Author Archives: Bret Bicoy

For nearly a decade, the Bank of America Study of Philanthropy: Charitable Giving by Affluent Households has been conducted in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. It is the most comprehensive, longitudinal study of the giving habits of America’s wealthy families. The 2021 version of the study was recently released, offeringContinue reading “Insights on Giving in Affluent Households”

Last summer I finally broke down and bought a pair of noise cancelling earbuds.  My father had hearing problems late in life so as I’ve grown older, I thought the active noise cancellation could help protect my hearing a bit while I’m mowing the lawn or blowing snow.  When you put them in your earsContinue reading “The Enormous Power of Weak Bonds”

The room smelled of disinfectant and the floor was cold, but the exceedingly kind staff had placed a blanket on the floor. I sat down and began to cry, leaned against the wall, then invited Buddy to join me on the quilt. He was nervous and uncomfortable, but mine was the face he trusted mostContinue reading “The Unexpected Things We Love”

Central to my father’s definition of love was presence. He was an army veteran who experienced the burden of command in World War II and Korea. My father trained himself to bury his feelings so the horrors he encountered would not distract him from accomplishing his mission. He became a highly decorated soldier because heContinue reading “Redefining Love in Door County”

During a recent drive to visit one of our children, my wife and I found ourselves scanning the radio to find something interesting to pass the time.  While I’m not normally a fan of talk radio, we stumbled upon a program that piqued my interest.  The host and his guest were discussing the state ofContinue reading “It’s Not About the Tax Deduction”

The whole business model of banking is when you send money out, you’re supposed to bring even more money back in.  A loss is precisely what the banker is trying to avoid.  Thus it’s a bit ironic that the Door County Community Foundation recently honored Tom and Jill Herlache, members of Door County’s most iconicContinue reading “Enriching Ourselves Through Giving”

Several decades ago, in a community far away from our beloved Door County, I once was involved in raising money to renovate a local neighborhood center. I was giving a tour to one of that community’s great philanthropists when an old woman came up to me, stuffed a pledge envelope in my hand, then hurriedContinue reading “We All Can Be Philanthropists”

Even if you don’t follow the trends in the philanthropic world as obsessively as I do, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard about of MacKenzie Scott.  As most of us know, Ms. Scott has been giving to charity from her Amazon.com wealth at a record pace. Three years ago, Ms. Scott signed the “GivingContinue reading “Making $12 Billion Worth More than $12 Billion”

The late Howard Baker, Jr. was a giant of Republican politics.  He served for nearly twenty years as the U.S. Senator from Tennessee, achieving the role of Senate Majority Leader and ultimately as the right hand of President Ronald Reagan as White House Chief of Staff.  In his obituary in 2014, the Washington Post describedContinue reading “Door County Comes Together to Rebuild a Nation”

I read something truly fascinating the other day which is indicative of a troubling trend in our nation.  Over the last 50 years, in all the books published in the United States, the frequency of the word “I” has doubled. This fact comes from Robert Putnam’s book, The Upswing:  How America Came Together a CenturyContinue reading “The Problematic Shift from the We to the I”