Giving to a charity can become a complex matter for clients — particularly if they are gifting large sums of money. Thus, you need to work with the client’s chosen charity to make the process easier and more efficient.
“It’s absolutely necessary for advisors and charities and donors to be able to work together,” says Brad Offman, vice president of strategic philanthropy with Mackenzie Financial Corp. in Toronto, who spoke at a Mindpath conference on philanthropy in Toronto last week. After spending years developing relationships with advisors, clients are looking beyond traditional financial advice to things such as estate, legacy and charitable gift planning.
Traditionally, advisors have been hesitant to work with charities because they fear losing assets, says Tony Lee, director of gift planning with the Canadian Cancer Society in Toronto, who also spoke at the conference. But you can mitigate the loss through estate planning and insurance products making both you, your clients and, of course, the charity happy.
Follow this advice to work with charities:
Get involved
Find out about the world of charities first-hand by getting involved yourself.
Everyone has one aspect of society they’d like to see improved — and advisors have unique skills and talents they can volunteer for charities, says Lee.
Speak with clients
Reach out to clients to discover which charities interest them and where they are donating.
Talk to clients to find out their values and philanthropic interests, says Offman. Once you know where your clients give money, reach out to those charities to help clients fulfill their philanthropic goals just as you would help them with retirement planning.
Talk to charities
Learn about philanthropy by talking to charities directly. Although it’s not necessary to talk with charities before discussing philanthropy with a client, some charities — particularly the larger organizations — provide a lot of information on how to help clients give.
Larger charities are often able to look at sophisticated giving vehicles that can be beneficial for a client’s taxes and even help advisors keep assets on their books, says Lee.
Set up a joint meeting
Create a donation strategy with much greater impact by setting up a meeting with the charity and your client.
“It would be good, and I rarely experience this, if the client, the advisor and the charity all get together in the same room at some point before the gift is made,” says Lee. “Then everybody’s interests can be looked after.”
IE