It’s not often someone spends 50 years with the same employer, but that’s exactly what David Barrett did. At 20 years old, he began working on tax returns for what was then called Silverstein and Freed, retiring in 2024 as a Director of Tax Services at the well-known accounting firm, Freed Maxick, now Withum.
Born and raised in North Tonawanda, Dave stayed in Western New York for college, attending the University at Buffalo, starting work with Freed Maxick before he even graduated.
Over the course of five decades, Dave saw the firm through multiple name changes, extensive growth, and a transformation of downtown Buffalo all around its office in the iconic Liberty Building. Through it all, he found a passion for the tax side of the work.
“I always liked the technical aspects of my job,” Dave said. “I enjoyed assisting with a successful transaction, whether it was a business sale or defending a client during an IRS audit.”
Like his career in accounting, Dave’s relationship with the Community Foundation also goes back decades. He was first introduced by the late Gail Johnstone, who served as Community Foundation President/CEO from 1997 to 2007.
Soon after that first introduction, Dave recalls being recruited by Gordon Gross, a long-time professional advisor partner of the Community Foundation, to help create an IRA charitable remainder trust product for prospective clients.
He was then tapped to chair the Community Foundation’s first Professional Advisor Council, alongside Larry Franco, leading a group of local attorneys, certified public accountants and financial professionals who work toward gaining a deeper understanding of the Community Foundation’s services and its role in Western New York.
As Dave continued to learn about the Community Foundation, he clearly saw how it could help his clients achieve their charitable goals by offering a vehicle through which they could give.
“I was a tax professional for many years. I worked on some very large transactions, business sales, intra-family gifts, and my job was to come up with ways to do that in the most tax efficient manner within the constraints of the law and the regulations. And one valuable tool in the toolbox in some of those transactions is charity. Charity is favored in the tax code and comes in very handy,” Dave noted. “And so, that’s when I would encourage the client to reach out to the Community Foundation.”
To further explain this, Dave shared a story:
“I worked on a bargain sale transaction, which involved a collectible item worth tens of millions of dollars that was sold in a bargain sale transaction by a family to a museum type of an organization. And a lot of this couldn’t have happened if there were not for the charitable component of the item for the tax advantages and with philanthropic purposes as well. To have a local organization like the Community Foundation available here to support clients in achieving their charitable goals is just a great benefit to both the professional advisor population as well as the community. It’s been a great resource.”
For Dave, the combination of his technical expertise, client charitable intent and community impact has made his relationship with the Community Foundation meaningful. Even in retirement, he continues to see the Community Foundation as an important partner for advisors looking to help clients turn generosity into lasting impact.