Fall

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Spring

Final Compilation Paper

Taylor Boysen
CADS 3703

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Philanthropy is defined as the desire to promote the welfare of others,

expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. So what
do gender and wealth have to do with it? This past semester I had the opportunity
to enroll in Gender, Wealth, and Philanthropy. Since beginning this course I have
had to listen to testimonies, observe and involve myself in everything it takes to
be a philanthropist. This class has given me the tools to further the enhancement
of lives through education, leadership, and philanthropy. I have achieved a more
fluent understanding of wealth and philanthropic theories, principles, and other
applications that will be portable throughout my life. Doris Buffett, wife of Warren
Buffett and philanthropist, described philanthropy best when she said, We're only
here for a small amount of time and we want to see how much good we can do
while we're here and I always say that there'll be... in the future, there would be
many millionaires and they can take care of those problems but I'm here now, and
I'm trying to do what I can.
This paper is a compilation of my own reflections and the fundamental thought
processes, recommendations, strategies and behaviors that will assist me in
becoming and remaining a Money Smart Man and an Inspired and Strategic
Philanthropist.
What are your thoughts about students taking this course? Should all
students be required to take this course? What are your thoughts on
establishing a Life eFolio and being a part of the AU ePortfolio initiative?
Throughout the semester, this class has taught me about what it means to be
a philanthropist, what philanthropy looks like, how to take care of myself
(financially and philanthropically) and ensure that I will be able to leave some

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legacy. When I first noticed this class online, I became interested to learn more
about what it would cover. But, after experiencing this class first hand, I can
honestly say it has given me real world advice and equipped me with real world
tools, such as The Big Four, to carry me on after this class is over. This course is
not just for students in one college on campus. No, this class transcends Human
Sciences. In my opinion, this class should at least be optional for all. It is not
theory based. It is not just a course number to get through. This class will help
students learn how to prepare and thrive throughout your life, and it always warns
and advises you about the dangers you might encounter along lifes journey.
One project that I found useful throughout the semester was the Life eFolio
assignment. At first, I had no idea what I was doing, but after getting really
involved in my page, I learned how to use the system quickly and develop a
comprehensive description of myself through entries, photos, videos and even to
designing my web page. For example, every photograph used as a background in
my eFolio I chose because I felt that it somehow related to the subject matter on
the page.
I think it is a good idea if other courses started adding this component. The
reason I appreciate it so much is because I can access work that I have completed
and worked on throughout the semester. My website has almost become a
reference tool for me to show people what I am doing and what I can do;
potentially for something like a job or internship. The eFolio allows me to go back
and retrieve work that I may have to show one day or use it as a testament to my
experiences.

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How do gender roles/distinctions manifest throughout various life

phases and what implications does this have on smart financial and
philanthropic practices?
Gender roles and distinctions can be found at different life stages over the
course of a lifetime. In her book, Money Smart Woman, Janet Bodnar
acknowledges that women and men have separate financial needs and goals.
She is not emphasizing the stereotyped women considered to be financially
inept, because that stereotype is false. Society has a lot to do with carrying that
stereotype, but this idea is wrong. What is true, however, is the fact that women,
overwhelmingly more than men, become caretakers to children or the elderly. For
instance, women are more likely than men to take care of her parents toward the
end of their lives, on average women live longer than men, they typical are not
constant in the labor force because of the fact that they have to take care of
others and women are now 44% more likely to enter a nursing home at some
point in their lives.
Another reason women have to be money smart: the gender wage gap. This
issue has plagued our society for as long as anybody can remember, and because
women earn less than man, smart financial planning has to be a top priority.
Being money smart is not an option. It is a cold hard fact that must be taken
seriously. However, being money smart is harder than it sounds. Knight Kiplinger,
Editor in Chief of Kiplingers Personal Finance Magazine, writes, [Being money
smart] means not being dependent on another persons knowledge or judgment
that might be inferior to your own. It is about knowing enough about what it is

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going to take for you to be financially secure throughout your life while making
some philanthropic impact and leaving a worthy legacy of the life you lived.
While men are more likely to invest, women are more likely to make calculated
and considered decisions regarding investing. Regardless of gender, as a money
smart individual one must be assertive, open to change, optimistic and
adventurous. These traits are the recipes for success for both women and men.

