Professional Advisors
Partner With Us
Supporting you to find the most effective giving strategies
When your clients want to give, we personally support you in finding the most effective charitable giving strategies. For more than six decades, we have partnered with financial advisors, estate attorneys, and accountants to help donors achieve their philanthropic goals. Contact us to schedule a 15-minute consultation to learn more about how we can support you and your clients.
Why work with The Community Foundation? Because we:
- Have deep local knowledge to ensure your client’s giving can make the largest impact. Download our one-pager about how The Community Foundation compares to other sponsors of donor advised funds.
- Offer giving vehicles structured for the most advantageous tax benefits available for charitable giving.
- Accept charitable donations of a variety of assets from your client, including cash, stock, life insurance, real estate and more. We can handle the transfer of appreciated securities, life insurance and other complicated assets.
- Offer a variety of investment pools, managed by world class investment managers, and overseen by our Investment Committee.
- Will allow you to continue to stay involved in the investment of your client’s assets for funds greater than $500,000 through our Custom Managed Pools.
- Can partner with you to make a client’s private foundation more effective and efficient.
Advisor Perspectives: Working with The Community Foundation
Your clients have many options for their giving when you work with The Community Foundation. Below are three ways we help advisors and their clients maximize their philanthropic impact.
Custom Managed Pools
Custom Managed Pools offer donors the best of both worlds: continued charitable asset management from their trusted advisors, and expert philanthropic guidance from The Community Foundation to bring their giving vision to life. “Clients like the idea that their assets are still being managed by their trusted advisor,” said William H. Merriam, III, CFP®, CIMA®, Wealth Management Advisor for The Merriam Team at Merrill Lynch. “They want continuity—especially with someone who understands their goals, objectives, and risk tolerance.”
Gifts of Complex Assets
For many high-net-worth donors, the most valuable part of their portfolio isn’t cash or marketable securities—it’s the family business, an LLC interest, or other closely held assets. Donating closely held interests to The Community Foundation can be a powerful strategy, offering tax advantages, estate simplification, and lasting community impact. “These are often the crown jewels they’ve spent decades building. Yet too often, they’re overlooked in charitable planning,” explained Clay B. Tousey, III, an estate attorney at Fisher, Tousey, Leas & Ball.
Simplifying Estate Gifts
Estate attorneys often work with clients who want to make gifts to multiple charities in their estate. Estate planning attorney Bo Trudeau has found a way to simplify the process. The client designates The Community Foundation as the sole beneficiary of the estate gift, and then he connects the client to The Community Foundation to structure the gift further. “Most charities are thankful for the gift and great to work with,” he explained, “but I’ve had others that can be challenging because they don’t specialize in this type of gift.”
Start The Conversation
“It’s a matter of helping people understand the many services the Foundation offers, and the fact that their contributions can benefit our whole community.”
– Kristen D. Drake, Esq, former Chair of The Community Foundation’s Amelia Island Professional Advisory Council
Who might be a candidate for The Conversation? Clients who…
- Care deeply about their local community
- Give to one or more charitable cause or organization
- Are interested in creating a personal or family legacy in our community
- May be considering the creation of a private or family foundation
- Have expressed concern about the administrative complexity or expense of a private foundation
- Want to stay personally involved in deciding how the charitable dollars are used
When is The Conversation most meaningful?
- When year-end tax planning identifies a need for greater tax deductions
- When estate planning identifies the possibility of significant estate taxes
- If your client is interested in setting up a private charitable foundation, or has a private foundation but seeks simpler management
- If client owns highly appreciated stock in a company that is about to be acquired, of has most of his/her assets tied up in a closely held company and would like to give a gift of stock or business interests
- Your client has a substantial IRA and/or 401(k) asset within his/her estate
- When your client is passionate about helping meet a specific community need and is ready to make a significant gift
How can I deepen The Conversation to more fully understand my client’s charitable motivations? Try asking:
- What has been the most satisfying charitable gift you have ever made? Why?
- Of your core values, which would you like to express through your giving?
- When you think of the challenges facing our community, what are your greatest concerns? Are any of these the focus of your current or future giving?
- What role has philanthropy played in your family? Is it what you would like it to be… or would you like to change it? Are your children and grandchildren aware of your philanthropy?
Here to Help
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Here to Help
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