Over the next 20 years, an estimated $84 trillion will change hands in the U.S.; some call this the Great Wealth Transfer, others the Silver Tsunami. This wealth is held in cash and assets, but also in the estimated 2.9 million private U.S. businesses that are owned by those over 55. Many retiring business owners will look to sell their company to private equity or larger conglomerates, while others will pass their businesses on to their heirs.

A few are considering something more radical: giving their company away to good causes, like Paul Newman who gave his eponymous food company to Newman’s Own Foundation when he passed away in 2008. This idea remains radical enough that when 83-year-old Yvon Chouinard and his family announced that all of Patagonia’s future profits would go to fight c

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