What are the key financial strategies and consistent habits that should
be considered and implemented/used consistently throughout your
various phases in life (including events such as starting out single, premarriage, married, raising children, investing, planning for and living in
retirement, getting divorced, caregiving, widowhood?)
This semester has taught me a lot about being a smart, resourceful saver and
spender in my life. At this point, it is up to me to enact these practices to ensure
my success and legacy. After graduation, I plan on being in D.C. working on a
congressional staff. I researched the job and understood what my salary range is,
so coming up with saving and spending plans will be essential to my financial
stability. It is also going to be vitally important that my plans are finished before I
start my job. Philanthropically speaking, I want to find a nonprofit organization I
can support and begin volunteering. For me, tithing is also an important way for
me to be philanthropic. Some of my goals for this phase in life include creating
saving and spending plans, beginning to invest, building credit through smart
investments, forming an emergency fund and establishing a vacation fund. Like
Dave Ramsey said, Youve got to tell your money what to do, or it will leave you.

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Marriage is hard enough, so discussing money before the wedding is a smart

decision. It is important to consider each other's debts, spending habits, incomes
and philanthropic goals. You should know rather or not your partner is responsible
with money and what different practices they have. Making a rough draft of a
budget together is a good way to get a feel of how the other person is with
finances. The worst thing to do is to not discuss the finances before hand, and
then that become an issue later on down the road. As a couple, my partner and I
will have to produce a budget, have honest dialogue about our finances, know
that some compromises on the way each other spend is inevitable, cut the debt
out of our life and decide what type of philanthropic support we would like to be
involved in. It is also important to attend some seminar about finances together.
Once married, the decisions you make no longer only influence your life.
Instead, the decisions (especially financially) you make affect your spouse and
children. So every decision you make must always have your family in mind. Here
are a few goals that I plan to accomplish during the "Marriage" phase of my life:
sticking to a budget, discussing spending habits regularly with my partner, always
considering significant purchases, planning for the future (whether that includes
retirement or kids), constructing a will with my attorney who is a part of my team
and investing in insurance.
Children learn from their parents. By making sure your financial house is in
order and promoting a philanthropic lifestyle you will be able to raise children with
the same mindset. You do this by focusing on explaining why these things are
important and encouraging your children to do these things. By this time in my

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family's development, I should be financially planning for things like college, cars,
and all the other expenses that come with children. It takes a constant eye on my
finances to not only protect what I have, but to possibly grow it in a smart and
secure way. For my children, I have to have a financial plan developed that
accompany spending boundaries that me and my children have discussed and
agreed upon. Along with my philanthropic investments, I should involve my
children and encourage them to figure out where and what they want to do to be
giving philanthropically. When I was growing up, my parents helped me to be
money smart by sometimes participating in reimbursement plans with me. I would
make rather large purchases for pre-teen or teenager with the help of my parents,
and over time reimburse them for their investment. I will continue this practice
with my kids because of its success and encouragement for me to think early-on
about financial and philanthropic investments.
The next possible stage in my life is a reality that all children with older
parents must come to face. Caregiving is a demanding task. What has been
surprising is the fact that men are statistically less involved than women in
caregiving for older family members. Personally, I've decided to defy that statistic
and be hands-on and fully involved if I need too. With that involvement comes the
responsibility to encourage my parents to continue to be as independent as
possible. Also, it is going to take my family being in agreement about the types of
involvement. There are different things I can do to prepare specifically for and get
through this time of my life. Things like talking with my parents, now, about their
decision, discussing expectations of involvement and other factors with my

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sibling, begin saving and encourage my parents to do the same, and talking with
a legal expert about employment deals.
The next stage in life that is possible for everyone who is married is
widowhood. Dealing with the reality of widowhood is difficult. Doing some
preparation and discussing some topics with your spouse now can help ease the
pain and confusion that comes with the being a widow. It is important to be
careful financially after the passing of a loved one and not to make hasty
decisions. Here are my five checkpoints on my list of things to do whenever I get
married to prepare for widowhood: talk with my spouse about a will and last will
and testament, locate and store all relevant documents and passwords for
financial and legal matters, obtain and periodically update a contact list in case of
emergencies, secure life insurance policies for my spouse and continue to make
smart and calculated investment decisions.
The last stage in life to address is another possibility. It is not inevitable, but
half of the adult U.S. population has to deal with this reality: divorce. Divorce is
messy and painful, but there are a few ways to minimize the pain. For starters,
when marrying someone you should continue to guard your credit and have a
bank account with your name on it. It is important to not completely rely on
someone else with financials. If divorce is unavoidable, getting a smart attorney is
vital and keeping in constant communication is even more important. Emotionally,
it is important to surround yourself with a strong support system and even still,
you may consider seeing a professional who can help you through it or some
support group. Wife.org describes some important steps to take in order to

