survey every hour of volunteer time equates to about $26.54.

So there's really a benefit in people volunteering for organizations.

Treasure, which is the money part that we talked about.

Talent, and that is someone has either board service would be the most common one.

But sometimes people, young people, have great talent in technology.

And there's older adults who don't know technology.

So we have young people that are using their talent to help older adults learn technology.

So it's a special skill that someone has that you're giving back.

It's a little different twist on volunteering, because you're volunteering a certain skill set.

And then ties is the one that everyone has.

Everyone can be philanthropic with their ties, but we don't really think about it sometimes.

But it's the people you know.

So if a friend of yours tells you about a non-profit, and how passionate they are about it, and ask you to do something for 'em, and you don't have time, or it's not your thing, the idea that you can pass it on to someone else.

So it's that word-of-mouth kind of getting people excited in the community around issues.

- I love it.

And I think that's a good, I love the brotherly love, right?

The love of your brother.

And I think sometimes that you do assume that you can only give them money.

But I love the value of what an hour of just volunteering really equates to.

And how impactful important that is to some organizations who really just need hands.

They have the money in the budget, but they don't necessarily have the resources and the hands to continue to action out what they're trying to do.

So I love that explanation of it.

So let's go back to the Akron Community Foundation.

I know that nationally we can be like other organizations, but how are we a little bit different, or unique in our area?

And, what's our focus, and knowledge in that area?

- Sure, Summit and Medina Counties, both are totally different.

So different non-profits that serve in that area, because we have different needs in those areas.

And Akron Community Foundation is invested in those areas.

And most of the people who are donor advised fund holders are people that have lived in that area.

And then they really appreciate our expertise.

We have a whole set of staff members that are just working with the non-profits.

Getting to know what they're doing, helping them, whether they have an endowment, or not.

We do free eduction for non-profits.

And then the idea of the Emerging Philanthropists that you were talking about that.

We have a class that's for Emerging Philanthropists.

But we're really promoting that at all levels.

So things I do, I go and speak to rotary clubs, which are service organizations, and talk about those four Ts, and ways they can give back.

I talk to mother's groups.

We have a tool called "Growing Goodness."

That's how to raise generous children.

So really that's where the Akron Community Foundation, we're really invested in the community, and educating the community how they can be a part and better our community.

- Okay, now you did mention the institute.

So tell me a little bit about how you guys even got connected, what's all included in it.

Who is it connected to?

(chuckling) - Sure.

So the Emerging Philanthropist is actually a model that came out of the Houston Community Foundation.

They were the first to do this.

And so we really liked it.

There are, not all community foundations have a center for family philanthropy.

So we're on the forefront of it here in our region.

But that's the model that we looked with the Emerging Philanthropists, because we knew that in the next 20 to 30 years, we're gonna have the largest transfer of wealth that we've ever had.

And we feel like that there are people, young people, that will inherit quite a bit, and they're gonna be overwhelmed.

Or, they're just people who have a philanthropic heart, and want to give back.

And why can't we empower them?

Now originally we had talked about the fact that we were gonna put an age limit on it.

I spent most of my career in aging services.

And so, I'm always fighting against ageism.

So really, we have opened it up now to anyone that has a heart.

But the majority of our folks are in their 20s to 40s.

But other people can join if they would choose to.

But the idea is that they learn about what it means to be a philanthropist.

They learn about organizations in our community.

And then at the end of it, they go through a process of grant making.

Just like our Community Foundation, so we give about $20 million away each year to non-profits.

But our board of directors has to do that.

And it's not an easy job.

There's often an argument in our office about which is harder to do, to raise the money, or to give the money away.

And I think everyone has agreed that giving it away in a purposeful way is really difficult.

And the same thing goes with you personally.

We can give $20 here, or $30 here, $40 here.

But giving $100 to someplace, and giving your time or talent, or ties to that organization, we know that if someone gets connected to a non-profit with at least two of their Ts, they're more likely to be connected to that non-profit for their lifetime.

So those are the things that we're teaching in this Emerging Philanthropist class, is just concentrated opportunity.

And then they get to practice all the skills that they learned in the class, in this grant-making opportunity.

So we just graduated our second class.

And they had, and Leia' was in our first class, and the second class was able to give away $45,000.

And I think they really gave it in a meaningful way.

They took to heart what they learned in the class.

In that they gave with no restrictions.

So non-profits know their business.

And sometimes as funders, when we give them gifts with strings, it actually is harder for them to administer.

And then also another area that doesn't get funded a lot of times is in innovation.

And so some of their grant-making went to give some non-profits an opportunity to innovate and do something new.

So those are the things.

Now, Leia' was, I was not here when your class finished your class.

But what were some of the things that you learned in the class that you didn't know about?

- So the biggest, my biggest takeaway was with my business, and really trying to serve the community in a more impactful way.

I have a mission and a vision for my business.

I never thought that I would need one for me personally.

