Michael Wagner Discusses Personalized Charitable Giving with The New York Times

Annual galas that benefit nonprofit groups and generic requests for donations were once viewed as the pillars of charitable giving. Now, however there is a growing number of wealthy families that are seeking other paths when it comes to donating to nonprofits.

According to a new report, “Transforming Partnerships With Major Donors,” by the Leadership Story Lab, wealthy families would prefer nonprofits update their fundraising approaches and personalized their pitches. The report also discovered many charitable givers are more driven to donate by a desire to solve a problem than by a need for public recognition. For insight on the reasons behind this change, The New York Times recently spoke with Omnia Family Wealth Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Michael Wagner.

“People are really looking for something more than a transaction,” explains Wagner. “It’s about building a partnership based on a relationship. People Used to be OK with just giving the money and being done with it, but that isn’t the case anymore.”

These sentiments are arising as wealthy families increasingly add impact investments, which are investments that “seek to do good while earning a return,” to their portfolios and are searching for related approaches to measure the efficacy of their donations.

Click here to read the entire article in The New York Times.