Listen to “Is the Glitter Gone?” by Fred Smith In 1929, in the grip of a global depression, Americans flocked to theaters to escape the harshness of their lives and catch a [...]
Listen to “What’s the Outlook?” by Fred Smith The difference between weather and climate is important. Weather alters constantly while climate changes are slow but the [...]
Listen to “Paper Dolls” by Fred Smith There is no topic more widely discussed and fretted about in family philanthropy than that of donor intent. Horror stories (both true and [...]
Listen to “The Family Farm” by Fred Smith I’ve had many conversations over the years with friends about the dangers of leaving wealth to children only to ruin them. It’s taken [...]
Listen to “Freely Given” by Fred Smith On April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson and Congress declared war on Germany. With the same declaration they created the War Chest and [...]
Listen to “Songs of Joy” by Fred Smith Studies are showing that giving, especially smaller gifts, has increased substantially during the pandemic. In fact, donations to food [...]
Listen to “A Modest Proposal” by Fred Smith Jonathan Swift’s satirical response to the plight of the Irish people after decades of poverty and abuse shocked the sensibilities [...]
Listen to “Small Things” by Fred Smith After years of pursuing high impact philanthropy and broad systemic change this is a time for many to resist being swept away by the enormity of [...]
Listen to “Time is Running Out” by Fred Smith If I were to pick one word to describe my mail from nonprofits in December, it would be URGENT! Every email was intent on [...]
Listen to “Buying Happiness” by Fred Smith Like many of you, I have attended scores of galas, dinners, leadership retreats, and fund-raising events in my life. Some are grand [...]
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