Author Archives: Bret Bicoy

As the fifth of our six children moves into her first apartment this weekend, I cannot help but pause for a moment to celebrate the giving person she has become. This daughter spends hours dreaming up wonderfully imaginative birthday celebrations for others because she knows how much it will make them smile. When she heardContinue reading “Giving is a Key to Success”

Frank Benford was a physicist in General Electric’s research laboratory almost a century ago. During that era, data sets were typed or written out by hand. One day, as he was looking through pages and pages filled with numbers, he noticed a fascinating pattern that was consistent across all his voluminous ledgers of work. First,Continue reading “An Accounting-Fraud Tool Applied to Nonprofits”

People’s reluctance to talk openly about their charitable giving has always frustrated me. Most folks will excitedly share stories about their beautiful new sailboat or the vacation they took to some exotic, far-away land. Yet when it comes to the charities we support, we tend to be far more hesitant to share. I’ve always foundContinue reading “Lessons for Nonprofits from 50,000 Wills”

About a decade and a half ago, I had the opportunity to work with one of northeast Wisconsin’s great philanthropists. This was a man whose wealth was significant, but his collective generosity far exceeded what you would ever expect for a man of his means. I got to know this man late in his lifeContinue reading “Let’s Talk About Giving”