Purpose and Plenty is an event series that will help newly wealthy families explore how to raise children to lead fulfilling and productive lives.
Money, values, Jewish wisdom, and Jewish community
It’s never easy to talk about money, but its impact on our lives makes the conversations too important to avoid.
In an era of “big exits,” “unicorns,” and an unprecedented intergenerational wealth transfer, young families can come into extreme wealth overnight. Families blessed by this abundance face uncertainties about what this will mean for them and their children. What does affluence do to our values? What parenting challenges will wealth bring? How can we make Jewish values like kehillah (community), tikkun olam (repairing the world), and tzedakah (charity), as well as universal values like gratitude and purpose, into daily practices?
We’ve all heard stories of children growing up to be entitled, unproductive, or rudderless. But what about the success stories—children raised with wealth who grew up to be productive, self-motivated, socially responsible, financially independent, and content?
In this series, we’ll discuss how to discover and articulate our values. We’ll learn how Jewish and secular ethics and wisdom can help us form healthy relationships with wealth. And we’ll explore how to pass down a legacy of family stories and values that can help our families find their missions and transmit meaning and resilience to generations to come.
Register >>
You'll come away understanding:
- How wealth impacts individuals and families
- How to incorporate gratitude for abundance into a strategic framework for living a happy life
- What your personal values and Jewish wisdom have to say about the ethical responsibilities of living with wealth
- How to talk with children about wealth and money, and how to engage in values-based family philanthropy
Schedule: Sessions & Descriptions
Â
Talking About Abundance: Gratitude, Privilege, and Our Secret Thoughts About Money
Sunday, April 14, 11:00am – 2:00pm
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center
3921 Fabian Way
Palo Alto, CA 94303
In this intimate, reflective deep dive into how abundance affects our lives, we’ll explore our attitudes and behaviors related to money. We’ll leave with a fuller understanding of the ways we make financial decisions, our understandings of privilege, and how our behaviors align with the messages we want to live by and communicate to others around wealth.
We’ll also hear a presentation from Dr. Madeline Levine, a psychologist and bestselling author of The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids, which explores the reasons why teenagers from affluent families experience epidemic rates of emotional problems, and Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success, which tackles narrow definitions of success and gives practical, research-based solutions to help parents in raising their children. Dr. Levine is also co-founder of Challenge Success at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, which partners with schools, families, and communities to embrace a broad definition of success to promote student well-being.
Growing Goodness: Understanding Ourselves, Raising Our Children
Monday, May 13, 5:00pm – 7:30pm
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center
3921 Fabian Way
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Building on the previous session, we’ll explore how to “grow goodness” in families with considerable wealth, and continue to reap insights from how each of us talks about money and experiences it in our lives.
Facilitator:Â
Debbie Tuttle Berkowitz
Senior Philanthropy Advisor
“I thrive on helping individuals and families identify their values and connecting these values to philanthropy for meaningful impact in our community and beyond. I believe that each person has the ability to change the world and that philanthropy is an important piece of that journey.”
About Debbie:
- 15 years’ experience in the Jewish and non-profit sector
- Special focus on Family Philanthropy, Multi-Generational, Emerging Philanthropists
- Extensive experience in giving circles and group giving — including running multiple Impact Grants Initiative groups at the Federation; founding board member of the Giving Circles Fund
- B.A. from UCSD in Religious Studies; M.S.W. from the University of Southern California; M.A. in Jewish Communal Service from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles
- Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy and 21/64 Certified Advisor
Taking Your Vision into Philanthropic Action
Tuesday, June 11, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center
3921 Fabian Way
Palo Alto, CA 94303
In this last session, we’ll weave together the themes we’ve been discussing and begin to think about how to consider translating values into individual and/or family philanthropic visions. Having clarified issues of identity and mission, we’ll discuss ways to incorporate these concepts into a strategy for philanthropic impact. This session will prepare you to take your vision into action. Speakers will be announced shortly.
Cost: $300 per person (full series)
You can also purchase these sessions a la carte for $100 each.