CHARITABLE PLANNING

Gillian Howell

Your clients may want to give, but these worries hold them back.

ONVERSATIONS ABOUT PHILANTHROPY GIVE WEALTH advisors the chance to connect with clients on a deeper level, beyond numbers and portfolios. Such discussions open the door for you to understand your clients’ personal values and help you build lasting relationships with them.

Still, even clients with strong charitable intentions can find it difficult to move from intention to action. Emotional and mental roadblocks often get in the way of their giving, holding them back from the philanthropic impact they’ re capable of achieving. For example, consider some of the objections they often raise when it comes to giving:

“ My children will argue.” In this case, one of the clients we support at Foundation Source is in his early 80s and oversees a small foundation that will grow substantially through his estate. He wants his children to serve as future trustees but worries their differing worldviews could cause family conflict. As a result, he hasn’ t discussed the foundation plans with them.

“ I won’ t have enough time.” Another of our clients who’ s an entrepreneur recently established a $ 50 million foundation with proceeds from the sale of his business. His foundation’ s $ 2.5 million annual charitable distribution is a much larger amount than any he has given before. Since his work still keeps him quite busy, he’ s concerned he won’ t be able to focus on giving such large donations strategically.

“ I’ ll receive too many funding requests.” A rising Gen Z client whom we serve wants to forge her own philanthropic identity outside of her family’ s foundation. Because of her family’ s prominence, though, she’ s stalling, worried she’ ll receive an overwhelming number of requests for donations from local nonprofits as well as scrutiny for her grant-making decisions.

The clients here are generous at heart but held back by emotional, psychological or interpersonal challenges. At Foundation Source we frequently encounter such hesitation, particularly among clients using donor-advised funds and private foundations. When larger sums of money are involved, the pressure to“ get it right” can lead to a delay in giving.

The National Center for Family Philanthropy recently explored this issue in a July 2024 report called“ Overcoming Psychological Barriers to Giving.” The report identifies common reasons clients hesitate and what strategies are used to overcome them( the report was produced with the help of consulting firms

Because of her family’ s prominence, one client is stalling, worried she’ ll receive an overwhelming number of requests for donations from local nonprofits.

Arabella Advisors and ideas42). Of these reasons, here are the five we see most often with our clients, as well as tips( gleaned from both the NCFP’ s report and from Foundation Source’ s philanthropy advisors) for helping clients move past them:

1. Too Many Options

At the start of a client’ s giving journey, the vast range of choices available to them( the causes and organizations to support and the giving vehicles to employ) leads them to decision paralysis. You can do a few things to help them get over this hesitation:

• Help them spell out their motivations. With your guidance, your clients can reflect on why they want to give in the first place. Their motivations often stem from a personal experience, career paths or corporate goals.

• Start small. Your clients can start with a few targeted donations to organizations

SEPTEMBER 2025 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 21