In the midst of the Great Recession, I received a call from Robert Sharpe, the well-known gift planning expert. The United States that gives numbers, the annual tally of American philanthropy, had just come out. Charitable giving, according to the data, has not declined despite the economic crisis.

Robert was rather pissed off. “Do you really believe that charitable giving hasn’t gone down?” he ordered. In fact, I didn’t believe it. I had been calling fundraisers and their organizations for months. Most, if not all, spoke to me of substantial reductions in dues.

Thus began an effort that eventually led researchers to revise Giving USA to better account for economic turmoil in its estimates of how much money goes to American charities each year. And that was largely down to Sharpe, who tragically and unexpectedly passed away last week at the age of 68.

As I mourn a legend in the field and a professional relationship that spans more than three decades, I can say one thing with certainty: Robert Sharpe stood for the truth about American philanthropy, about how and why people give.

Another example: the famous transfer of wealth. Once again, Robert challenged scholarly predictions that charities would receive at least $1.7 trillion from 1998 to 2017, the first 20-year phase of a wealth transfer to occur as the World War II generation and baby boomers died, leaving assets to charity.

Armed with data, Robert proved to me that wealth transfer just doesn’t happen the way academics had predicted. In 2006, he told me there would eventually be a transfer of wealth, but not at the time and on the scale that academics had predicted. Again, he was right.

Less than three months ago, Robert emailed me to tell me that he realized that wealth transfer was finally emerging. Charitable bequests have been increasing since 2014, according to its recent analysis of federal data accounting for about half of all estate gifts. But that fact has been partly obscured by the ongoing pandemic. Few charities, he added, have focused on demographic trends related to baby boomers, such as the significantly higher rate of childless people compared to other generations, and how their organizations could attract aging baby boomers.

Robert had many other important ideas. For example, he did a lot of research on charity during the Great Depression, which was helpful to nonprofits trying to survive the deep recession of 2008 and 2009. A finding that held true in the Two Financial Crises: Inheritance donations have helped many organizations survive otherwise might have shut them down.

Yet another of Robert’s discoveries: after reviewing the records of several charities, he discovered that the generation born in the 1930s – my mother’s generation, portrayed in popular shows like “Mad Men”, whose Robert and I were both huge fans – was less charitable. than older and younger generations. In other words, people born in the 1930s were less likely to leave charitable donations in their estate. As Robert described this generation, I realized that my mother, who died many years ago, was a perfect example of what he was talking about. It opened my eyes, and interestingly, it didn’t upset me. It helped me see her more clearly.

Looking back on my decades of work and trust in Robert’s fundraising wisdom, I think I will miss his humor the most. We rarely saw each other, but we talked often. I was amused, for example, by his prediction that vacant hotels in small towns would become nursing homes for partying, marijuana-smoking baby boomers.

At many fundraising conferences I have attended over the years, Robert was a speaker, usually in standing rooms. His presentations drew large crowds and he had plenty of data to back up his claims. His multi-faceted presentations always elicited great laughter from the audience.

He was also a workaholic, telling me he had more fun working than doing anything else. Take more time off, I urged. Get on a plane and go somewhere relaxing, like a tropical island. But no, he said, he traveled too much for work. His idea of ​​a great vacation? Stay at home with no commitment except to family. I remember talking to him on a rare vacation home—the only ones I’ve ever been on—as he indulged in a well-deserved Red Stripe beer.

Of his many nonprofit clients nationwide, Robert was proudest of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the iconic charity established by the late Memphis-based actor Danny Thomas, where Robert lived. In fact, Robert’s former consulting firm, the Sharpe Group, founded by his father, had advised St. Jude. But Robert was proud that he later persuaded St. Jude to invest more in estate gifts at a time when other organizations were downsizing. The cuts led to a sharp drop in bequests for many large charities that were customers of Robert’s but not St. Jude.

“His work has helped hundreds of organizations over the years, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., chairman of the foundation that raises funds for St. Jude. . “He was passionate about strengthening ties between organizations and dedicated donors and he had a huge impact on the charitable landscape. We are honored to have called him our friend.

It’s hard to overstate how much I, too, appreciated Robert, a giant in the field of philanthropy, and fundraising specifically. I am extremely grateful to him, both personally and professionally, to have known him and to have benefited from his exceptional insight. I will never forget his contributions to our field. Good luck, Mr. Sharpe.