By Simon Clifford, Partner Adviser fp

Late last year, I had the great pleasure of sharing lunch with the Hon. John Howard OM AC, at an event hosted by MatthewsFolbigg Lawyers. Also at the lunch was Professor Tony Cunningham AO, the Executive Director of Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, and a number of other private business owners from across western Sydney.

During the course of our discussions over lunch, the topic of “philanthropy” was raised; and it got me thinking about the real meaning of this word. When I hear the word “philanthropy” or “philanthropist”, it is usually applied to “someone else” who has deeper pockets than you or I, and has made a big gift.

According to Philanthropy Australia, the real meaning of philanthropy is “the planned and structured giving of, time, information, goods and services, voice and influence, as well as money, to improve the wellbeing of humanity and the community.”

Many clients have shared with me their desire to maintain “philanthropic” values, be it working in a charitable organisation or giving money and to instil family and personal values, developed over years (or perhaps generations) of wealth creation.

That is, we have been incorporating philanthropy in your wealth creation planning allowing you to incorporate how your family and personal values will improve the wellbeing of humanity and the community.

The reason why John Howard was present is that, under his Government, structures were established to make tax effective giving easier. There are a range of options now available that allow us all to contribute towards gradually over time and/or on the sale of significant asset. These vehicles, called Private Ancillary Funds and Public Ancillary Funds, enable us to both plan and structure our giving over a number of years, in discussion and consultation with your loved ones.

Finally, Tony Cunningham spoke about the benefits of philanthropic giving. It was through the support from the community that his research institute has commenced construction of its new research building on the Westmead campus, housing 450 medical researchers working towards finding better treatments and cures for a range of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental illness, vision and respiratory disorders, and deadly viruses. I was truly amazed by some of the research outcomes achieved by Tony and his team, such as leading the fight against banning sunbeds based on strong scientific evidence that sunbed use is closely linked to melanoma diagnoses; through to a way of creating insulin-producing cells as a solution for type-1 diabetes, currently in clinical trial; and so much more.

Tony also mentioned that when the building opens in early 2014, there may not quite be enough funds to complete all the laboratories. If now is the right time for you to consider where or how you may wish to support one of the real powerhouses of medical research, based here in western Sydney, feel free to contact me or Westmead Medical Research Foundation.

As always, if you’re looking to incorporate philanthropy into your wealth creation plan, please contact us to discuss how we may help you begin that journey, and incorporate your personal and family values.