Strategic Family Philanthropy

PATHNORTH fosters conversations of enduring significance for principal business founders, owners, and chief executive officers to help them broaden their definition of success, live more integrated lives, and experience greater effectiveness in business and personal endeavors.

PathNorth Experiences inevitably challenge our assumptions, expose us to stimulating people and ideas, and cause us to view life from new angles.

In mid-July, Honorary PathNorth member Robert D. Ballard and his first-in-class Nautilus Research Vessel proved the perfect host for a group of five PathNorthers (Michael Castine, David Bork, Bruce Douglas, Mark Percy and Doug Millar, plus Doug’s wife Debbie, daughter Meredith and son Weston). The home port was Bodrum, a small Aegean coastal city in southwest Turkey. After touring Bodrum and then spending two days aboard the Nautilus, the trip ended with a visit to Ephesus, at one time the largest Roman city in Asia Minor.

The fact that we were about to join an oceanographic exploration guided by a legend like Bob Ballard gave special meaning to the first day’s private tour of one of the premier underwater archaeological museums in the world, housed rather spectacularly in Saint Peter’s Castle in Bodrum harbor. The castle was built by the Knights of Saint John. The present structure dates from 1402 and provides a spectacular setting for one of the premier museums of underwater archaeology, featuring the Bronze Age shipwreck of Uluburun among many other ancient treasures.

On day three we were welcomed aboard the Nautilus. Ballard and his multi-disciplinary team of experts from across the sciences provided an extraordinary window into cutting-edge discoveries that are reshaping how mankind views the world, especially the 72% of the earth’s surface covered by water.

Ballard is best known for discovering the Titanic, PT 109, the Bismark and other high profile shipwrecks, but he minimizes the importance of those finds since “we knew they were there.” According to Ballard, his greatest find was not a wreck but organisms thriving at 9,000 feet below the ocean in total darkness – something thought impossible at the time. The group agreed that the most prized and beneficial revelations, even in our own lives, are not on the surface but are much, much deeper and often unexpected.

On the CBS show 60 MINUTES, Ballard was recently quoted as saying “Discovery is an unbelievable, unbelievable thing. It never loses its magic.” Ballard’s passion for underwater exploration was sparked as a boy by reading Jules Verne, and there is a palpable sense of adventure in everything connected to Ballard and aboard the Nautilus (the name of Captain Nemo’s vessel in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). Even existing architectural plans for an onboard library and guest suites capture the feel of the literary Nautilus.

Ballard and his team are clearly passionate about their mission to support our nation’s ocean exploration in search of both its human and natural history. An especially important component of that mission – in fact the most important for Ballard himself – is training the next generation of oceanographers. A broadband satellite link provides a live feed from the Nautilus to high school science classes across the US, as well as a growing cadre of internet viewers (www.nautiluslive.org). Internships and scholarships are made available for promising students, and even high school teachers and Boys and Girls Clubs members. An internship in 1959 was exactly how Ballard himself first went to sea with the Scripps Institute.

With Ballard’s clear devotion to mentoring young people, the conversation easily moved to personal accounts of how we chart our own life journeys. Some spoke of “windshield” thinking – focusing primarily on what is ahead as a means to push through their challenges. Others were more “rear-view window” focused – processing the past as a foundation for the future. Discussing the needed balance between the two enlighten us all on how to press forward while staying in touch with the past and in the end thriving despite extraordinary circumstances.

The PathNorth group had hours to interact with Ballard and his team over two days, an extraordinary opportunity to probe personal histories, team dynamics, vessel and technology operational details, and new ideas in the fast evolving field of oceanography.

Ballard’s umbrella organization is the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET), which actually encompasses three separate institutes. The most intriguing feature of how Ballard’s team explores the deep oceans is the use of unmanned underwater vessels, or Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) built at OET’s Institute for Exploration in Mystic, CT. The operational efficiency is striking. What formerly took scientist months and even years to find, the Nautilus can locate and digitally map in a day or less, as we were able to witness.

While we were on board, two shipwrecks were located, one was Roman and quite rare from the 2nd Century AD. The other was more typical, which Ballard equated to today’s Budweiser truck – carrying goods but nothing of historical significance.

