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Where Angels Dwell: The de Tocqueville Society
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Business New Haven
9/29/2003
By: Melissa Nicefaro
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New Haven is home to one of the United Way’s prestigious Alexis de Tocqueville Societies.
The name for this national giving society was chosen for Alexis de Tocqueville’s admiration for the spirit of voluntary effort for the common good, a spirit he observed in America and about which he wrote enthusiastically, according to the United Way.
Herbert Pearce, founder of H. Pearce Co., Realtors, and CPA Michael McHugh, formerly of Coopers & Lybrand, jump-started the local de Tocqueville society three years ago with a major, lifesaving recruitment effort. Today the group counts 32 members.
Individuals may join the Alexis de Tocqueville Society with an annual contribution of $10,000 or more to United Way of Greater New Haven. Society members can establish a personal philanthropy fund to make contributions to non-profit organizations through United Way.
"That means that they have a minimum contribution to United Way, but then they can designate their dollars to any non-profit they want it to go to," explains United Way spokesperson Heather Calabrese. "It can be a United Way-funded agency or it could be something like the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, or a local church food pantry."
For many, there are substantial tax benefits. According to the United Way, if you contribute $10,000 or more annually to charitable organizations, you can use your personal philanthropy fund to take available tax credits. As a society member you can: make a single charitable gift through stock or cash for tax purposes at any time during the year and distribute the funds in the following year; and distribute charitable gifts to any 501(c)3 organization, including education and arts groups.
"An interesting trend is that as we build relationships with members of the de Tocqueville Society and as they learn more about United Way, their unrestricted gift — the chunk that they give to United Way to be invested on their behalf — grows," explains Calabrese.
Each year the greater New Haven society honor a philanthropist or couple who have exhibited outstanding philanthropy in the community. On October 29, the United Way will honor philanthropists William C. and Jean M. Graustein as its 2003 Alexis de Tocqueville award recipients.
"For many, many years, they have been the quiet, very generous local philanthropists," says Calabrese. "Their focus is on education and they’re very generous personally, too. Their memorial fund funds very significant education initiatives across the state. They’re a great example of personal philanthropy."
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