And so really separating those two, figuring out what is it that I really wanted to do in the community, which is still, always merges back together.

No matter how I try to separate those two.

But really focusing on women and business owners.

And so, like you were saying, instead of me continuing to donate here, here, here, here, I can donate more time and energy and effort into these two areas and really have an impact, and really see those fruits of my labor.

And so, that for me was my biggest takeaway, and really being strategic in how I do that.

- Yeah, I think the majority of people often give just because their friends are asking.

And they really don't ever sit down and think about, "Hey, what about me?"

I encourage our fund holders and the people that are working with us to think about their four Ts, just like they think about their budget every year.

So when you sit down and you do your budget for the year, and think about what you wanna do financially, also think about what you want to do philanthropically.

And there are seasons in life.

I have some fund holders who have small kids.

They don't have much time to give volunteer time.

Maybe to their kid's things, because, but is that volunteering kind of?

That was a conversation.

But, what are other ways you can give back to them, to non-profits?

And maybe that's the year that you're gonna say yes to a board.

Or because it's commitment four times a year.

But just thinking about where can I give back?

- And that was a thing, too.

I was sitting on these different boards, and I was like, okay, these aren't really part of my mission and my vision.

So I had to get off of some boards, and get on the right ones that were gonna continue to help me move on that path.

What are some of the topics that they go through in the institute?

- Well, with anyone we always talk about learning about yourself.

So values is always where we're gonna start.

Because everyone has their own values that are important to them.

And I think people, unless you sit down and think about it, you don't think about how your values impact everyday decisions that you have.

So we're always gonna start with values and talk about starting to build your philanthropic plan by figuring out what makes you tick.

And what you're passionate about.

What are you interested in?

And then we also move into non-profits.

There are so many good non-profits.

There's 1.3 million non-profits in the United States.

There's probably a couple thousand in Summit and Medina Counties.

So we highlight in our conversations different non-profits throughout.

For example, we'll have a panel that has a small grassroots non-profit.

One that is a larger one with just a regional presence.

And then, one national organization that has a local presence.

To talk about how do they all work differently.

And it's always, I don't know if this was your case, interesting to see for-profit business folks, see how a non-profit has to work.

Because they work very differently.

Because a business you can do, you make the rules.

Many times non-profits have a lot of those strings attached to their funding sources.

And then we talk about how do you evaluate a non-profit?

How do you know if it's financially strong?

Where can you find that information?

A lot of people don't know that the IRS forms are available to anyone.

So you can look up the financials for any organization.

And so we teach how to do that.

And we talk about financial planning also.

So I used to work in a nursing home, and we started a retirement plan.

And I had nursing assistants who didn't make a lot of money.

But they had been there 15 years, and they had 100% match.

And I would literally sit down with them and say, "Listen, you can take home the same amount of money, "but have a retirement plan at the same time."

And now it's been 20 years, and every once in a while I'll hear from somebody and say, "Thank you for making me do that."

But that's what a financial, not everyone has the money to have a financial planner.

But the class teaches you how you can manage that, and connects you to professional advisors you can ask questions to.

- Awesome!

I love it!

And, if you are just joining us, we are talking to Miss Karen Hrdlicka, who's the Director of the Center for Family Philanthropy.

And we're talking about the Emerging Philanthropist Institute.

You were just telling us about some of the topics that the students will go through to learn as they go through the institute.

Why, in general, should anyone care about philanthropy?

- Well I think because it's embedded in our daily lives.

We don't realize how many times.

Most of the hospitals in the area are not-for-profit.

People don't realize that.

So anytime you go to the Cleveland Clinic, or SUMA, they're a non-profit.

Imagine if you started ticking up all the places you go to.

The national parks, metro parks.

Some of them semi, got a government, they're also non-profits.

They're in your lives everyday.

And if all of a sudden they ceased to exist, what gaps would there be in your life?

So I think that's why people should care.

And I think most people do care, they just don't think about it intentionally.

- I totally understand that.

And you had mentioned a few different types of funds that are within the Akron Community Foundation.

Can you explain to us what those are?

One being like a donor advised fund, or charitable checking and savings account, different ways that they could use their finances, and understanding that.

- Sure.

So we have just general funds that people can just donate to.

And they're in four types of areas.

So health and human services, civic affairs, education, and arts and culture.

People donate to those funds, and the board decides how they want to give those based on grants that are submitted to the organization.

Then we have affiliated funds, which are usually very focused.

So, Leia', I know you're familiar with The Women's Endowment Fund.

It was a fund that was created by women who are interested in women's issues, and continues today.

And there is an advisory board to that group that raises money to go into that, as well as giving money out.

We have that also for the Gay Community Endowment Fund.

And we have Vernon Odom Fund, which is considered for minorities.

So we have several of those affiliate funds throughout the organization that people can be part of.

But then, a donor advised fund is one that is an individual that puts money in it.

