Why should advisers learn about philanthropy?

First of all, many of these advisers are working with the client and the client's family and that includes not only financial planning and accounting issues and tax issues, but as people get older and acquire some wealth quite often the subject of charitable giving comes up and to just say: "well, I don't know about that" doesn't make you look very good as an adviser.

And secondly, because often people in their estate plans want to leave things to a charity. The generation that became wealthy after World War II is older now and there's this huge transfer of intergenerational wealth going on. In America it's been estimated to be US$41 trillion. That money can only go one of three places: it can go to the next generation; it goes to what I call the involuntary charity in Washington, which is where our tax dollars go, or it can go to charity.

What are some of the benefits of charitable giving advisers can outline to clients?

There are modest but some tax benefits in Australia. There are more substantial tax benefits in the US, although that's not why people give, by the way. Our tax rates have gone down, they've gone up, but people seem to give at the same rate. I think it's embedded in our culture. Whatever the reasons, people give because they want to do something useful and meaningful with their lives. They want to help others. They may have particular causes - maybe one of their parents was diagnosed with cancer or maybe they're interested in the environment and they want to make a difference in their lifetime, not after they've gone, but while they're alive because they want the experience and satisfaction of seeing something in this world improved because they're walking on the face of the earth.

In Silicon Valley people look at their giving more as charitable investments; they want to see the social return on their investment. In my region of Silicon Valley and many parts of America the giving is stimulated less by moral duty and civic obligation and more by wanting to make a dent in some problem and improve other people's lives. It can be very satisfying, interesting and fun, which isn't a word around charitable giving very much.

How does Australia's culture of giving compare to that of the US?

Well, I think Australian's are very generous and I think they actually volunteer more than Americans do. It's not simply giving a share of your wealth; it's also your time. In America on average people give about 2.2 per cent of their income to charity each year. In Australia the comparable figure is under 1 per cent and closer to 0.5 per cent. But again it's a different tradition and a different culture.

What are some of the questions advisers have about charitable giving?

Most often they ask: "where do I turn to for information?" Of course here you have the community foundation to provide that and other charities. You can use the Internet, I say, as a charitable GPS to figure out the terrain, but when it comes to giving, most people don't give on the Internet.

What benefits do community foundations have over prescribed private funds?

A donor-advised fund is where an individual or family donates a particular amount of money and creates a charitable fund, which they then take their time giving away to charities as they learn more about them and in the mean time those funds grow tax free within the foundation. [By using a community foundation] the adviser has a trusted intermediary; a resource that's objective, transparent, accountable and knowledgeable. Rather than a large private foundation simply giving a grant, by helping create a community foundation they are gaining a mechanism which will generate more giving, more volunteerism and will go on giving long after the funds from the private foundation have run out.

What would the value proposition be to advisers? How would you allay a planner's fears of losing funds under management?

If someone's seriously interested in charitable giving they're going to lose that money anyhow. Secondly, if a donor has a close relationship with an investment manager for gifts of that size . we'll basically hire the investment manager. The most recent arrival on the competitive scene in America are charitable gift funds and commercial entities like Fidelity and Vanguard who have gotten the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] to approve funds. Those of us in the business were dismayed when they came on the scene, but now advisers realise that it might make more sense to work with a community foundation because potentially the client might put their money in Vanguard or Fidelity or somewhere else.