CHARITABLE PLANNING

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fa-mag . com / subscribe / newsletters . html cient with digital voting and board books . And finally , new apps can aid in the collection and centralization of impact data to help givers and their advisors assess progress and plan for the future gifts .

Beyond these functions , technology can make philanthropy more accessible and allow clients ’ financial counsel to help better coordinate their efforts . Consider these benefits of using technology to support giving :

Integration . First and foremost , technology can help philanthropic giving become a more integral part of financial planning . This will be a tremendous service to clients , since it allows an advisor to bring all of a

client ’ s goals into alignment — their personal investment objectives , their giving and their legacy planning ( and by helping with legacy , they help a family articulate its values and vision ). Technology also lets advisors engage with clients in a new and deeply personal way , increasing the value of the service they provide and keeping more assets under a single umbrella .

Accessibility . Second , technology will lower overhead and make the process of opening vehicles less complex . That means more people and families can set up charitable trusts and foundations , establish donor-advised funds or give in other ways . In effect , more people will have more ways to give .

Efficiency . On a more practical level , technology will allow advisors to become more efficient , which will also make it easier for clients to give . Technology can make foundations themselves more efficient , reducing overhead and leaving more assets available for grants . The same is true for trusts and donor-advised funds , which once were available only to those who knew about them and had the specific skills to create them . With apps today , finding and giving directly to a nonprofit can be a push-button experience .

What Integrated Wealth And Philanthropic Planning Looks Like

One key to making philanthropic technology more accessible is getting it onto the advisor ’ s dashboard . In the future , advisors should be able to look at a client ’ s overall financial picture on their portal ( including the giving ) and help with charitable assets and transactions the same way they do with a client ’ s retirement accounts .

Technology can help philanthropic giving become a more integral part of financial planning . This will be a tremendous service to clients , since it allows an advisor to bring all of a client ’ s goals into alignment .

Look at the ways fintech has transformed personal finance : It took stock trading from the realm of Wall Street specialists and put it in the hands of everyone . It made the everyday processes of banking as easy as pushing a button on the smartphone . Loans , mortgages , taxes , accounting — all of these fields have been profoundly democratized with softwareas-a-service approaches .

I believe that advisors and wealth firms should have a central role in their clients ’ philanthropic discussions , and by equipping them with tailored tech solutions , we can enhance the impact their clients are making while helping advisors strengthen their client relationships .

This change won ’ t take place overnight , but I know we are on the way to elevating giving and philanthropy to the same level as investing and retirement planning : by making them an integral part of everyone ’ s financial plan , for the good of the clients ’ legacy and for the good of the world .

JOE MRAK is the CEO of Foundation Source .

24 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2024 WWW . FA-MAG . COM