Marty Dutch’s Story

It was a Quest that empowered me to combine my love of philanthropy with my work. I have been very active in the nonprofit community for years and when my kids went off to college I realized that I could change my career, but to what? So began the quest.

The very short version…coffee meetings with people who could offer me advise, interviews for clarity, a circle of friends and the Strengths Finder assessment took me on a path to find The Heritage Institute where I found training in family legacy planning. Connecting the dots…philanthropy is the safest way to begin engaging multiple generations of family members.

My passion is connecting people to philanthropy because I know it will change their life. If I can identify the “No Big Deal” skill (you know that thing that you do effortlessly, and when someone gives you a compliment you say “It’s no big deal”) I can find a nonprofit that will truly benefit. Win/Win.

The second step of the quest was finding a way to get paid. Doug Freeman and Lee Hausner have the best reputations for doing legacy work and philanthropy. I commandeered a meeting with the two of them and that began an unexpected journey with Doug Freeman where I will be forever grateful. He hired me at First Foundation to launch a pro bono initiative for nonprofits. Under his mentorship I was able to learn everything about nonprofit governance, fundraising, management, social venture and my favorite area of work Board training. Truth be told, my head hurt every day because he was pouring knowledge though a fire hose.

I have had the privilege of working with over 200 nonprofit organizations in Southern California, Northern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii. Our engagement starts with two questions. 1. What keeps you up at night? 2. If you had a magic wand and could do anything, what does anything look like? Based on these two answers we put a strategic plan together and get to work.

I also have the privilege of helping individuals/families and foundations identify how they can effectively impact the community, prepare their heirs, leverage their NO BIG DEAL and leave a legacy. Investing in nonprofits is a journey because sometimes you find the fit right away but sometimes it takes a few tries. We need to invest these dollars with the same due diligence as our financial portfolios.

In my personal time I am the Chairperson of the Anaheim YMCA, Safe Families for Children, Advisors in Philanthropy, The Entertainment Community Fund, Biola, and Child Creativity Lab.