A Golden Age of Philanthropy Still Beckons: National Wealth Transfer and Potential for Philanthropy

An estimated $59 trillion—divided among heirs, charities, estate taxes and estate closing costs—will be transferred from 93.6 million American estates from 2007 to 2061, in the greatest wealth transfer in U.S. history, according to a new report issued by researchers at the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy (CWP) at Boston College. Download the full report.

These figures come from the extensive findings published in A Golden Age of Philanthropy Still Beckons: National Wealth Transfer and Potential for Philanthropy, a just-­‐released landmark study by CWP researchers John J. Havens and Paul G. Schervish which updates research they conducted on wealth transfer in 1999. The Dakota Medical Foundation and Impact Foundation of Fargo, N.D., commissioned this new study to inspire greater philanthropy and to elevate the importance of planning to help families and individuals direct more of their wealth to causes about which they are most passionate.

According to Professor Schervish, "these estimates present an extraordinary opportunity for nonprofits today and in coming years". Financial advisors should understand that nearly all of that wealth is coming from a small segment of the wealthiest households. Join AiP for a webinar on June 17 as Professor Paul G. Schervish explains the study and its implications.

About the presenter:

Paul G. Schervish is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College. He served as Fulbright Professor of Philanthropy at University College, Cork, Ireland. He has been selected five times to the NonProfit Times "Power and Influence Top 50.” He received the 2013 Distinguished Career Award from the Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity Section of the American Sociological Association. Schervish is the author of Gospels of Wealth: How the Rich Portray Their Lives and co-author with Keith Whitaker of Wealth and the Will of God. He is currently writing Aristotle’s Legacy: The Moral Biography of Wealth and the New Physics of Philanthropy. With John Havens, he co-authored the 1998 report, Millionaires and the Millennium, which predicted the now well known $41 trillion wealth transfer. Findings from their just reported revised model are reported in The Golden Age of Philanthropy Still Beckons: National Wealth Transfer and Potential for Philanthropy. Schervish helped found and is a faculty member of Legacy Associates’ Wealth Coach Network, a training forum for financial and fundraising professionals. He received a bachelor's degree in literature from the University of Detroit, a Masters in sociology from Northwestern University, a Masters of Divinity Degree from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.