What legacy will you leave behind?
- Thread starter Sunstone
- Start date
Dear guys,
From yesterday's Australian.
Cheers,
Sunstone.
Developing a passion for charity work
Guy Allenby -November 04, 2004
IF there's one thing Pat Sergi enjoys more than making money, it's giving it away. As he puts it, keeping his property development company, Tesrol, motoring along is "very important" but "the big satisfaction is the fundraising".
Making a buck to "keep the family happy and comfortable" was, he added, a big slice of his life but the real ambition was to establish Australia's largest fundraising foundation.
His dream is to raise $100 million, to be invested and fund a host of charities to the tune of an annual $10 million into perpetuity.
"I want to be able to leave a legacy when I go," said Mr Sergi, sitting in a wingback chair in the dark timber-panelled sitting room of the company's Sydney offices.
"I'd like to leave around $10 million of funds, to be given away every year."
While some people of wealth and influence like to let it be known that they dabble in a little charity work, Mr Sergi's philanthropy is of a much bigger, more upfront and heartfelt flavour.
When he isn't dreaming up ways to help others, Mr Sergi is a director of the Tesrol group of companies. Tesrol's other director is Jorge Fernandez.
Most recently the group has been responsible for Star of the Sea, a $100 million 52-apartment development at Terrigal on the NSW Central Coast.
Star of the Sea has been built on a 10,500sqm parcel of land on Terrigal's waterfront and involved the purchase of the 8000sqm Star of the Sea Catholic School and the acquisition of some surrounding residential sites.
Mr Sergi purchased one of Star of the Sea's penthouses for his family.
Star of the Sea is "the jewel in the crown" of Tesrol's property development division, which was founded in 1986, he said. In the 18 years since, the company had completed more than 50 projects, including truck depots, goods factories and a shopping centre in Liverpool.
More recently, Tesrol's projects have included Manhattan, a $70 million redevelopment of the old Manhattan Hotel site in Sydney's Elizabeth Bay into 53 luxury apartments, and the $10 million refurbishment of former Bond stores two and three at Sydney's Walsh Bay for commercial use.
The company is also working on a residential development at Ettalong Beach on the NSW Central Coast.
But it's the charity work that remains very much Mr Sergi's "passion" and that takes up "at least" 20 per cent of his time.
"It's a pastime for me and it's a good stress reliever. I love it," he said. He's been involved with the Spastic Centre for 17 years and is chairman of the Italian Affair Committee and "we've raised millions of dollars".
He's also involved in Rotary and with the Fred Hollows Foundation.
"I've organised two balls for them. One was at the casino here in Sydney and we raised $600,000 for the night. I've been involved with the Bali Appeal for which we raised about $480,000."
While other people go "to the pub or to the races" in their spare time, he said, "to me I'd rather be doing fundraising and help someone else that is more in need".
Mr Sergi, who received an OAM in 1996 for services to the community (specifically for his work for the Spastic Centre, Fred Hollows Foundation and other charities), said he'd happily sit at the computer at home until midnight indulging his pastime: plotting ways to extract money from the fortunate and push it towards those in need. Only now he believes he's come up with a means to do it in an even bigger way, through the Paint a Rainbow Foundation.
"I've been working on this for the past 12 months but I've been thinking about it for at least seven years."
Paint a Rainbow Foundation was slated for a formal launch in May 2005, Mr Sergi said, adding that he'd already had "pledges of $100,000 and I've got one guy who is waiting for it to be launched to give me a million dollars". "I've spoken to Alan Jones. He supports it and I'm sure he's going to be on my committee," he said. "People know me as being involved in fundraising.
"They know that I'm doing it for the right reasons and people will give you a cheque. If you ask for a hundred they might give you a thousand."
The plans aren't "concrete" yet, he pointed out, but the foundation would likely raise funds via four major functions every year: an annual ball; a golf day; a race day; and an annual cruise.
In the first year, $200,000 would be donated to a list of charities, with the balance of the funds to be invested.
"Anything we raise above that we are going to invest 50 per cent in real estate, 20 per cent in the money market and 20 per cent in stocks and shares."
The final 10 per cent would be kept as a "float" by the foundation.
These investments, meanwhile, would be made by a "wishlist" of leading experts (Mr Sergi hasn't approached some of them yet, so he did not want it revealed who they probably were).
The experts will make investment recommendations and the board of Paint a Rainbow Foundation will "say yay or nay".
"The board will meet every six weeks or two months. Everything is voluntary."
It's hoped that in the coming years of the foundation's life that more can be donated directly each year and more can be put away into "long-term investments".
Mr Sergi's dream is that one day Paint a Rainbow Foundation will be worth $100million and be pumping $10 million each year into worthy causes that will include the "Heart Foundation, the Children's Hospital and all the other hospitals, cancer research, the Spastic Centre, the Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul and The Red Cross".
