Yes, I would agree with Debra Blum of the Chronicle, the book (The Ultimate Gift, by Jim Stovall) is as hokey as Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol, and yes, those with good liberal arts degrees will consider it an insult to their taste and intelligence. Yes, sophisticated clients imbued with the culture of philanthropy will raise their eyebrows at the commercialism and commodification of giving. But, you know what? There are millions of small business owners, and ordinary folks out there, with a million or two or five million dollars who don't hang around with the old money, and don't get involved at the Community Foundation, or at the Council on Foundations, and who recognize - yes - the snobbery and elitism of those who despise not just The Ultimate Gift but bourgeois culture generally. Those millionaire next door types will love the movie, and the book, and will work with their insurance agents and financial advisors to leave some money in their will, and maybe replace it with life insurance. The financial types will make out fine; the charities will raise some money; and America will be not one whit dumber than it was yesterday, or the day before, though the long range trend is toward dumb, dumber and dumbest. My feelings are mixed, but if you go by results, this book will achieve them, given the kind of clientele to whom it appeals.
Interestingly, I was just with Lisa Tracy and Jean Russell whose tart comments are quoted in the Chronicle article. We met with Tracy Gary at the Transforming Money Conference. They know I agree with them, "underneath" my spirited defense of bad taste. I am just saying that virtue has its rewards, as does high culture, but that for those who want results, Jim Stovall's book book will work fine. Poverty is the mark of saintliness, but there is room for a best-selling book and a blockbuster movie promoting giving to those who might otherwise be watching Survivor Island, or Fox News. (Another, more favorable book review, here, by Marc Hoffman, a longtime philanthropic entrepreneur, who is now the editor of Planned Giving Design Center.)
Values-based planning around unquestioned pieties, family values, Ben Franklin-style wisdom, middle America - it is not all bad, when you get used to it. I wish Stovall well. I recommend the book to advisors and clients all the time, and almost all are appreciative. I even gave a copy to educated heiress,Tracy Gary, and one to educated Bostonian philanthropist, Steve Johnson, of the Philanthropic Initiative. To date Tracy and Steve have embarrassed neither themselves nor me by mentioning it. Some things are best passed over in silence in polite circles. In short, giving has many cultures. This is a diverse field of practice. The Chronicle does not speak for or to the Main Street giver; The Ultimate Gift, for better or worse, does.
