The Business of Giving: When Impact Becomes Identity with Julie Hoffmann

Jan 27

Most people never have to ask themselves: "Am I giving enough?"

But for the families Julie Hoffmann works with, that question sits underneath everything. It's not about the dollar amount. It's about worthiness, legacy, and the fear of getting it wrong.

In this week's episode of Fearful Giants, I sat down with Julie Hoffmann, founder and CEO of JH Philanthropy - a woman who spends her days helping high-capacity families navigate one of the most complex, emotionally loaded spaces in leadership: how to create meaningful impact through their wealth.

Julie and I met through the Chicago entrepreneurship community, and what struck me immediately was her ability to hold space for what's not being said. In philanthropy, like in all leadership, fear lives in the gaps between words. It shows up as avoided conversations, withheld honesty, and decisions made from ego instead of clarity.

Julie Hoffmann is the Founder and CEO of JH Philanthropy, a firm dedicated to empowering families to make meaningful connections and impact through philanthropy. With over two decades of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, she's become a trusted advisor to families wrestling with wealth, values, and the responsibility that comes with both.

“You have a responsibility to stand up for what you believe in. People are watching, and looking to be inspired.”

— Julie Hoffman

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• How fear shows up in philanthropy (spoiler: it's not about picking the wrong nonprofit)
• The questions families actually ask: "Am I giving enough?" "Will this ruin my kids?"
• Healthy vs. unhealthy legacy, and why some people need their name on a library
• Why Julie kept herself small for years, and what finally got her to "learn out loud"
• The Enneagram Three struggle: perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and the fear of not being enough
• What leaders owe the people watching them

My Key Takeaways from this conversation with Julie:

1. Fear in philanthropy isn't about giving to the wrong place - it's about identity.
The families Julie works with aren't afraid of making a bad donation. They're afraid of what their wealth says about them, what it will do to their children, and whether they're "enough" in the eyes of others. That's the real work.

2. Clarity is kindness.
Julie said this early in our conversation, and it stuck with me. In families, in business, in life - when we're unclear about expectations, roles, or values, we create suffering. The kindest thing we can do is be direct.

3. People just want to be heard.
Whether it's a 67-year-old daughter trying to prove herself to her 94-year-old father, or a couple in conflict over how to give - most tension dissolves when people feel genuinely heard. Not fixed. Not managed. Heard.

4. Perfection keeps us small.
Julie spent years not sharing her voice because she feared not saying things perfectly. She worried about asking questions in group settings, about being seen as "not knowing enough." And then a mentor told her: You're doing a disservice by keeping what you know to yourself. That permission to learn out loud changed everything.

5. Leadership is about what you stand for, not what you achieve.
At the end of our conversation, Julie said something that hit hard: "You have a responsibility to stand up for what you believe in. People are watching - not to judge, but to be inspired." Legacy isn't about having your name on a building. It's about what you were willing to stand for when it mattered.

This conversation with Julie left me thinking about how much fear many leaders carry around being seen, being wrong, or not being "enough." And how much of leadership - whether you're running a company, advising families, or just showing up in your own life - is about doing it anyway.

Whether you're a CEO, a parent, or someone trying to figure out what your values actually mean in practice, there's something in this conversation for you.

Listen to the full episode: