The presidential campaign of Kamala Harris could spur a surge in philanthropic giving to support women and people of color, says Melanie Schnoll Begun of the family office resources department at Morgan Stanley.
“Having Kamala as our potential next president — the first woman and a Black woman — is a huge conversation in philanthropic sectors,” Schnoll Begun, managing director and head of Morgan Stanley's philanthropy management group, told Crain Currency. “There will be a tremendous focus among women philanthropists on supporting a woman to become the president of this country.”
The vice president, 59, is younger than both the current president — Joe Biden, 81 — and Republican nominee Donald Trump, who is 78 years old. In June, Morgan Stanley hosted its annual Exchange conference in New York for the bank’s ultra-high-net-worth clients, where Schnoll Begun said it was common for heirs to voice their yearning for a younger presidential candidate.
“This next generation of leaders leveraging their philanthropic power is very interested in promoting the opportunity of having a younger representation as president of our country,” Schnoll Begun said. “The end of the year, usually the fourth quarter, is when most philanthropists become active. November is right in the middle — that’s when philanthropy is on fire.”
Schnoll Begun expects philanthropy to play a large role in funding causes encouraging voter registration among college students. The last U.S. presidential election drew a record-high 66% voter turnout from college students, according to research from Tufts University.
“[Philanthropy] is leveraged prolifically to encourage voters to get out and vote,” Schnoll Begun said. “The advocacy behind being on college campuses — and empowering and enabling those who are either not at home and have not registered where they’re living to be able to vote or have not exercised their opportunity to have an absentee ballot — [that’s] a huge demographic of society that would look at Vice President Harris as potentially being a candidate that they would greatly support [and] is something we’re seeing tremendous interest in.”
Philanthropic decisions could also be influenced by the future of federal estate tax policies that depend on November’s election. Under Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed in 2017, the current federal estate tax exemption is $13.61 million per person, but that figure is expected to be cut roughly in half once the act expires at the end of 2025. A Trump victory in November could result in his estate tax exemption being extended, whereas Democratic legislation would likely seek to lower the exemption amount.
"Planning the estate tax implications for the next generation is a big focus of ours as we look ahead to November,” said Taylor Hollis, director of family office services at Ritholtz Wealth Management. “The current generation of high-net-worth families is maxed out on their exemption, but people forget that subsequent generations can be impacted as well. Having the foresight to shield the younger generation’s assets from future estate tax can be a powerful tool.
"We’re talking with clients on how their heirs can use up their exemption, especially if that exemption is cut in half depending on who’s in the Oval Office."