Finding Your Money's Greater Purpose: How to Make Your Legacy Count

Become a money-savvy philanthropist, and get more out of giving back.

Oseola McCarty washed other people's clothes by hand for seventy-five years. She never earned much. And near the end of her life, she gave away a sum that stunned everyone who knew her.

Her story sits at the heart of this book, because it answers the question most people never ask out loud: what if giving generously and providing for your family were not opposing choices?

In Finding Your Money's Greater Purpose, financial planner Patrick Renn dismantles the idea that giving is a zero-sum game. Drawing on forty years of counseling individuals and families, he shows how a well-designed giving plan can support several of the causes you care about, shield your money from unnecessary taxes, establish income you cannot outlive, and, in many cases, leave more for your children and grandchildren, not less.

Inside, you'll find:
• How to identify what you actually want your wealth to accomplish, and why clarity, not wealth, is the real obstacle
• The giving vehicles worth understanding, from charitable trusts and donor advised funds to family foundations, explained in plain language
• Why the timing of a gift changes everything, and the quiet cost of waiting
• How to plan inheritances among family members without creating conflict
• What charities are really looking for, and how to find the ones worthy of your gift

Whether you sit on a nonprofit board, are approaching a major financial transition, or simply want your life's work to mean something beyond your lifetime, this book offers a roadmap. All proceeds from book sale royalties received by the author are donated to charity.