Having a charitable-giving strategy can improve your ability to attract high net-worth clients, says Marvi Ricker, vice president and managing director of philanthropic services with BMO Harris Private Banking in Toronto.
“Usually, people who are charitably inclined have a lot of experience or a particular passion in at least one area,” Ricker says. “Being a sounding board and being able to offer [charitable] financial management advice can be a great way to attract that type of clientele.”
Ricker offers the following advice to help you develop a charitable-giving strategy:
> Do your homework
In order to offer good financial advice to clients who are charitably inclined, you should have at least a general understanding of the area in which your clients are interested.
Your clients may be interested in medical research, education, the arts or at-risk youth. If so, you should become familiar with some of the issues surrounding these causes. For example, if you want to focus on education as a specialty within your charitable-giving strategy, you should know how a scholarship fund is structured.
The deeper your understanding of the topic at hand, the better advice you will be able to pass on to your clients.
> Understand the tax laws
Consult the Canada Revenue Agency’s donor information page at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/donors/ and brush up on specific tax laws.
> Get involved with charities
If you are interested in working in the charitable sector, offer to provide financial advice or volunteer to manage funds for small or medium-sized charities in your community, such as the local Rotary Club or the Lions club.
Volunteering with these organizations can help you network with like-minded members of the community and get a feel for the way charities operate.
Be sure to choose charitable groups in which you are genuinely interested. Volunteering for the express purpose of gaining clients will not go over well with charitable organizations and may harm your reputation.
> Build a strong network
While you may be qualified to handle the financial side of a client’s charitable-giving plan, your client, however, will likely need legal or other assistance as well.
Having a network of other professionals, such as lawyers and accountants, can help improve your client’s charitable-giving experience.