Ballard says OET plays a high stakes statistical game. Virtually the entire $7.5 million budget of OET is internally represented as a ratio of “bottom time,” which maximizes the actual time the ROVs and side-scan sonars are actually deployed in the water. More bottom time will inevitably equate to more discoveries.

Despite being a very diverse group, the PathNorthers bonded quickly, especially in light of the extraordinary opportunity we were afforded and collective exposure to Ballard’s big vision. Each person readily shared his/her personal journey as well as new ideas and perspectives stimulated by the beautiful country of Turkey, effusive hospitality of Ballard, his team and the Turkish people we met, delicious food (always a staple on a PN Experience!), and the chance to interact amidst the backdrop of breathtaking antiquity.

Mark Percy
PathNorth Member and Director of Philanthropy

Article posted on PathNorth website: http://www.pathnorth.com/experience100709.html

In March 2010, Optivest CEO Mark Van Mourick welcomed Mark Percy who led a discussion on “The Full Potential of Family Wealth Transfer and Philanthropy:”

“Most families are diligent about their estate planning and preparing their assets for transition, but not many families focus as much attention on transitioning values and preparing the next generation to receive the assets. Identifying an overall philanthropic purpose for the family wealth could require tradeoffs and will undoubtedly evolve as the experience curve is climbed. But identifying a common mission, goals and strategy can bring multiple generations into the philanthropic process and create a rich learning environment. The discussion will focus on how to break these potentially difficult areas into a series of discussions that can lead to more fulfillment, effectiveness and unity in a family’s philanthropic pursuits.”

I hope to see you here Wednesday, March 17th, from 4-6pm in the Optivest Conference Room.

Mark Van Mourick
CEO

Optivest Inc. 24901 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Suite 230 | Dana Point, CA 92629 | www.optivestinc.com

The logo for Child S.H.A.R.E. is a tree of children with their arms spread wide, representing their network of more than 400 families in LA, Orange and Riverside Counties.  In 2007, Child S.H.A.R.E. families provided homes to almost 700 children, and Child S.H.A.R.E. has been a leader in equipping the faith community to meet the needs of children in foster care for over 23 years.

The vision of the Barnabas Group (www.barnabasgroup.org) and Child S.H.A.R.E. families enjoying a Saturday picnic in June with games, food and fun quickly captured the hearts of many TBG members.  Eight TBG members helped me as Activity Coordinators to make sure every detail was meticulously planned, five corporate sponsors stepped forward, and a youth band contributed 300 CDs of children’s songs and recorded a message that could be used by Child S.H.A.R.E. after the event for fund raising purposes.

On June 13, 2009, while rain sprinkled across Orange County, the sky above Hart Park in Orange, CA remained clear at the Annual Child S.H.A.R.E. Summer Family Picnic.  TBG had over 80 volunteers with many spouses and children and some entire families serving together.  About 140 Child S.H.A.R.E. family members from Orange County came, almost a full turn out.  The children enjoyed carnival-style games, and joined in a balloon toss, potato sack races and hula hoop contests.  Lunch was an amazing spread, dessert was a fabulous ice cream bar with multiple choices of toppings, and the busy day came to a close with the raffle – Grand Prizes including a “Trip to Sea World” and a “Newport Sailing Excursion.”

Alena Strickland, the Child S.H.A.R.E. picnic coordinator wrote TBG, “I wanted to thank you for the amazing picnic.  It was the best year and I have heard nothing but positive things from everyone.  I was able to talk to a few people who were interested in adopting or fostering that were part of TBG.  Praise the Lord!”

My son, Gavin, produced a short video of the event which can be seen here…

- Mark Percy

Next Generation Strategies, LLC managing director Mark Percy will be a speaker at the upcoming More than Money Conference being hosted in San Fransisco by InsideWork.

InsideWork explores the Christian Scriptural foundations for living and working in the midst of a changing world and seeks ways to infuse business innovation with biblical insight to stimulate change in work, organizations and the marketplace.