"I think that by investing it properly you are forever going to be giving out so much money each year.
"People ask me: 'What are you doing it for'?
"It's not because you want the recognition or for what you are going to get. You do it because you like doing it.
"This is a passion [I have] for doing something for my community. This is an appreciation of what life's been to me."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11276460%5E25658,00.html
From yesterday's Australian.
Cheers,
Sunstone.
Developing a passion for charity work
Guy Allenby -November 04, 2004
IF there's one thing Pat Sergi enjoys more than making money, it's giving it away. As he puts it, keeping his property development company, Tesrol, motoring along is "very important" but "the big satisfaction is the fundraising".
Making a buck to "keep the family happy and comfortable" was, he added, a big slice of his life but the real ambition was to establish Australia's largest fundraising foundation.
His dream is to raise $100 million, to be invested and fund a host of charities to the tune of an annual $10 million into perpetuity.
"I want to be able to leave a legacy when I go," said Mr Sergi, sitting in a wingback chair in the dark timber-panelled sitting room of the company's Sydney offices.
"I'd like to leave around $10 million of funds, to be given away every year."
While some people of wealth and influence like to let it be known that they dabble in a little charity work, Mr Sergi's philanthropy is of a much bigger, more upfront and heartfelt flavour.
When he isn't dreaming up ways to help others, Mr Sergi is a director of the Tesrol group of companies. Tesrol's other director is Jorge Fernandez.
Most recently the group has been responsible for Star of the Sea, a $100 million 52-apartment development at Terrigal on the NSW Central Coast.
Star of the Sea has been built on a 10,500sqm parcel of land on Terrigal's waterfront and involved the purchase of the 8000sqm Star of the Sea Catholic School and the acquisition of some surrounding residential sites.
Mr Sergi purchased one of Star of the Sea's penthouses for his family.
Star of the Sea is "the jewel in the crown" of Tesrol's property development division, which was founded in 1986, he said. In the 18 years since, the company had completed more than 50 projects, including truck depots, goods factories and a shopping centre in Liverpool.
More recently, Tesrol's projects have included Manhattan, a $70 million redevelopment of the old Manhattan Hotel site in Sydney's Elizabeth Bay into 53 luxury apartments, and the $10 million refurbishment of former Bond stores two and three at Sydney's Walsh Bay for commercial use.
The company is also working on a residential development at Ettalong Beach on the NSW Central Coast.
But it's the charity work that remains very much Mr Sergi's "passion" and that takes up "at least" 20 per cent of his time.
"It's a pastime for me and it's a good stress reliever. I love it," he said. He's been involved with the Spastic Centre for 17 years and is chairman of the Italian Affair Committee and "we've raised millions of dollars".
He's also involved in Rotary and with the Fred Hollows Foundation.
"I've organised two balls for them. One was at the casino here in Sydney and we raised $600,000 for the night. I've been involved with the Bali Appeal for which we raised about $480,000."
While other people go "to the pub or to the races" in their spare time, he said, "to me I'd rather be doing fundraising and help someone else that is more in need".
Mr Sergi, who received an OAM in 1996 for services to the community (specifically for his work for the Spastic Centre, Fred Hollows Foundation and other charities), said he'd happily sit at the computer at home until midnight indulging his pastime: plotting ways to extract money from the fortunate and push it towards those in need. Only now he believes he's come up with a means to do it in an even bigger way, through the Paint a Rainbow Foundation.
"I've been working on this for the past 12 months but I've been thinking about it for at least seven years."
Paint a Rainbow Foundation was slated for a formal launch in May 2005, Mr Sergi said, adding that he'd already had "pledges of $100,000 and I've got one guy who is waiting for it to be launched to give me a million dollars". "I've spoken to Alan Jones. He supports it and I'm sure he's going to be on my committee," he said. "People know me as being involved in fundraising.
"They know that I'm doing it for the right reasons and people will give you a cheque. If you ask for a hundred they might give you a thousand."
The plans aren't "concrete" yet, he pointed out, but the foundation would likely raise funds via four major functions every year: an annual ball; a golf day; a race day; and an annual cruise.
In the first year, $200,000 would be donated to a list of charities, with the balance of the funds to be invested.
"Anything we raise above that we are going to invest 50 per cent in real estate, 20 per cent in the money market and 20 per cent in stocks and shares."
The final 10 per cent would be kept as a "float" by the foundation.
These investments, meanwhile, would be made by a "wishlist" of leading experts (Mr Sergi hasn't approached some of them yet, so he did not want it revealed who they probably were).
The experts will make investment recommendations and the board of Paint a Rainbow Foundation will "say yay or nay".
"The board will meet every six weeks or two months. Everything is voluntary."
It's hoped that in the coming years of the foundation's life that more can be donated directly each year and more can be put away into "long-term investments".
