In a recent article in the Denver Post, Bruce DeBoskey articulates the importance of philanthropic advisors partnering with knowledgable and trusted resources in an ever-changing and complicated charitable landscape. Philanthropy is personal, especially to families who need guidance beyond the financial and legal support most advisors are trained to offer. Partnering with organizations like the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) and Regional Associations of Grantmakers across the country offers the opportunity to serve clients more deeply and meaningfully. Most importantly, this partnership will allow clients to connect with grantmakers in their local communities and across the country. CCP has created an Associate and Professional Membership to serve philanthropic advisors because we understand the opportunity to promote and support effective philanthropy for the common good through our relationship with them. We welcome the partnership from all those serving the field of philanthropy in Connecticut.
”Although many wealth management, estate planning and accounting firms state that they offer “philanthropic services” to their clients, not all of them have substantive training or experience within this important and increasingly complicated niche.
Only 41 percent of the high-net-worth clients participating in a recent study were fully satisfied with the philanthropic conversations they have had with their advisers. (These statistics come fromThe U.S. Trust Study of the Philanthropic Conversation.)
One reason for these low numbers may be that 71 percent of advisers broach the subject of philanthropy by focusing on tax considerations or wealth structuring, rather than on such topics as passing along important values, creating meaningful legacies or making a difference in a community or the world.
The study also found that only 14 percent of advisers raise with their clients the use of philanthropy to instill charitable values among the next generation. Yet nearly half of the clients feel it is important to involve children and grandchildren in such discussions.
Effective philanthropy is more than transactional. It can be transformational by helping families identify and share values, deepen existing relationships (or heal those that are wounded), and constructively work together to repair the world. Such probing inquiry can be difficult, however, and can raise challenging issues among family members. It can help to involve a skilled facilitator.
If you are a wealth creator or inheritor (current or future), ask your advisers if they have the hands-on experience to help your family discover and develop its philanthropic priorities — and the strategies and tactics to achieve them.”
Read the full text here: http://www.denverpost.com/onphilanthropy/ci_27477960/trusted-family-advisors-should-address-philanth…
CCP Associate & Professional Membership
https://www.ctphilanthropy.org/resources/associate-professional-membership-application-and-materials
Posted by Maggie Gunther Osborn, President of CCP