Gillian Howell
Gillian Howell
CHARITABLE PLANNING
While you don’ t need to be an expert yourself as an advisor, you can start by asking your clients about these priorities. You may discover that you can help them open a donor-advised fund, start a small foundation or establish a charitable trust to not only accomplish their giving goals but meet their tax, estate and legacy objectives as well.
Blending Giving With Financial Planning
The beauty of helping your clients hone their charitable giving is that it will also enhance their entire financial picture.
Consider how strategic giving can benefit the core elements of wealth management:
Impact investments. Many clients seek portfolios that reflect their values. Through impact investing, a form of charitable giving, clients can deploy their capital not only for financial returns but also to support the causes they care about most.
Tax efficiency. Formal giving vehicles like donor-advised funds and private foundations help clients achieve tax-free asset growth, reduce taxable income, limit estate tax exposure and optimize charitable deductions.
Succession planning. When clients engage their children and younger relatives in a family foundation or a role where they are making decisions about giving, it creates a practical, hands-on environment for younger family members to build skills in leadership, long-term planning, governance, operations and budgeting that can ensure the effort continues to function effectively when transitions occur.
Legacy planning. High-net-worth families who have their legacies in mind can demonstrate their values and missions through their giving, creating structures and processes that cultivate a shared sense of purpose across generations and serve the intents of family founders.
Charitable planning directly supports these goals by providing a platform for families to collaborate, engage in meaningful discussions and volunteer together.
By keeping these insights in mind as you support your clients, you’ ll soon see how philanthropy is a versatile tool that supports a broad spectrum of wealth goals. The more you proactively weave charitable planning into your conversations, the more you’ ll help your clients give with greater clarity and intention— and achieve greater impact, philanthropically as well as financially.
GILLIAN HOWELL is National Philanthropy Executive at Foundation Source, the leader in philanthropic software and services for donors, nonprofits, advisors and financial institutions.
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