My Story
TL;DR - My life experiences led me to the conclusion that my purpose in life is to help people help people.
Hi, my name is Dan Kaminski and I believe that my purpose in life is to help people help people. It's ironic that it took me so long to come to this conclusion, as I was taught to be of service to others at a young age.
My elementary school was on the leading edge of technology and acquired Apple PowerBooks through a grant well before other schools did. The challenge was that our teachers didn't know how to use them. As someone who loves to learn, I quickly picked up how to use and more importantly, troubleshoot the laptops. This eventually turned into me helping the teachers when problems arose, even being pulled out of other classes to help. I didn't know it at the time, but these early experiences shaped my future. It felt good to help the teachers because it in turn, helped a lot more of my classmates.
In college, I naturally found my way in to an IT role. It was fun and intuitive for me to fix the myriad of issues staff, students and professors encountered. My junior year I applied for and was accepted into a position that gave me oversight of a multitude of specialized systems. I covered 29 departments, 40 full time staff and 300 student workers. This role would end up being my first 'real' job out of college. Every department I covered was in the stone ages as far as I was concerned. Lot's of paper pushing, busywork and inefficiency. For a tech-forward person like myself, this was a goldmine of opportunity.
I went department by department asking what they did, how they did it and why they did it that way. What I heard on repeat was, "that's the way we've always done it." At that time I made it my mission to help my staff be more efficient through newer technology and automation. In my mind, that meant that they could provide a better experience and more services to more students. Thus making a way bigger impact than I could alone. This was my way of giving back to my alma mater.
In 2017, I had the privilege of co-founding a virtual financial services company called BetterWealth. Our mission was to impact a million people by 2025. This of course brought up the concept of helping people help people once again because that type of goal is not easily achieved alone. A lot of traditional financial advisors thought our ideas wouldn't work because we were young and very few advisors did business online at that point. We spent more than three years in the trenches before virtual meetings became mainstream. As our business became more successful, we were looking for creative ways to reduce our tax bills each year.
In 2019, we were introduced to the concept of a private family foundation as a way to reduce our tax liability and make a bigger impact on the world. I was fascinated by all of the possibilities made available by starting a foundation. For me, foundations became like the process of shopping for a new car; I started seeing them everywhere. From the biggest ones like the Rockefeller Foundation to local ones like the Noel Family Foundation and everything in between. But like with most things during my BetterWeath tenure, starting a foundation went to the wayside because we were busy doing other things.
In 2022 I became an Enrolled Agent for the sole purpose of better understanding the tax code and how to use it to our advantage. Spoiler alert: the tax system is a mess but there are a lot of court tested and approved ways to benefit from it. Later that year a friend of mine told me about her trip to Uganda and the disheartening story of a young girl she sponsors there. One of my first thoughts, probably in the only way I know how, was the question, how could I help? As soon as I got home I sponsored my first two kids from Uganda, Paul and Newton. I somehow felt a connection with both of them just from their photos. It made a lot of sense when I read their bios; they both have a desire to help other people.
As excited as I was to support them, I quickly became disheartened by how many other kids were left unsponsored. That's when the concept of starting a foundation came back into the picture. As adults, we talk about second chances all of the time but there's countless kids in our backyard and around the world that don't even have a first chance. What I mean is they don't have access to clean water, enough food, clothing, shelter, medical help, and proper education. I'll admit, I used to be naive and think that regardless of where you were born we all technically had the same amount of opportunity. Obviously, that couldn't be further from the truth.
This is where my concept of a foundation called First Chance for Kids was born. A way to raise and grow enough funds to eventually support all of the remaining unsponsored kids. I wish I could tell you that I raced into action, but alas, I'm a slow mover. I'm a high 'fact find' and low 'quick start' for you Kolbe test nerds. As it turns out, the more I tried to learn about foundations, the less excited I became. It seemed like foundations were only for the rich and famous.
Through BetterWealth, I started doing presentations about tax strategies for entrepreneurs. Invariably, I always included a case study about how a private foundation could be a great tax strategy. Time and time again, people wanted to know more about how the foundations worked. I started acquiring every book I could find on the subject. As people continued to ask, and I continued to learn, I decided that I becoming an expert on foundations would become my full focus.
Foundation Launch Origin Story
TL;DR - Seemingly every thought leader in the private foundation space is either dead or dying and I intend to become the expert for at least the next 50 years. Foundation Launch serves as a platform for people to help others in a purpose-driven, intentional way.
I started Foundation Launch in 2023 as a way to answer my own question, "How do I start and manage a foundation without being a billionaire?" The Foundation Startup, Management and Philanthropic Advisory Services are my answer to that question. If you are dissuaded by the fact that the company hasn't been around since 1897 and I don't have 30 years experience, then I may not be the right fit for you. However, if you're looking for a new opportunity to add more meaning to your life, create a bigger impact and reinforce your legacy, I'm your guy.
Typically the About page is where you'd get to see the mission, vision and values. Since it's just me (for now) I feel like that wouldn't be authentic. Right now I'm simply looking to help 100 families start and utilize a foundation to further the missions and initiatives they care about.
Truth be told, Foundation Launch is most likely going to be an interim name. I wanted the name to be LivingLegacy but the .com domain owners want $20k and I think that's unreasonable. My foundation can sponsor 25 kids for a year with that kind of money and I think that's more important than a business name. So you get Foundation Launch for now.
Why LivingLegacy? Glad you asked. Most often you hear or think about "leaving a legacy." I tend to question everything and asked myself, "Why can't we leave a legacy while we're still living?" I believe that you have an opportunity everyday to create, live, and leave a legacy. I think a LivingLegacy can become an identity based on being a positive role model in the world and making a difference through your actions or initiatives.
A foundation is one of the best tools to live your legacy now and continue it long after you're gone. I don't know about you, but I'd rather my foundation continue to do good works in my absence rather than having my name on a park bench that says, "In loving memory of..."
As the current name implies, my sole focus is setting up and managing private foundations. They are considered to be the gold-standard of charitable vehicles. That said, I don't think they are for everyone. If you're at all interested in learning more, click the button below that says 'Let's Talk' and we can discuss how we'll change the world together.
