Spotlight On Family Philanthropy: Leah Bishop & Gary Yale

Leah Bishop: My dad is the biggest influence in my life. When he died, the New York Times said, “Jerry Bishop, noted philanthropist, dies at 75.” He would have loved that. It didn’t say “noted business man,” it said “noted philanthropist.”

He believed in tikkun olam, the individual responsibility to repair the world. He believed it was everyone’s responsibility to give back to the community that had given us so much, and we’ve tried to instill that in our children.

Gary Yale: When our daughters were little, we felt like they needed to see that not everyone in the world had it as good as they did. They helped us feed the hungry and homeless.

They really absorbed the desire to give back. Elizabeth used to take her allowance and give it away to various causes. We tried to explain to her that the allowance was meant for her. But she said, “Others need it so much more.”

So we gave them two allowances: a philanthropic one to be given away to organizations helping the less fortunate and their own personal allowance. It resonated with them so much that, upon college graduation, we gave them each a donor advised fund.

Leah Bishop: Giving your kids money to use for philanthropy is every bit as important as money they can spend on themselves. It’s wonderful to see our children giving back to the world, and that’s what we want to pass on from generation to generation.