Tips from a Wall Street 'Generosity coach'

NEW YORK — Kathy LeMay lives in the college town of Northampton, Mass., with a mortgage and a 2005 Honda Accord hybrid that she's paying off mainly by counseling billionaires and others on how to give away their money.

LeMay, who once lived in Seattle, is a so-called generosity coach. She advises donors large and small to identify the issues they're passionate about and the nonprofits that address them. She has worked with clients of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and JPMorgan Chase, according to her and representatives of the companies.

Whether you're donating money, time or both, she recommends zeroing in on a few causes to develop expertise and relationships with organizations.

"Generosity should become a part of your life because of what it does for you and your sense of well-being," said LeMay, author of "The Generosity Plan: Sharing Your Time, Treasure, and Talent to Shape the World" (Atria, $15). "You have a sense of being connected to something greater than you. It's how you do it that defines whether you're effective or become burnt out."

LeMay, 39, was in New York this past week, commemorating the International Corporate Philanthropy Day.

LeMay's book argues that strategic beneficence is the key. Focus allows you to say no to solicitations more often than yes. Scattershot onetime gifts aren't emotionally satisfying, she said. And they confuse organizations, because they expect and solicit additional donations that don't materialize.

"It's not helpful to the nonprofit sector to be writing checks all over the place," LeMay said. "You're diluting your efforts."

She herself gives away about 30 percent of her income to charity and friends and family who live below the federal poverty line, which is about $22,000 a year for a family of four.

At 23, living in Seattle, she learned what one can do without riches. She visited a refugee camp in the former Yugoslavia, and once home was determined to help the women rebuild their lives.

LeMay said she doesn't obsess about an organization's overhead nor about high, six- figure and seven-figure pay at large nonprofits as long as the organization can justify the compensation.

"I'm less interested in the breakdown of money unless it's absurd," LeMay said. "I'm more interested in results."

LeMay said her personal debt totals about $26,000, excluding mortgage. She says giving is her priority.

"Those checks are more fun than the debt ones," she said. "People are in need today."