VERO BEACH — Applauding the recent giving pledges of billionaires such as Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, Laura McKnight, President and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, recently spoke to local estate planning advisors about the emergence of Personal Social Responsibility in the wake of what is now known as The Great Recession. McKnight was invited to Vero Beach by the Board of Directors of the Indian River Community Foundation to be the keynote speaker at a meeting for professional advisors held November 3, 2010 at PNC Bank.
“It’s been nearly two years since the dawn of the Great Recession,” McKnight said. “A by-product of the unsteady environment is an increased belief that as individuals we each play a role in improving community and world.”
McKnight told the group that Personal Social Responsibility is more than giving money to charity, although philanthropy is an important component. It includes being acutely aware of the impact personal actions, and the actions of those with whom you associate, have on the world around you.
Participants included estate planning attorneys, financial and insurance advisors and members of the banking industry. McKnight stressed the importance of advisors being prepared to help clients with decisions that will honor the concepts of Personal Social Responsibility.
The Indian River Community Foundation provides individuals, corporations and nonprofits organizations a flexible philanthropic vehicle to strategically achieve charitable goals. Since 2008, local donors have given approximately $1.9 million dollars through the Indian River Community Foundation to benefit a variety of charitable organizations.
Information: Call Kerry A. Bartlett, IRCF Executive Director (772) 492-1407.