Gillian Howell
Gillian Howell
CHARITABLE PLANNING
in a single issue area and gradually expand as they gain confidence.
• Help them define their desired impact. Tell your clients to work“ backwards” by first clarifying the impact they want to make, and then identifying organizations, programs or projects that will help them achieve that goal.
2. Concerns About Scrutiny And Privacy
Clients may also worry about giving because they fear the public attention or judgment it brings them. As someone’ s giving attracts public attention, it can result in a barrage of unsolicited funding requests that may not align with the donor’ s budget or interests. At the same time, when donors publicly support causes that other people disagree with( e. g., politically charged issues such as reproductive rights or gun control), causes people wouldn’ t prioritize( e. g., supporting an after-school arts program versus a hot lunch program in local schools) or implement activities that other people have opinions about( e. g., using genetically modified foods instead of non- GMO or organic foods) it can result in tension in the community and public attacks on social media, the local press or larger settings. To allay these concerns, you can support them in the following ways:
• Set clear expectations. Help your clients develop a mission statement and grant-making guidelines to explain how and where they’ re focusing their charitable efforts. This will set boundaries to be understood by nonprofits that might reach out to them for support.
• Share success stories. If your clients are worried about public opinion of their charitable efforts, encourage them to publicize the positive impact they’ re making on the communities they serve. And if they experience any challenges or setbacks with their giving( e. g., failing to achieve their intended positive impact) and need to publicly comment on them, advise them to frame the situations as learning opportunities, which can help offset possible scrutiny.
• Give anonymously. Clients who want to keep a lower public profile can give anonymously through vehicles such as donor-advised funds. Even clients with private foundations can channel funds through a donor-advised fund while still satisfying the 5 % minimum distribution requirement.
3. Lack Of Confidence Or Knowledge Clients often hold back on giving because they feel unqualified to make decisions of great import— especially in unfamiliar issue areas. But there are things they can do to build confidence.
• Learn alongside others. By engaging with people in a community affected by their giving— as well as with experts and program beneficiaries— your clients can learn alongside others and get feedback on their program approaches and impact.
• Keep an open mind. Your clients can keep learning while they experiment with various charitable efforts. It can also help if they’ re willing to pivot as they discover what works and what doesn’ t.
• Begin with established, knowledgeable partners. If your clients make their initial gifts to a few leading nonprofits in a sector, they’ ll likely gain insight into key issues and stakeholders.
4. Intricate And Time-Consuming Tasks
For many people, charitable giving means simply writing a check and getting a tax receipt. Yet for those interested in more robust philanthropy, giving can become quite involved and time-consuming, meaning they might be volunteering hands-on, organizing or running direct charitable programs, or reviewing and funding grant requests. To ease this stress, givers can take a number of steps:
• Delegate. Your clients can make philanthropy a standing agenda item when meeting with their advisors. Their lawyers, accountants, family office staff, administrative assistants, or outside consultants can be called upon to step in and help, even if it’ s not part of their usual roles.
• Automate. Encourage your clients to use philanthropy technology to help streamline their grant-making and private foundation administration. Such technology offers tools like dashboards to keep track of funding requests, donation amounts and grant evaluations.
5. Family Tensions
Clients often want their entire families to be involved in their giving, but they fear conflict when family members have different values. Here’ s how to help:
• Engage family gradually. Family conversations about giving are best developed over time, both through personal one-on-one talks as well as formal discussions. You can help facilitate these discussions by encouraging your clients to share their experiences and discuss their values with their families and suggest that family members volunteer together.
• Set ground rules. Families need ground rules for how they make decisions and how they handle disagreements. When they clarify their roles and expectations beforehand, it sets a productive tone.
• Normalize disagreement. It’ s natural that family members are going to disagree. Your role as an advisor is to help them reframe these disagreements and show that it’ s a natural part of decision-making, a process that can actually lead to better outcomes when managed constructively.
• Tune into the next gen. Today’ s younger generations view giving differently than their elders. They aspire to be“ change makers” and they volunteer hands-on more frequently, in addition to giving money. Your clients can engage these younger family members by establishing junior boards on their foundations or by giving them a certain amount of discretionary money to donate as they see fit. It’ s important for families to remember that they can share the same values even if those values manifest themselves in different ways when it comes to giving.
By addressing these emotional and psychological dynamics with care and strategy, advisors can empower clients to become more confident, intentional and impactful with their philanthropy.
GILLIAN HOWELL is National Philanthropy Executive at Foundation Source, the leading provider of enterprise-grade solutions for private foundations, donor-advised funds and planned giving.
22 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2025 WWW. FA-MAG. COM