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navigate through this stage in life. Some of them include contacting a lawyer,
alerting your close family to what is going on, joining some type of a support
group or discussing it with a professional, protecting assets and money that's
specifically yours and gathering all primary financial documents or a list of all
shared assets.
There is one thing a person should do over the span of their adult life, and that
is planning for retirement. Saving and preparing for a future should be at the top
of every person's list. However, most struggle with day-to-day expenses so much
they feel like they do not have time to focus on the future, let alone play in the
stock market. From an outsider's view, it just looks complicated with a bunch of
numbers and initials. People are missing out on a real opportunity to help grow a
future into one that is characterized by financial stability. By talking with a
professional about investments, one can improve their knowledge and gain a
comprehensive understanding of how to prepare for retirement. To begin, it is
smart to use a retirement calculator to gain a better understanding of where you
are starting out and where you want to be. By looking for stable financial
opportunities and continuing to stay up-to-date on economic trends and in contact
with your investor you will surely see your money grow while living in retirement.
What is your giving/philanthropic strategy and the key philanthropic
strategies and consistent habits that should be considered and
implemented/used consistently throughout your various phases in life?
I hope that every child will have the opportunity for the same education
regardless or background, location or economic status. My main areas I wish to
fund are in education, poverty, and specified donations. I prefer organizations that

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have strategies of education, direct action and also human and social services. My
plan is to give sixty percent of my giving to local organizations with fifteen
percent going to regional and national organizations. The last ten percent is
reserved for global efforts I support. I believe while global philanthropy is
important, I like to help thy physical neighbor or local friend rather than someone
across the world. I would prefer to donate more to start-ups or those organizations
under three years old. I know that is risky and often the money is not seen as
evidentially as giving to an older, more experienced organization. However, I feel
like it took Thomas Edison over 10,000 tries to develop the light bulb so if all but
one organization fails, I will feel like that philanthropic gift was entirely worth it. I
still plan to invest time, energy, and even money into other organizations there is
just a special place for start-up organizations.
By budgeting and creating a comprehensive plan for each stage in my life, I
can be well equipped to give. It is important that I build the greatest team I can
for myself. This team will include close relatives affected by my financial
decisions, an attorney, a physician, an investor and a long-term care provider
(rather that be a family member or a professional). It is with their help that I will
comprise the best plans and decisions for me, my legacy and the family I leave
behind.
Your paper should include your values, vision for change, mission
statement, giving and volunteering strategies and how you intend to
utilize the 4 Ts of philanthropy. You can refer to the exercises you
completed from Inspired Philanthropy. You should refer to the
philanthropists and nonprofit organizations who/that have influenced
your personal philanthropic quest(s). You should also include your plan
to establish your philanthropic legacy for future generations. This can

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include anything from establishing a donor advised fund, endowment,

cash gifts, family foundation, etc. and/or to leaving assets in your will
specifically for nonprofits and/or causes you believe in.
My Philanthropic Mission Statement: To inspire and empower a child to be
better than anything that seeks to hold them better through an exceptional
education. It will be through my life that I give and hope to inspire others to do the
same to create real, tangible and sustainable change in the realm of education.
Philanthropic responsibility is a very complex idea. It is an approach that
encompasses your passion, your giving of time and treasures, and the goal you
wish to work toward. The responsibility that I to my area of passionate belief,
education reform, deserves my full devotion. With that, commitment includes
volunteering time and spending my time understanding the problems and finding
comprehensive solutions. Three main values I hold dear are equality, honesty, and
respect. Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed on his or her own.
However, not every child is given an equal opportunity. Through an honest, open
dialog about the realities of our school systems, students, teachers, parents and
administrators can begin a new finding solutions to the problems that are facing
the education system. At the current moment in time, I am very passionate about
furthering education for those who do not have that opportunity. I am also
passionate about being involved in public service. It is because of this that I want
to devote my time, talent, treasures, and trusts to gaining experiences that will
mold me to be able to create and develop a charter school that addresses this
issue. The ultimate goal is to give these students the tools that are necessary for
them to excel.

