Origin Story
The original use of the term “blended gifts” can be found in a presentation Robert Sharpe Jr. made at the Partners in Philanthropic Giving national conference in Anaheim in 1995.
As the focal point of the presentation entitled “How Will the Baby Boomers Boom?”, he noted that the first baby boomers were approaching the age of 50 and would soon be entering the period in life when many major gifts are planned and implemented.
Given that baby boomers married later than previous generations, were facing unprecedented retirement periods that could last for decades and were, in many cases, responsible for the economic well-being of aging parents, he predicted that this generation would be more inclined to make larger charitable gifts differently from previous generations and would use what he referred to in quotes as “blended gifts” to do so.
The term “blended gift” was originally meant to describe the new and different ways that baby boomers and other seniors might be expected to make gifts. Some gifts would be outright immediate transfers of cash and other assets, while others would be deferred for a number of years or until the death of one or more individuals. “Blended gifts,” on the other hand, would be structured as combinations of current and deferred gifts, with the focus on the total value of the gift.
