The Head and The Heart: Two Paths for Charitable Giving

“We feel that people do start with this heartfelt desire to do good and they have all the good intentions in the world,” said Debra Treyz, global head of the philanthropy center at J. P. Morgan Private Bank. “But giving dollars does not always translate into results.”

She said she coached clients to focus on something they care about — that’s the heart part — and then gain expertise in the field to be able to make more intelligent decisions. “There are often ramp-up periods,” she said. “There’s a little bit of trial and error around that. We need to acknowledge what we need to do better, learn from mistakes and move on.”

Claudia Sangster, director of philanthropy at CTC Consulting, which is part of Harris myCFO, framed the debate differently: Between people who wanted to have an isolated impact versus those who aimed for systemic change.

“Maybe you’re just happy with a local organization and think they’re doing good work,” she said. “That’s fine. Who are we to judge? But there have been a lot of individuals out there who have said that unless you’re measuring impact, you’re throwing good money after bad.”

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