The
nonprofit Foundation for Financial Planning, which helps people who
normally don't have access to financial planning services, this week
received a $100,000 donation from Focus Financial Planners, one of the
largest partnerships of independent wealth management firms in the
country.
The foundation, a
charitable organization based in Atlanta, works through community
organizations and other nonprofits to reach disaster victims, the poor
and people in financial transitions who generally aren't able to obtain
financial advice. To date, it has awarded more than $2 million in
grants.
Recently, the
organization has been working with victims of Hurricane Katrina and the
9/11 responders who are now suffering from the effects of working at
Ground Zero.
"We help financial
planners who want to give something back," says foundation Executive
Director James Peniston. "After Hurricane Katrina, we helped set up a
storefront office in Baton Rouge, La., for financial planners who
wanted to help the victims, and that included other financial planners
who themselves were victims. The need has never been greater. The
United States personal savings rate was a negative 1% last year, and
40% of working people are not saving for retirement."
Focus Financial, based in New York City, has client assets totaling $19 billion.
"We have been
impressed by the work of the foundation," explains Rudy Adolf, Focus
founder and CEO. "This is a way to help financial planners make a
positive, tangible difference in the lives of people who would not
normally be our clients."