InsideWorks’ More Than Money Conference is a major professional finance event focused on the global economy. The keynote presentations feature top flight private fund managers, economists and experts in international finance with first rate insights into the impact of current global economics on your business and investments and your intentions to transfer those assets and responsibilities to your business successors and heirs.

Mark Percy will be Co-Leading the Entrepreneurial Philanthropy Panel: Critical Needs, Decreased Endowments … How to Innovate in Tough Times along with Cindy Mercer, Co-Founder, The Planet Heritage Foundation and Russ Hall, Founder / Managing Director, Legacy Venture.

Other Featured speakers include:
Os Guinness, Senior Fellow, EastWest Institute
Ted Lucas, Managing Partner, Lattice Capital
Jay Richards, Director of Media, Acton Institute, Author of Money, Greed, and God

For more information on attending the More Than Money Conference, or to see a full list of speakers and topics please visit InsideWorks’ Event Page.

An intriguing new book just came out,  The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It. Its conclusions have implications for public, private and social sector cooperation on a number of fronts, and how to achieve meaningful change. The author, Joshua Cooper Ramo, the youngest new partner at Kissinger & Associates, gives us a refreshing way of thinking about the world in this “revolutionary age.” He argues convincingly most of the old models don’t work and leaders that cling to them are giving us solutions and approaches to problems that actual make things worse. Yet, there are those who are thriving in this era of increasing complexity because they have learned to harness the change we see all around us.
The author’s most valuable contribution is something he terms “deep security,” which he likens to a “global immune system” – always ready, capable of dealing with the unexpected. . . as dynamic as the world itself. An emphasis on a desperately needed reform of our basic education and health care systems can lead to this deep security. Limited resource allocation should foster flexibility and innovation rather than trying to plug every security gap, as complexity inevitably proliferates.

Strategic philanthropy is best when it is driven by a solid theory of change and commitment to achieve real results.  It’s also good to understand, or at least not be flustered by, all the external dangers that can disrupt plans and projects.

A fellow PathNorth (www.pathnorth.com) member recently sent me a fascinating study, Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities, written a few years ago by The Commission on Children at Risk, a group of 33 children’s doctors, research scientists, and mental health and youth service professionals.

The authors essentially argue that U.S. children are experiencing a shocking deterioration of mental and behavioral health. Compounding this crisis is how we are reacting as a society, using medications and psychotherapies and focusing on individual at-risk children; instead, they call our attention to the broad environmental conditions that are contributing to so many suffering children.

The cause of the crisis is a lack of connectedness – close connections to other people, and deep connections to moral and spiritual meaning. Remember, the study brought together prominent children’s doctors with social scientists who study civil society. No theologians participated.

The following key points capture the essence of their argument, backed by considerable scientific evidence:
• Science is increasingly demonstrating that the human person is hardwired to connect.
• First, evidence shows that we are hardwired for close attachments to other people, beginning with our mothers, fathers, and extended family, and then moving out to the broader community.
• Second, a less definitive but still significant body of evidence suggests that we are hardwired for meaning, born with a built-in capacity and drive to search for purpose and reflect on life’s ultimate ends.
• Meeting the human child’s deep need for these related aspects of connectedness – to other people and to meaning – is essential to the child’s health and development.
• Meeting this need for connectedness is primarily the task of what the authors call authoritative communities – groups of people who are committed to one another over time and who model and pass on at least part of what it means to be a good person and live a good life.

The weakening of authoritative communities in the U.S. is a principal reason – arguably the principal reason – why large and growing numbers of U.S. children are failing to flourish. As a result, strengthening these communities is likely to be our best strategy for improving the lives of our children, including those most at risk. The authors maintain our deepest challenge today is to think and act much more ecologically – to broaden our attention to the environmental conditions creating growing numbers of suffering children.

A few applications: 1) Fellow PathNorth friend, Bill Milliken, Founder of Communities in Schools, employs these same lessons in swarming CIS schools with caring volunteers who build relations with kids and handle many of their non-academic needs that distract both teachers and students alike. 2) Some of the highest performing schools in the U.S., including KIPP, SEED, American Indian Public Charter School, Amistad Academy, Cristo Rey, and others employ many of these concepts, dubbed the New Paternalism by some journalists.