Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most Beyond on peanut butter method of philanthropy Podcast Episode 17 with guest Dub Dubin Kyle: And welcome to another edition of Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It’s a podcast with Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters. I’m joined by Danton Troyer, Danton talking a lot about very honorable, amazing, exciting gifting today with a very unique resource that we happen to have right here at the firm. Danton: Yeah, I think Deb’s going to provide some insights, maybe just another way of thinking and maybe more in-depth thinking as far as just the philosophy around giving away money. Kyle: It was a far-ranging conversation. You’re going to hear quite a bit about who Deb is, Deb Dubin, Chief Philanthropy Officer here at Moneta, who she is, what she does, and some of the ways that you start to really begin to think beyond just the dollar sign when it comes to giving. So with that being said, here’s our conversation with Deb Dubin. And we’re back with Deb Dubin here on Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. Deb, you are our Chief Philanthropy Officer here at Moneta. And first and foremost, that’s a really cool title, if I think about it, but how did you get to Moneta? I want to start at the very beginning. How did you get here before we get into the nitty gritty of what you do? Deb: Sure. Sure. Well, I mean, there’s personal and professional reasons why I’m here, but yes, Chief Philanthropy Officer, super unique to Moneta, which of course we know is an RIA. Most investment firms don’t have an in-house person who’s an expert on philanthropy. So I feel very privileged and lucky that the folks at Moneta decided we needed to have someone who could talk to clients about their interests and aspirations around philanthropy. So how I got here was I was running the Regional Association of Grantmakers in Missouri. Very glamorous title of Philanthropy Missouri. Danton: That was an upgrade, I think, from the title, at least. Deb: Yeah. Yeah, Philanthropy Missouri. I was the CEO for eight years, and that was a collection of funders around the state. We started in St. Louis 50 years ago, and I grew it across the state. And we had about 70 members who were corporations here in town and in Springfield and in Kansas City – foundations, high net worth families, tax-supported foundations…all giving money away and wanting to do it in ways that were impactful. Sometimes they want to collaborate, sometimes they don’t, but they all have a hunger for connection. So I ran that organization for eight years here in town, and during that time had the opportunity to interact with some of the partners here at Moneta when folks had questions and really kind of came to an obvious point, which is you guys could use someone in-house to work with clients on these things. So one thing led to another. I can name off partners who deserve the most credit, I’ve already taken them all to lunch. But the idea is really thinking through how we help our clients. We know from studies that have been done nationwide that clients want to talk about philanthropy, and that advisors like you are the most trusted source of information about philanthropy after spouse, which puts pressure on you and also creates an opportunity for you. Moneta also recognizes that multi-generational wealth, we have a lot of families who we steward their wealth, we help them navigate life’s path, that are multi-generational in nature. And one of the things that really works well when teaching stewardship to families is to have a conversation about philanthropy. Even when families aren’t ready to sort of open the kimono on inheritance, you guys talk about retirement, you guys talk about sort of thinking through what the future looks like and what legacy looks like. Some families aren’t ready to talk strictly about finances. Philanthropy can be a really nice entree into talking about stewardship, using language around we’re grateful, we’re thankful, we’re lucky, we’ve worked hard, and here’s your opportunity to help us do some really amazing things. Danton: Yeah, I think you touched on a couple of things that I want to certainly dive into. Sure. But why philanthropy? How did you… Deb: Yeah, how did I get to philanthropy? Well, you know, again, personal and professional. I’ve had a lot of opportunities. I’m a lawyer by training and practiced law in a big law firm for years in San Francisco. And I also worked in government there. When we moved to St. Louis 20 years ago to raise our family, I made the segue to work…taught a little bit at Wash U. And I also worked on some political campaigns, but the bulk of my work was really working with an investment firm that invested in low-income communities through tax credits. Then went into philanthropy because it seemed like a really neat way to merge knowledge of finance with impact in a broad way. And to help families to do so, I did some training. I have a CAP, which is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy degree. And I also did some other training. One course in particular is called 2164, working with multi-generational families. So I pivoted from working with organizations in my previous role that were giving money away to now working with families. It was a really nice progression. So why philanthropy? That’s on a professional level. On a personal level, I was a young widow. I lost my husband seven years ago to cancer. And think a lot about legacy and think a lot about stewardship and how you memorialize people and how you keep them alive through impact. So one of the things we did when my husband passed away was set up a donor-advised fund in his memory. Folks contributed. And then I have two boys now in their 20s and we are able to say to ourselves, you know, what do you want to do this year that reflects dad’s values and interests and beliefs and reflects our family’s interest in impacting the world and telling stories, right? Because we always want to tell stories. So on a personal level, philanthropy feels like a great fit because I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about legacy. Kyle: No doubt. And what a powerful personal story as well, too, to really drive that. And that’s what we hear a lot of from folks. You have brought, and folks are listening to this, they won’t be able to see it. You brought something with you. Deb: Oh, today for those at home and the home audience as opposed to the studio audience today. I did, I did. Kyle: Can you go through what you brought here? Because it’s a very unique piece. Deb: Well, thank you. Yes. Well, thank you. It’s a big ampersand. It’s made out of wood. If you think about that character on the keyboard that we’re all not sure what to use it for except for it represents the word “and,” right? The ampersand represents something really big for me with respect to philanthropy. And so I lug this wooden ampersand, here’s what it sounds like, around, it’s heavy. I lug it around with me and I have smaller ones that I give to clients when I think they’re going to be fidgety in a meeting so they can take it home. I have a stack of them I got at Michael’s. The idea of the ampersand is something that I actually learned from improv. I don’t know if either of you have done improv comedy, but you learn to say “yes, and…” In other words, you take a situation that’s been given to you and you make it better. And you try to keep it funny and warm and keep the motion moving forward, but you’re not allowed to say no or pretend that that’s not what they just told you. You have to keep it going. It’s “yes, and.” Kyle: Okay. Deb: You’re elaborating on and you’re making better a situation. It’s the same with philanthropy. We’re acknowledging that there’s abundance in the world. Those of us who are lucky enough to be clients at Moneta and are lucky enough to talk about philanthropy generally have, if not assets to give, we have time and we have talent. Right? Time, talent, and treasure. The idea is “yes and.” It’s yes, I can be well stewarded by my wealth advisors at Moneta and I can also be a generous person. And it will be different for every family. Some families that’s a couple hundred dollars or a couple thousand dollars a year. Other families it’s larger increments. Really, every family is different when they think about how they’re going to prioritize and we’ll get deeper into values alignment and how families think about their strategy around philanthropy. There is abundance in the world. I do believe that. So, the idea is “yes, and…how can I be generous?” “Yes and…how can I do things that are both purposeful and purpose filled?” When I meet with clients I tell them I really want you to walk out of here feeling purposeful, deliberate, thoughtful, tax-incentivized giving. Your financial advisor’s here because they’re hearing different things. They need to know what needs to be available and when, right? When the assets need to be available. So purposeful, thoughtfull, and purpose-filled to me means meaningful. The idea is that what we’re doing is meaningful for you, for your family, for your legacy. It’s also meaningful for the nonprofits that you want to work with. Some folks come to us and want to impose things on nonprofits that aren’t ready or don’t have a mission that aligns with what they want to do, and we take a deep breath and we say I love your enthusiasm and… let’s go talk to the experts because the nonprofit leaders are the ones in proximity to the problems and they know best what needs, what’s needed. So. we have a conversation. We really view our grantees, the folks we’re giving those dollars to, as funded partners and when you can have a conver
