Photograph by Whitney Curtis
At age 96, Lucy Lopata knows a lot about philanthropy. Her first suggestion? Start with the United Way, which she terms “an overall
agency for St. Louis charities.” Derek Rapp, CEO of biotech company Divergence and chair of the Greater Saint Louis Community Foundation, agrees.
“I heard it said years ago by a donor that she views her donations to the United Way as her first dollars to the community,” he says. “By giving to the United Way, a donor knows he or she can rely on the good work and diligence of a whole lot of volunteers and a sophisticated staff.”
Then turn to your own interests. “Anything you are really interested in should be your priority,” Lopata says. For her and her late husband, Stanley, it’s been education, with a special emphasis on Washington University. “Stanley had to go to the university during the Depression. Washington U. let him pay his tuition in monthly installments. He never forgot that.”
John Ferring, president of packaging company Plaze and one of the city’s most active philanthropists, would skip the buckshot approach. “Personal experience is, you start where your passion is,” Ferring says. “When Alison and I started, our first interest was in education and kids. We identified COCA, we started small, and went from there. To me, it is much more rewarding to get involved with something that you are passionate about rather than just writing a check that goes to 100 different places.”
That ardor could be sparked in many different ways. “It could be because we are moved by their mission in general or it could be that we have a special personal association,” Rapp says. “We have a son with Type 1 diabetes and we have six family members with Type 1 diabetes. Obviously, that is a place where we are going to spend our time and our money.”
There is an additional component: “Donate to causes in ways that will give you a meaningful sense of gratification,” Rapp says. “There are so many needs and so many wonderful organizations trying to meet those needs, it is totally appropriate to want to have a positive feeling about donating. Find those things that speak to your heart and pursue them with your charitable dollars.”
He advises due diligence—researching the charity, personally visiting the offices, finding out how your donated funds will be used, seeing how effectively and efficiently the organization is run—before a check is actually written.
“Some need it more than others,” Lopata says. “Some do more good than others.”