Mr Sergi's dream is that one day Paint a Rainbow Foundation will be worth $100million and be pumping $10 million each year into worthy causes that will include the "Heart Foundation, the Children's Hospital and all the other hospitals, cancer research, the Spastic Centre, the Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul and The Red Cross".
"I think that by investing it properly you are forever going to be giving out so much money each year.
"People ask me: 'What are you doing it for'?
"It's not because you want the recognition or for what you are going to get. You do it because you like doing it.
"This is a passion [I have] for doing something for my community. This is an appreciation of what life's been to me."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11276460%5E25658,00.html
I do small things, but my answer is "I don`t know yet", and judging by how long I`ve thought about it I may never know, but one things for sure when I do, noone will know I did a thing, it sickens me to see charities with someones name all over it.
The best legacy you can give is to teach young people to have common sense and be tolerant and to try to do everything you do in the right spirit with a strong free will.
The best legacy you can give is to teach young people to have common sense and be tolerant and to try to do everything you do in the right spirit with a strong free will.
markpatric said:
There DOES seem to be a trend for sporting personalities to start foundations "The XXX YYY Foundation"...
Call my cynical.. but I see very generous taxation treatment for certain aspects of the running of Charitable Organisations, especially with regard to FBT and of course Income Tax.. I wonder about the remuneration for Trustees and other employed individuals within the Charity.. is it the next great tax scam? Set up a charity, donate money to it, have the public donate money to it, expense much of it away within the Charity.. I have no evidence, just a feeling..
Yes also pop stars royalty you name it, but anyway it seems that no matter how much money we have we never have enough to help others unless there is some tax deduction, then again there are probably other more selfish ways to avoid tax. I think any kind of help is better than nothing, it`s more than I do at present so I take back the cynical comment.
markpatric said:Yes also pop stars royalty you name it, but anyway it seems that no matter how much money we have we never have enough to help others unless there is some tax deduction, then again there are probably other more selfish ways to avoid tax. I think any kind of help is better than nothing, it`s more than I do at present so I take back the cynical comment.
In some ways.. even if it was legitimate, it kinda dilutes the available charity dollars, more overhead, more administration, more spent on marketing.. I'd have more respect for them if they were actively raising money for well-respected charities.
I donate money to the same charity once each year, if I gave a little bit of money to each charity I feel my contribution would on the whole, be less.
I go with the idea that charity should be given anonymously, therefore there is no expectation on that money as charity should be. I feel it becomes meaningless as soon as some value is attached to it.
Also, if you give and the recipient knows about it, they are often back again for more and then it becomes a "have-to" out of expectation, and therefore destroys the intent.
To answer the question, I plan to either offer myself as an educator/mentor to children/teenagers to bridge the gap between schools and real life, an area I feel is sorely lacking leaving many without the skills to be a success.
Also, if you give and the recipient knows about it, they are often back again for more and then it becomes a "have-to" out of expectation, and therefore destroys the intent.
To answer the question, I plan to either offer myself as an educator/mentor to children/teenagers to bridge the gap between schools and real life, an area I feel is sorely lacking leaving many without the skills to be a success.
Years ago, I once made a very naive comment at a dinner party about feeling resentful about door to door charity salesperson and how they got paid to do it which was unfair to the charity, the charity should receive all the monies I declared.
A person at the dinner party replied that if it had not been for the door to door charity salesperson then the charity would not have received the $1 and even if the salesperson received half of that and the charity received 50 cents then half of something was better than half of nothing.
I have never forgotten this conversation and it certainly put me back in my place
On a brighter note, today I received my new world vision sponsor childs details "Zhuwana Kamfana" who is 6 and lives in Malawi. It has made my day, along with Glebe's post about me earlier today on the equity protected loans
I decided to get a sponser child when I found out that one of the guys from work as 3 sponsor children and 5 children of his own and another guy (who happens to be on the World Vision advertisments with his wife) has a few as well.
I think everyone should tell the world what support they give to charities rather than feel that they have to keep quite and not raise attention to the fact that they are giving and not want to be judged by other people thinking that they are doing it for a tax dodge or that they are tooting there own horn. And I endorse and support celebreties putting there name and face to lend support to raise funds for worthy causes.
Every little bit counts and people are welcome to give as much or as little as they can afford or they wish.
A person at the dinner party replied that if it had not been for the door to door charity salesperson then the charity would not have received the $1 and even if the salesperson received half of that and the charity received 50 cents then half of something was better than half of nothing.
I have never forgotten this conversation and it certainly put me back in my place
On a brighter note, today I received my new world vision sponsor childs details "Zhuwana Kamfana" who is 6 and lives in Malawi. It has made my day, along with Glebe's post about me earlier today on the equity protected loans
I decided to get a sponser child when I found out that one of the guys from work as 3 sponsor children and 5 children of his own and another guy (who happens to be on the World Vision advertisments with his wife) has a few as well.
