Chestnut Hill, MA - The Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy is launching a groundbreaking study to explore the new cultural underpinnings of wealth for society. This is an unparalleled study of wealth - the first large-scale survey to focus exclusively on households with at least $25 million in net worth, with a considerable portion of those respondents above $100 million. The objective of the study is to uncover the attitudes, practices and personal philosophies of ultra high net worth households regarding wealth and philanthropy.
The Center on Wealth and Philanthropy has received grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Calibre, a division of Wachovia Wealth Management, to carry out this research. Lowell Weiss, a Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer with the Gates Foundation, explains, “In part, Warren Buffett’s amazingly generous gift sparked our recognition that the Bill and Melinda Gate’s Foundation has an opportunity to work with others to encourage thoughtful, effective philanthropy. We believe this study conducted by the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy will contribute in important ways to our understanding of what drives donors to give and what they need in order to give well.”
The Center on Wealth and Philanthropy will present their findings in a nationally distributed report in the autumn of 2008. Dr. Paul Schervish, Director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, notes, “For the public at large, the report will offer accurate information that will counter misleading myths and promote fresh thinking about the activities and atributes of wealth holder and about trends in our society. For wealth holders, the report will be a valuable tool for self-reflection as they seek to make wise decisions about the allocation of their wealth. For pholanthropic advisors, the report will provide insight into how to offer deeper and more useful counsel about financial and charitable decisions.”
_______________________________
Calibre Teams Up With the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Boston College to Conduct Wealth Survey
Charlotte, NC - Calibre, a division of Wachovia Wealth Management, is joining with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund a national survey entitled: The Joys and Dilemmas of Wealth. The study, being conducted by the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy (CWP) at Boston College, provides a rare insight into the financial and philanthropic discernment process of ultra high net worth households.
“We are excited about the opportunity to embark on this unique journey with the Gates Foundation and Boston College,” says Keith Whitaker, Calibre’s director of family dynamics. “With questions on the survey regarding happiness and personal satisfaction, it will go a long way to answering the age old question: Does money really make you happy.”
“We are excited to have Calibre and Wachovia join us in supporting the important work of the Boston College’s Center for Wealth and Philanthropy,” said Michael Deich, deputy director of public policy and external affairs at the Gates Foundation. “We believe that the Center’s survey will make an extraordinary contribution to helping us understand what drives donors to give and what they need in order to give effectively.”
The results of this study will provide many outcomes for Calibre, including the following:
- Demonstrate Calibre’s leadership, alongside the Gates Foundation and Boston College, in recognizing and supporting new knowledge about the prospects, dilemmas, obstacles, attitudes and strategies of not only the Calibre client base but wealth holders in general;
- Enable Calibre to learn about and better serve its client base;
- Provide financial professionals and advisors with a profile of the practices, attitudes, and aspirations of wealth holders;