29 Oct Charity as Legacy: Embedding Generosity into the Heart of Family Enterprise

By: Mike Schmitt, Rubra Group

June 25, 2025

This past weekend, our Rotary Club in the City of Orange, CA (Home Page | Rotary Club of Orange) held a Chili Cook-Off to support a cause that touches deep in our community, a housing project for twenty senior women who are currently unhoused. The event was a hit. Not just because of the great chili (though I’d argue the batch from the Dinosaur Team won on flavor alone), but because we raised thousands of dollars for a cause that represents the very best of who we aspire to be as a community. https://www.instagram.com/oto_chili_cook_off?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

As I saw the thousands of people who attended the event and spoke with some of our key sponsors, I asked myself: Why don’t more family enterprises structure generosity into their business goals?

Too often, philanthropy is framed as something we “add on” after success is secured. But for families in business together, those who steward values across generations, charity isn’t a side project. It can be a strategic pillar. It’s a tool for alignment, a spark for the Next Gen, and a legacy more enduring than any quarterly return.

A Blueprint for Generosity: The HomeAid Model

One organization our family supports is HomeAid OC/LA, HomeAid Owned Housing Projects — HomeAid® Orange County | Building A Future Without Homelessness in Orange County, CA, a nonprofit that builds dignified housing for those experiencing homelessness. What I love about their model is how tangible it is: they partner with builders and developers to renovate or construct real housing solutions, like their “HomeAid-Owned Housing” initiative, which focuses on long-term shelter ownership and operational sustainability.

Families looking to establish lasting community impact would do well to look at organizations like HomeAid. Their approach, thoughtful, measurable, collaborative, makes them an ideal partner for families seeking not just to donate, but to build legacy through service.

Why Philanthropy Belongs in the Business Plan

Family enterprises often talk about “values” and “legacy,” but unless those words become actions, they remain slogans. Here’s why weaving charity into the family strategy creates powerful long-term benefits:

1. It fosters stewardship. Giving projects require cooperation, budgeting, listening, and humility, skills that prepare younger family members for enterprise leadership.
2. It deepens alignment. Shared service goals unite generations around a common cause, especially when business strategies may differ.
3. It builds community credibility. Stakeholders trust businesses that show up and reinvest in their neighborhoods.
4. It transforms wealth into meaning. When families see how their success can elevate others, they find deeper fulfillment in their journey.

How to Start: Three Steps for Families

Here’s a framework we’ve used to help families integrate service into their long-term planning:

1. Philanthropy Visioning Session

At your next family meeting or retreat, carve out space to ask:

• What issues or causes resonate most with our family?
• How can we apply our business strengths, building, marketing, leadership, to community good?
• What legacy do we want to be known for 100 years from now?

Don’t aim for perfection, aim for authenticity and alignment.

2. Create a Charitable Alignment Map

Think of this as a “business plan for giving.” List organizations whose missions align with your family values. Look at:

• Local impact groups (like HomeAid)
• National efforts that mirror your industry
• Faith-based or educational causes that reflect family heritage

From there, decide on your level of engagement: funding, volunteering, mentoring, or endowment.

3. Establish a Legacy Project Fund

Consider earmarking 1–5% of your enterprise’s annual profit or distribution into a “Legacy Project Fund.” This fund can be used for:

• Partnering with charities on capital projects
• Funding scholarships or microgrants
• Sponsoring community initiatives aligned with family purpose

Bonus: involve Next Gen family members in managing the fund, letting them learn, lead, and leave their own impact imprint.  You may be surprised to see how that group grows and matures through this service to others. 

From Book Strategy to Real Life

In our book Family Fortune, we discuss the importance of Strategic Alignment and Operational-Family Goal Integration. Philanthropy is the natural meeting point for both. It links head and heart. It connects wealth with wisdom. It transforms a “family business” into a family mission.

And unlike asset valuations or ownership charts, generosity doesn’t depreciate. It grows, echoes, and ripples forward.

A Challenge for the Week

This week, take 30 minutes to research one local organization that’s doing powerful work—like HomeAid OC/LA. Ask yourself: Could this be the seed of something greater? A project to fund, a board to join, a mission to adopt?

Then share it with your family, not as an obligation, but as an invitation. To listen, learn, and lead with love.

That’s the kind of story the next generation will be proud to inherit.

📚 Read Family Fortune
📅 Book time with Mike Schmitt