Giving It All Away: Strategies From The Spend-Down Experts

2011 Annual Meeting session"Perpetuity" is often the default setting for private foundations. But many donors believe their charitable purposes are best served by "spending down" their foundations' assets by a fixed date. For those who are considering the latter, this session will feature a how-to guide -- from investment strategies and endowment guidance to how to keep talented staff and ensure that the final grants are used wisely -- from two philanthropic leaders who have successfully spent down large foundations. James Piereson presided over the spending down of the John M. Olin Foundation, and Gara LaMarche spent four years at the helm of the Atlantic Philanthropies, which is in the process of paying out its remaining $4 billion by 2017 in keeping with the wishes of Atlantic founder Chuck Feeney