Recently, Dr. Shirley Huerter reflected on how she and her husband, Dr. James Huerter, have chosen to share their philanthropic vision with their children and their decision to give the gift of giving through the Omaha Community Foundation.
How did you first come to work with the Omaha Community Foundation?
We opened an account at the urging of friends and family members who had been using the Foundation for several years. It appealed to us to be able to make gifts when we wished and have better organization and easy record keeping of our charitable giving at tax time.
Please describe your philanthropic journey as a family.
We believe strongly that we have an obligation to give back to the community that has given so much to our family. It actually goes back several generations. We were raised accepting the biblical adage that “to those whom much has been given, much is required.” We come from a heritage that really lived those words.
My grandparents knew what it was to need help and once they had the means to give, they gave. We watched our parents and grandparents give back to their community in so many ways. Several years ago my parents started a foundation. They involve their grandchildren in generating a list of nonprofit organizations in the Omaha area to potentially support, touring the facilities and meeting with the organizational leaders, learning about what they do and how they do it, and ultimately making funding decisions together.
It’s been a remarkable journey for them. The discussions are rigorous and the insights gained into the act of charitable giving and into their own community are so valuable. I recently had the privilege of sitting in on one of their meetings, and I’m filled with gratitude for this whole process and amazed by what they are doing.
It’s not so much about how much they give as it is about learning how to be responsible donors. But the organization is not all about money. Our children have served holiday meals. They volunteer themselves. And it carries through to other areas of their lives. Every one of our children gives their time and talent freely. The donation of money is just one part of a bigger deal.
What led you to give the gift of a charitable account to your children? Can you describe how this was done?
It was a suggestion of family members who did this for their children. It was such a good idea! We gave the accounts to our children as Christmas gifts last year. We were able to take advantage of a matching grant through OCF which was also nice. It couldn’t have been easier to set up the accounts with the help of the staff at OCF.
The children make all their own grants, and they especially enjoyed participating in “Omaha Gives.” We plan to continue to fund these accounts as the years go on and know that the children will fund them as well. Having our children learn how to research the way charitable organizations work and watch the children give to them is so satisfying for us as parents. We are pleased that they look upon this as their obligation to their community.
What advice would you give to families as they are beginning to define their philanthropic vision and pass along shared values to the next generation?
I think that giving your children the gift of money to give away is a great way to start. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money. In fact, the amount is immaterial. It’s the process of learning to give and how to give. Of course, the goal is that they learn that this is just “what we do.” We give back.