tion in 2023 said they’ d rather work at a firm that encourages pro bono, while 70 % said they want the advisory business to be more like the legal profession, where it’ s recommended that lawyers devote 50 hours to pro bono work every year.
Free financial services, of course, don’ t show up on P & L statements. But advocates say the work pays off in other ways that benefit firms and advisors: Pro bono work, for instance, can strengthen a firm’ s culture and value system, which are often pillars of a healthy and strong organization. Pro bono services also build a firm’ s brand in the industry and community and raise the profile of its advisors.
And when firms offer free services such as financial literacy, budgeting and debt management to underserved groups, the advisors involved develop communication and leadership skills. That makes them more well-rounded planners, which redound to their firms’ long-term value. In fact, many RIA firms are beginning to use pro bono as a training platform for younger planners who will eventually manage money for wealthier paying clients.
“ This is not about seeking out new clients, but helping specific groups of individuals who have fallen into difficult times,” mostly through no fault of their own.
— Bernie Clark
Burnishing Your Brand
“ It strengthens your brand and the brand of the business,” declares Carlos Salmon, principal and wealth manager of New Haven, Conn.-based Wooster Square Advisors, a firm serving mostly high-net-worth clients.“ If you’ re doing pro bono work in the community, you become known as‘ the guy.’ I don’ t think that hurts to be known as‘ the guy.’”
Also, bringing financial literacy to more people helps democratize the market, says Bernie Clark, former head of advisor services at Schwab Advisor Services.( According to the Foundation for Financial Planning’ s website, Charles Schwab has given $ 3 million to it over the years, and Clark is on its board of trustees.)
“ This is not about seeking out new clients,” says Clark,“ but helping specific groups of individuals who have fallen into difficult times,” mostly through no fault of their own. That can include military veterans, victims of domestic abuse and cancer survivors.
Typical pro bono clients are working moms, according to Dauphiné.
One of those is Roshon Casey-Lee, a Richmond, Va., resident who got help from ReFrame Wealth, a fee-only fiduciary in Fairfax that partners with the Foundation for Financial Planning.“ It’ s really impacted my life,” she says of getting pro bono help.“ It’ s something that has changed my mindset and changed the trajectory of my financial journey.”
She says she needed financial guidance to escape about $ 50,000 of personal and student-loan debt when she had to relocate during the pandemic to pricey Northern Virgina to land her“ dream job” as director of the early childhood programs at the Archdiocese of Washington, D. C., and she eventually met with ReFrame twice a month. Since 2021, not only has she gotten her budget under control, she and her husband are planning to buy a home later this year. More importantly, she’ s taught her col- lege daughter the ways of money management, something she was not taught herself growing up.
Women’ s Empowerment
Twenty-three years ago, advisor Stacy Francis founded her namesake firm, Francis Financial, in New York, to serve women dealing with life transitions such as divorce. One of the ways she wanted to help women is by offering them financial empowerment through education.( One of her advisors is Natalie Colley, who is on Financial Advisor magazine’ s 2025 list of Young Advisors to Watch.)
Francis says her firm’ s advisors primarily volunteer through the Savvy Ladies, a nonprofit she founded whose helpline offers financial guidance to women across the spectrum of ages, life experiences and income levels.“ Although it may not be directly tied to business growth, it strengthens our purpose, our team culture, and the connection to our clients,”
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