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While challenges in the past caused the field to focus on practices to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of philanthropy, current challenges require an even deeper demand of philanthropy’s ability to address the most pressing problems of our time, amid smaller endowment values and continued economic uncertainty, government budget restr...

Entrepreneurs are, at their core, in the business of solving problems. They identify a problem, find a solution and build a business around it. At the same time, it’s hardly surprising that entrepreneurs are highly individualistic when it comes to philanthropy, applying the same creative thinking that made them successful in business.

The subject of cloud computing is often clouded, so to speak, by a lot of technical terminology and marketing hype. Here, the authors explain what cloud computing is, describe the different forms in which it comes, identify how it can be useful and address the most common concerns and pitfalls of moving to the cloud.

Technology has always outpaced regulation, and social media is no exception. This paper examines the main social media outlets, provides tips for advisors that choose to navigate these sites and lays out a best practices framework for developing a comprehensive social media policy.

Amid the rapid development of more and increasingly sophisticated financial products and services, there is still a place in the market for what the author describes as traditional banks – those long-trusted institutions on which family offices and financial advisors count for straightforward deposit and loan services.

New Hampshire has a robust set of modern trust laws, which afford settlors broad flexibility and creativity in designing trusts well suited to their specific needs and wishes. Those laws facilitate the more efficient administration of trusts and, importantly, provide a high level of certainty concerning the rights, duties and powers of settlors, be...

For wealth management organizations, the slow growth in number and assets of their target client pool is disconcerting news after a brief period of great opportunity for those firms with the proper skills and support infrastructure. The challenge going forward will be to demonstrate to existing and prospective clients that they can provide a compel...

The investment returns of the past are unlikely to be repeated going forward, as asset classes that comprise a large portion of many nonprofit portfolios are likely nearing the end of a long bull market. This will force boards to look for additional sources of return as well as more efficient ways to make required distributions.

After an historic financial crisis and ensuing market volatility, many nonprofit organizations are struggling while others are thriving. This paper uncovers the difference: Some of these organizations have been far better at integrating their investment strategies with their overall missions.

The current approach used by museums in the United States to manage art market ownership risks is problematic and should keep pace with current trends. This white paper cites the evolution of title risks involving museums, including the impact of defects in legal titles, breaches of donor-restricted gifts and donated art previously pledged to banks...

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 maintained the gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes that were scheduled to sunset prior to 2013 and increased the exemptions for all three taxes to $5.25 million, making new or additional gifts to trusts a more attractive option in estate planning.

The reinstatement of the charitable IRA rollover by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 provides a window of opportunity for certain donors to make significant charitable gifts on a tax-favored basis. To take advantage of this provision, a donor must be at least 70½ years old, and distributions must be made directly from the IRA trustee...

With greater frequency, investors are wondering whether, and when, the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary money printing will cause rampant inflation. A review of the past century provides interesting insights, particularly between 1933 and the late 1940s when the Federal Reserve printed money at comparable levels to those of the Bernanke Fed.

Preserving and managing tangible wealth in a complex and uncertain world can be a challenge. However, the greatest challenge individuals and their families might face is defining, reflecting on and expressing what their wealth really means.

Following a survey in which 83 percent of employers reported that the average age of their workforce increased in the past decade, the author, who has practiced labor law for three decades, offers four tips for employers who are challenged by a workforce that may include as many as four different generations of workers.