Paul and Susan Spiess

Teaching values to their children and providing support to community organizations

Paul and Susan Spiess wanted to share the experience of giving with their grown children and they hoped to pass on a family tradition of community involvement. They believe that giving back to one’s community is taught by example, so they set up a donor advised fund and included their children as fund advisors.

“Susan and I have been actively involved in local service organizations and civic activities in Amherst [N.H.] for many years. We know firsthand how these commitments strengthen one’s sense of belonging within a community. Now that our children have grown, we wanted to develop a legacy that we can build upon in coming years and that will reflect our priorities,” Paul said. 

So they established the Spiess Family Fund. With this donor advised fund, they decide as a family which causes and projects to support. And that’s all they have to think about since their fund is managed for them and their legacy is ensured for generations to come.

“We have been afforded the opportunity to pass these gifts on to our children, and we feel a sense of responsibility to do more,” said Paul.

“When we saw how the donor advised fund works, we knew that this was the vehicle we could use to show our children the value of philanthropy and the need for planning and investment to accomplish our goals. This is our way of saying that ‘giving back to society is part of our value system.’”

<< Back