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A legacy worth leaving testifies to a life worth living. My legacy starts now. It is
not just something I will leave sixty years from now. No, I leave a legacy with
every person I meet. I plan to get involved as soon as I can make a difference in
educational policy and childrens' lives. Building a life that allows me to leave a
legacy of equality, honesty and respect is my goal. If I can do so, I would like to
leave a legacy in the form of a financial gift large enough to help see at least one
child through their educational experiences. It was my educational experience,
and other life experiences I have gained that has stirred this passion inside me.
Organizations like Lee County Boys and Girls Club, Better Basics, Inc., and
Childcare Resources are the reason I want to do more. They inspire me to be
better, and they give me an outlet to express my concern and love for our shared
cause.
What are the financial and philanthropic consequences for women/men
who are NOT Money Smart and Inspiring Philanthropists?
Not being money smart or an inspired philanthropist can cause quite a many
problems throughout someones life. During the semester, we watched a
documentary titled I.O.U.S.A. After watching I.O.U.S.A., I was surprised by some
of the content, but not as much as I thought I would be. I want more people my
age to watch this film and understand the policies that are in effect now will
determine a lot about our future, long after the politicians making the current
decisions are gone. The film specifically focuses on the US national debt, which is
higher than ever and has increased exponentially over the past fourteen years.

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What my generation can take from this film is that planning is essential and
specifically private planning. For example, taxes for Social Security are being
pulled out of my paycheck every month, but the likelihood of me reaping any
benefit from Social Security is highly unlikely. Collectively, we can work as a
nation to help stop this spending and hold dollars more accountable. As a citizen, I
want to know where my taxes are going and prevent the cycle of high debt-high
taxes from occurring. Higher taxes are Band-Aids, not real fixes to a spending
problem. Creating comprehensive solutions for these problems are critical to our
nations survival.
We see how irresponsible spending can get someone in trouble by the previous
example. Some might even claim that a war would be the opposite of an inspired
philanthropist.
What are various strategies and resources that are available to assist
and guide you to influence others to be Money Smart Women/Men?
In 2011, the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University established the
Cary Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies. The
center houses the Womens Philanthropy Board, Camp iCare, and REAL Cents
REAL Change. Through these programs, the center can enact multiple initiatives
like distance education, certificate and degree programs as well as research topics
related to financial, philanthropic and nonprofit leadership and responsibility.
The WPB is a division within the Womens Philanthropy Board. On their website
WPB states its mission as, to inspire, educate, and enable women and men to
develop their full leadership potential; achieve independence as financial donors

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and decision makers; serve as mentors for future generations of philanthropists;

and broaden the base of financial support for the College of Human Sciences.
Along with WPB, the Cary Center houses the headquarters for Camp iCare,
which is an outlet dedicated to teaching kids how to be money smart and the
ends and outs of basic financial decision-making. It also gives campers the
opportunity to develop leadership and philanthropic traits within themselves.
Another resource available to the public, and one that I found useful during this
course, is the Kiplinger website. It has some incredible insights on being money
smart through every stage of your life.
To conclude, this semester has been filled with multiple learning experiences
that I have just described. I have learned so much more than I expected to from
this course. The best part about it is I have worked and created plans and
strategies that can be used and applied to my life, now and into the future.

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Bibliography
Bodnar, J. (2006). Kiplinger's money smart women: Everything you need to know
to
achieve a lifetime of financial security. Chicago, IL: Kaplan Pub.
Cary Center - Auburn University College of Human Sciences. (n.d.). Retrieved April
30,
2015, from http://www.humsci.auburn.edu/carycenter/
Gary, T., & Adess, N. (2008). Inspired philanthropy: Your step-by-step guide to
creating a
giving plan and leaving a legacy (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Wall, G. (2012). The Benefits of Being Married Ten Years. Retrieved April 30, 2015,
from
http://www.wife.org/ss-benefits-married10years.htm