I think everyone should tell the world what support they give to charities rather than feel that they have to keep quite and not raise attention to the fact that they are giving and not want to be judged by other people thinking that they are doing it for a tax dodge or that they are tooting there own horn. And I endorse and support celebreties putting there name and face to lend support to raise funds for worthy causes.
Every little bit counts and people are welcome to give as much or as little as they can afford or they wish.
Corsa,
Nice balanced view as always.. I'm sure anyone starting a charity to get the tax dodge is indeed in the minority.
Perhaps sportstars have the ability to prompt their fan base into making a donation that perhaps would not have been otherwise forthcoming.. It does seem on the whole a positive development in hindsight
Nice balanced view as always.. I'm sure anyone starting a charity to get the tax dodge is indeed in the minority.
Perhaps sportstars have the ability to prompt their fan base into making a donation that perhaps would not have been otherwise forthcoming.. It does seem on the whole a positive development in hindsight
Duncan your probably right in some cases.
Wealthy Jay I agree, to give your time is much harder to do and ultimately worth more than money, in more ways than one.
Wealthy Jay I agree, to give your time is much harder to do and ultimately worth more than money, in more ways than one.
What legacy will I leave behind? I haven't really though about it much. I know I am making a difference for my family and my kids. At work, I strive to be an example of integrity, kindness, and service.
I don't know if I will have a huge fortune to give away when I am old. I hope I will be able to. I do give away some to charity now. However, I believe everybody can make difference by being good role models, especially for our kids.
Cheers,
I don't know if I will have a huge fortune to give away when I am old. I hope I will be able to. I do give away some to charity now. However, I believe everybody can make difference by being good role models, especially for our kids.
Cheers,
I donate to a couple of animal protection organisations on a monthly basis and also to emergency appeals when they arise. It does not seem like much but it is all I can manage for the moment. I try to make a difference within my neighbourhood though, through many of the little things others have mentioned. I am about a third of the age of all of my neighbours (!!) so myself and my better half have visited them all, given them our names and numbers and encouaged them to call us should they need anything, big or small. One of them called us the next day just to say thank you. Not exactly leaving a legacy but as others have noted, all of these things add to the happiness of the community, even if only in a very small way. I also see being vegetarian as a small contribution of mine.
My goal and dream has always been to buy large tracts of old growth forest and land which provides a home to endangered species... and just leave it there, untouched.
Interesting thread guys!
My goal and dream has always been to buy large tracts of old growth forest and land which provides a home to endangered species... and just leave it there, untouched.
Interesting thread guys!
My legacy will be a land bank.
I got the idea when i was in Mackay last month. I want to buy land that the habitat is still intact and connects with a functioning protected habitat to preserve species diversity.
Then I will put a covenant on it to disallow development on it down the track. That fits in with how I live my life and what I want to preserve for future generations. Not very exciting at all but works for me.
Ecogirl
I got the idea when i was in Mackay last month. I want to buy land that the habitat is still intact and connects with a functioning protected habitat to preserve species diversity.
Then I will put a covenant on it to disallow development on it down the track. That fits in with how I live my life and what I want to preserve for future generations. Not very exciting at all but works for me.
Ecogirl
My plan (I am yet to buy my first IP), is to sponsor a child through World Vision for every IP I buy. I saw that someone else who posted does this, and I am feeling pretty eager to get on with it. (Need to sell or refinance my PPOR first).
Another thing I love the idea of doing is lease options. I had a really hard time getting into the property market, due to always paying rent and not being able to save a decent deposit. It would be really cool to know that I am helping someone buy their own home. I am still working out the details of it in my head, but from what I can tell, it can be worked to be a totally win/win situation for both parties.
Another thing I love the idea of doing is lease options. I had a really hard time getting into the property market, due to always paying rent and not being able to save a decent deposit. It would be really cool to know that I am helping someone buy their own home. I am still working out the details of it in my head, but from what I can tell, it can be worked to be a totally win/win situation for both parties.
I thought I had already posted in this thread... Ive read it a *few* times.
Ive helped start the largest basketball club in our association - we are one of the only clubs (in our area) that doesnt give its mgmt/committee some type of renumeration.
My personal plan to give back to the community is along similar lines - Id love to start a ski(snow) club which provides training, sponsorship, facilities etc.
In addition to that I spose Ill have to get around to doing my doctorate and contribute some original thought to economic community (Or at least try)
Ive helped start the largest basketball club in our association - we are one of the only clubs (in our area) that doesnt give its mgmt/committee some type of renumeration.
My personal plan to give back to the community is along similar lines - Id love to start a ski(snow) club which provides training, sponsorship, facilities etc.
In addition to that I spose Ill have to get around to doing my doctorate and contribute some original thought to economic community (Or at least try)
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