Philanthropy is the Tie That Binds in Palm Beach
Everyone loves sunshine. Nothing proves this more than the remarkable influx of wealth and migration of people to Palm Beach County over the last handful of years. National and local headlines take turns emphasizing the economic boom and evolving cultural and physical landscape, including The Palm Beach Post who reported $39B in new wealth and income in the County since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you read the Wall Street Journal's recent feature on the developer whose investments have largely influenced the city of West Palm Beach, you had a glimpse into why, in part, there are so many eyes on our region — dubbed 'Wall Street South' with financial institutions here and incoming, and Forbes reporting more than 57 billionaires and over 70,000 millionaires calling the county home. Having moved here with my family in 2021 from Upstate New York, I can attest to the significant changes: the majority of those I meet have also relocated here within the last five years, descending upon warmth and beauty to seek a certain quality of life, more Vitamin D, and like-minded people.
What's more? Young people who once visited their grandparents in Palm Beach for spring break to escape the snow are now living here permanently, raising their kids within miles of their families' older generations. Palm Beach County is no longer a seasonal dwelling for retirees. It's a year-round hub for raising families in a well-manicured, vibrant and growing region. We have new and more people, different demographics, schools with wait lists, shiny developments, and therefore new and different challenges to address on a larger scale. Opportunities abound.
What does this all mean for philanthropy, now and into the future?
Charity must remain central to the ethos of the region. I'm a philanthropy consultant; my husband and partner, Phil, and I founded our consulting firm George Philanthropy Group about ten years ago. We have always advised nonprofit organizations in different cities on how to prepare for and execute on campaign initiatives, and slowly added families to our roster of clients as they asked us for support and guidance on streamlining their own giving to ensure its impact and authenticity to their values. We call many institutions and families partners, and are grateful to be trusted. Different parts of the country have established their own philanthropic personality, Palm Beach County included, and our job, in part, is to help introduce and implement best practices that make giving (and asking) as effective as possible while maintaining the authentic vibe of the community.
Palm Beachers are proud of their town’s distinction as generous and charitable. Here, a historic culture of celebrating named donors, a bustling events season, and more traditional approaches to asking for gifts without necessarily entering into large fundraising campaigns has shaped much of this activity until recent years. Now, I witness families diving into giving together; they are using the conversations and activities associated with philanthropy as a chance to unite and connect around what they deeply care about. I witness the same amongst friend groups, too. The conversations are personal and involve exploration of values and what they hope to see happen here in Palm Beach County. Bottom line: Some evolution is gaining momentum. Philanthropy has the power to solve big problems, keep families and social groups tight, and the communities lively.
Events aren't going away, but there's more.
I might be painting my own dream, but I believe the influx of serious money, people who bring different perspectives and giving habits, and an established culture of elegance and celebration, can create the puzzle pieces to a philanthropic masterpiece.
Palm Beach has upheld its reputation for outstanding events for decades. Have you watched the Apple TV show Palm Royale? The series is proof that nonprofit galas have allowed fundraising, socializing, and beauty to intersect for some time. Many events have been a tradition to attend and support for multiple generations of the same family. Speaking as a philanthropy advisor, in most cases, events shouldn't be relied upon for major fundraising efforts. However, in Palm Beach, some of these “in season” luncheons and dinners are churning out enough funding year-over-year to guarantee large programs sustain or even grow. This is unique. We know, generally speaking from our industry’s research and trends, that the next-gen doesn't want to be tapped as often as previous generations for outings that require getting dressed up, securing a babysitter, and spending much of the night at a well-adorned table. In Palm Beach, though, rising professionals are more likely than other cities in which I work to be up for a night out for a cause. I don't suspect this will change, and so given all of the demographic changes we're aware of, what can we anticipate in the future? An expectation of both donors and organizations to dig deeper into what matters to each of them. What problems do donors want to solve and what problems are organizations trying to solve? We'll transcend the social aspect of events and continue to sink deeper into an impact-oriented era of giving. Tables will likely remain full at galas, but fundraising professionals will be busy with meetings throughout the rest of the year, too, as they build real relationships with supporters, understanding their philanthropic priorities, family values, and the outcomes they want to drive.
I'm unwavering in my perspective on nonprofit events: they are meant to celebrate philanthropists, expose your cause to new prospective donors, and share your successes and vision. In especially social communities like those here in Palm Beach County, they serve as an opportunity to assemble like-minded community members around doing good. If nonprofits here in town can continue to crack the code, so to speak, and get ample funding both at events, and also for strategic priorities otherwise through individual conversations, they have my applause for leveraging their community's giving personality and checking a few new boxes around strategic impact, too.
