Enduring impact: How a long-term donor builds a lasting legacy
A Q&A with Acumen Partner Margo Alexander on the value of sustained giving and building a philanthropic legacy.
Margo Alexander is one of Acumen’s earliest funders and has served on our board for more than two decades. We caught up with her to explore the longevity of her support and how planned giving can help cement a philanthropic legacy.
You’ve been part of Acumen’s story since the early days. What first drew you to the organization?
Nearing retirement from my career on Wall Street, I began looking for board roles at one or more non-profit organizations. I did not have a specific issue in mind but sought a place where my experience would be useful supporting their work and where I could be actively engaged.
In college, studying economics and business, I came to believe that corporations could and should include various social issues in their mission beyond shareholder profits, specifically training and promotion of women and people of color. Later, while working, I expanded my list of issues relevant to corporate attention: the environment, product safety, and community impact.
The day I discovered Acumen, I knew I had found the organization I was seeking. The idea of raising philanthropic dollars to fund businesses providing goods and services to the poor, applying business principles to investing, and impact measurement appealed to me based on my experience.
More importantly, I was uplifted and inspired by Jacqueline. Beyond my investment experience, I thought hiring people was a special personal strength of importance in my career. Jacqueline scored on every front: energy, intellect, connection, inspiration. Impossible to foresee then, my life took a giant step forward that day.
What has it been like to watch Acumen grow and evolve over the years?
Watching Acumen’s impressive growth – in scope and scale – has been a genuine source of pride and amazement. It has impacted hundreds of millions of lives and funded companies that have delivered game-changing products, services, and opportunities to under-funded communities, countries, even whole continents. In the process, Jacqueline has proven to be an extraordinary leader with deep personal commitment to the organization, its staff, the mission, and the humans Acumen seeks to serve. Acumen has a culture of smart, talented people who grow, strengthen, and change with new programs, new organizational developments, and geographical expansion while remaining true to the mission, values, and culture. It is a demanding workplace requiring long hours, challenging work, and of course less compensation than these talented people could earn in most for-profit organizations.
Why did you decide to stay involved for the long haul, rather than just making a one-time gift?
I stayed involved because I believe in the work and am proud to be a part of the team bringing real change to some of the hardest to reach, least supported communities on Earth. Along the way, I met people in these communities and discovered their robust intelligence, love of life, and the shared humanity that connects us all. I learned that their goals and wishes are, in essence, the same as mine. I learned that opportunity is a defining element of one’s life, yet highly dependent on the total randomness of one’s birth. I know that Acumen brings life-changing goods, services, and opportunities to millions of those people.
Do you think it’s important — or even wise — to fund a single organization over a long period of time? Why?
Some people like to help start up a philanthropy, help get it on its feet, and then move on. Some people’s interests and concerns change. There’s nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, if you find an organization whose purpose aligns with yours and whose leadership and vision is dynamic enough to maintain that alignment and growth into the future, it is hugely rewarding to stay committed over time. For me, Acumen is the organization I know that best pursues the goals I share with strategies and processes I believe are creative, successful, and brave.
What role do you think legacy giving can play in ensuring an organization’s impact?
Legacy giving requires confidence that management will provide guardrails and excellent succession planning to continue pursuing the mission you believe in. Despite Acumen’s success to date and the ever greater impact I anticipate in coming years, I believe there will always be humans in need of helping hands. At this moment I am deeply saddened by the closing of USAID. We need an organization like Acumen that will always work to find ways to support human well-being.
How do you think planned giving helps donors shape the legacy they want to leave behind?
I hope to leave minor traces of my life ranging from memories held by people I touched to the work of institutions I supported and, perhaps, a few surviving loose ends not yet identified. Planned giving to Acumen is one way to continue sharing my hopes for the well-being of others and helping sustain commitments to standing with the poor. I believe that the transformative leadership of Acumen will prevail, shepherding my hopes into the future.
What would you say to someone considering writing Acumen into their will?
Yes, include Acumen. The need for ethical leadership and supporting underserved communities will last a long time. Whenever and wherever poverty comes into view, I trust Acumen’s leadership, culture, and vision to pursue solutions that help people with limited opportunities fulfill their hopes and dreams.