Sometimes it's for tax reasons, sometimes it's just because someone has a philanthropic heart.

There's a variety of reasons that people will open a donor advised fund.

But that's where then a donor advised fund can turn into a designated fund, which is a fund that is just set up in perpetuity for a non-profit.

But that's where we come in as the advisors.

It's like going into a bank and speaking to the banker and saying, "This is what I wanna do with these funds.

"Tell me what kind of bank account I need."

And we help people figure out what's gonna work best for you.

We also, a donor advised fund is great because we have successor advisors.

And that's really the reason for the Center of Family Philanthropy.

I think third generation is the most we have right now.

But we allow donor advised fund to be passed on from generation to generation.

So I have families that I'm working with that are teaching the younger generations about giving.

And they've already funded that giving by putting money that's earning interest on a regular basis, and every year they're giving that interest away.

And so, the larger the fund gets.

And so, we have a lot of folks that put that fund in their will.

Because most of us are worth more dead than alive.

(chuckling) And so, when people pass on, and multiple generations are putting money into that fund, the next generations have a larger amount of money to give away.

And it's just a way to spur generosity in your family.

So I think it's so cool to see these third generations that are now entering college, that have been brought up giving money with their family.

And they're really generous people.

Because they've thought about it, it's been intentional in their family.

- I love that concept.

And just being able to pass that on, and then having the place to be able to do it.

Is there a minimum that they need to set that up?

- So, it's $5,000.

A lot of people think it's a lot of money, but it's not.

So it's $5,000 to start a fund.

And personally, my husband and I started one.

And at $5,000, and we're just putting a little bit away on a regular basis into it.

His children and my nieces will be the successor advisors.

So, we're starting to introduce to them to the idea of "Hey, these are the things "that we'd really like you to think about."

Now, we'll let them give it to whoever they care about going forward, but we're saying, "Here are our values.

"And we just want you to have those thoughts in mind "when you do it, but make it your own."

- I love it!

So, you're teaching your values.

Are there some organizations that you just absolutely love that you wanna make sure that you support?

- Oh, that's like telling you to pick your favorite child.

(both laughing) My husband and I, the ones that we support on a regular basis, he retired from Children's Services in Cleveland.

And so he saw young lives up in Cleveland really do a lot of good for his kids that were in the foster care system.

So we continue to give to that organization.

And our other one that we are giving to is Love Akron.

We love the fact that what they're doing with racial reconciliation.

And so I volunteer my time.

And Limitless Ambition is one that I volunteer time to.

And the other one is Door Number Two, which is an art studio that helps, so my undergrad was in recreational therapy, so I get my art piece in there.

(chuckling) - Okay, okay.

(chuckling) Let's learn a little bit about you.

So what do you love to do in Akron?

What's your favorite thing?

- Oh, my favorite things?

- You're always like everywhere, I love watching you.

(both laughing) - Then you'll know on my Facebook page there's always food.

So I am definitely a foodie.

So if there's good food.

So Know High, I love them because they always have something different every week that you are in.

Summit Arts Face is another place, the art walk, and how they have that on a monthly basis.

Medina, now we're in Medina, too.

Their First Friday in Medina, in the Wadsworth-Main Street.

Wadsworth has a First Friday every year.

It's really always, it's a different theme every month.

It's fun, so I encourage people to go do that.

And the parks.

How can we, you know?

People just assume the parks are there.

But what a gift we have.

When you travel elsewhere in the world, we don't realize how lucky we are to have the parks that we have.

Especially with COVID.

They broke records.

It was, the national park, Cuyahoga National Park had the most visitors I think in 2019, of all national parks, because people were coming to walk the outside.

- All right, so in your last minute.

If you could leave our viewers with something about philanthropy and giving, what would you tell them?

- I would say everyone is a philanthropist.

And you have it in your heart, you just need to think about it.

You don't have to have a lot of money.

You don't have to have a lot of anything.

You just have to have love for your brother.

And to think about how you can make your community a little bit better.

And if you don't know where to start, call us.

We get calls all the time.

"Hey, I really love dogs.

"Can you tell me some non-profits "in the area that love dogs?

You don't have to have a fund here for us to answer those questions.

We're always more than happy to tell people about the great non-profits in our community.

- And is there a place, what is your website, phone number, that they can contact you at?

- It's AkronCF.org And our phone number is on that, I don't know it off the top of my head.

(chuckling) - That's okay.

(chuckling) Well, we wanna thank you so much for joining us.

- Thanks for having me.

- Giving us a little bit more about how we can help support our community.

Some of the things that I didn't even know about the different ways that we can continue to give.

And build that generational giving as we continue on in our communities.

And everyone again, thank you so much, Miss Karen Hrdlicka, for joining us today.

And letting our viewers and audience know how they can get more involved.

I am your host, Leia' Love, and this is "Forum 360," where we have a global outlook from a local view.

Have a great week.

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