Dreaming Big is Critical.
New residents means new prospective supporters, and in Palm Beach, this could mean some major support. Regardless of resources and financial acumen, it can’t be assumed that everyone is automatically a sophisticated philanthropist. What gives? It’s not necessarily intuitive to give to a charity as if you’re making an investment in a business. As philanthropists, we must consider what we care about most, align our contribution with driving real outcomes in that area, and ask hard questions around finances, plans, leadership, and even the organization’s greatest challenges to ensure our investment will be stewarded to generate impact. Here and now, this way of giving will be imperative.
Organizations need to engage in visioning processes that allow them to dream up the most brilliant and productive nonprofit they could imagine. Rooted in reality but guided by aspiration, what is everything the organization wants and needs to accomplish? It’s time to inspire donors with plans that can focus meaningfully on a few key priorities. Before we moved to West Palm Beach, we were flying into town to work on the early part of campaign projects, and were surprised by how few campaign initiatives were happening concurrently. The perception was that donors treated the town like a seasonal residence, and some of their biggest gifts could be made in the northeast, or wherever they’re enjoying the summer, or had grown up. On the heels of the pandemic and amidst major residential change, though, several nonprofits seized the moment and put together campaigns that were organized, on a timeline, and structured around a few key priorities. Cue some of the largest gifts ever celebrated in this region, and an energetic shift in the culture of philanthropy. High net-worth residents signal their intentions to maintain Palm Beach County as a great place to live, work, and raise a family by making notably large investments in missions they care about. In turn, nonprofits will continue to have a duty and opportunity to create large visions that excite them and set the bar high. If you tell a billionaire that you have a $5M project to help solve a problem within your mission, will they think about a $1M gift? What if you tell them you have a $100M vision to work toward overcoming multiple challenges and plan for a sustainable future?
As The Palm Beach Post noted around the growth, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach repeatedly find themselves on a list of fastest growing areas for accumulating millionaire residents. Assuming they’ll continue to seek ways to make it an even stronger community, let’s show them what can be done at the highest levels.
Relative to dreaming up these bigger plans, I watch business professionals pull a seat up to the brainstorming table and offer their insights to nonprofit leaders. They want to give helpful perspectives that make organizations stronger, more likely to produce tangible outcomes, and therefore more apt to successfully attract additional philanthropic investors – including gifts from those whose opinions were solicited and heard. The nickname ‘Wall Street South’ is fitting also because professionals from New York City have flocked to Palm Beach County in droves; their experiences working, volunteering, and donating in a leading global hub for business are invaluable to learn from as they plant new roots here. As nonprofit leaders continue to have an openness and appreciation for feedback from the business savvy, the positive pattern should be cyclical – reaping awards financially and programmatically. This kind of dialogue is connecting people across sectors in the for-profit and nonprofit space, and also across peer groups. Once a few influential community members are involved publicly with an organization, I am amazed at how they bring their networks in to help understand the mission, and if well-aligned, then invest with gifts, time, and their own social networks, too.
IN SUMMARY: If donors are in a position to offer business-centric feedback (and ask good, hard questions), make a financial investment (aligned with what they truly care about changing), and bring a few friends along for the ride (who might do the same!), then they are doing more for charitable organizations here than they can imagine. For this comprehensive approach to being involved at a strategic and comprehensive level, I am deeply grateful. It is the kind of work that solidifies our culture of philanthropy.
A Major Unifier
We owe it to philanthropy. Regardless of growth and change in Palm Beach County, we can count on the ability to be charitable and compassionate as a uniting and transformative force. I’m moved by the conversations I see emerging across multiple generations within families and friend groups: everyone is thirsty to connect more deeply and do more good. I’ll maintain that critical to raising more support will be building genuine relationships and including a business-forward mindset in strategizing. Other communities across the country experiencing demographic and economic shifts might even learn from how our town adapts to strengthen and advance a culture of philanthropy. Undoubtedly, the future of giving is increasingly personal, and philanthropy is indeed the tie that binds here in Palm Beach.
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Meg George is the co-founder and president of George Philanthropy Group, a consultancy that focuses on helping nonprofits prepare and execute on significant campaigns, and guides families on strategic yet meaningful gift-giving. She writes and speaks on philanthropy across the country, with a special interest in sharing best practices in major gift programs and supporting the next-gen in their mission-centric gift-giving. As an advocate for introducing philanthropy at a young age, she authored the children’s book about generosity, What’s Philanthropy to Philomena? Meg and her firm’s co-founder (and husband) Phil reside in West Palm Beach with their two children. More on Meg’s book can be found along with other personal essays on megtgeorge.com.
