It feels great to give—and even better when you double the impact of your generosity.
That’s what financial advisors are discovering when they help clients double the impact of their philanthropic giving. Through smart tax planning and growing opportunities to put philanthropic dollars to work in impact investing, advisors are finding ways to expand the power and positive feelings generated by their clients’ philanthropic giving.
Charitable giving is at all time highs. Giving USA reported that charitable donations reached $373.25 billion in 2015, and 2016 is shaping up to be the most generous year yet, with numerous organizations reporting a surge in charitable following the 2016 election. Impact investing—investments made with the intention of generating measurable social or environmental impact alongside a financial return—are also growing rapidly. A recent report from US SIF found that SRI and impact investments have increased 33 percent since 2014, to $8.72 trillion.
From climate change to education, health care to human rights, Americans across the political spectrum are unified in their desire to create change and make a personal impact. Advisors who engage with clients around philanthropy—demonstrating an expertise in charitable giving strategies—can strengthen relationships with clients and differentiate themselves from competitors.
Here are four ways advisors can deepen client engagement and help expand the impact of charitable giving:
Give Appreciated Securities: Donating appreciated securities is a smart strategy increasingly leveraged by wealth managers working with philanthropic clients. Giving long-term appreciated stocks, bonds and/or mutual funds allows clients to give to a charity and get a full tax deduction on the fair market value of the securities. Since the securities are donated rather than sold, clients don’t have to pay capital gains taxes. And best of all, 100 percent of the value of the donation goes to work towards a client’s impact investing and charitable granting.
Use A Donor-Advised Fund To Make Impact Investments: With nearly $80 billion in charitable assets, donor-advised funds are growing rapidly, and for good reason. They are an efficient, low-cost structure that allows donors to reap tax benefits while putting charitable dollars to work in a strategic way. In addition, donor-advised funds help eliminate paperwork by tracking contributions and grant recommendations and provide the donor with regular account statements and annual tax documentation. And unlike private foundations, which are subject to mandatory public disclosure requirements, donor-advised funds allow donors to give anonymous if they choose, providing a greater degree of privacy.
A new generation of donor-advised funds is taking these benefits a step further. Funds like ImpactAssets, SharedImpact and RSF Social Finance are now incorporating impact investment options into their menu of investments. On these platforms, advisors can help clients make investments in ESG-focused mutual funds, private debt and equity, climate solutions, global health and microfinance. Some, including ImpactAssets, are also enabling clients to source and recommend their own investment deals—like impact investing venture capital.
By putting the undisbursed charitable assets in donor-advised funds to work in impact investments, these funds are doubling the impact of donations. They’re also giving advisors and clients a chance to use charitable dollars to test the impact investing waters and develop an expertise in an emerging investment category.
Make Philanthropy A Family Affair: Making philanthropy and impact investing a family activity is a powerful way to extend deeply personal values. Children and grandchildren can learn and spread these values through their participation in philanthropic activities. Aligning capital to values also tends to be a more visceral choice driven by personal interest and greater engagement than traditional financial investing. Advisors who can help high-net-worth clients develop a smart, multi-generational strategic philanthropic mission will become an entrusted resource across generations. The affluent are greatly drawn to the opportunity to create a legacy and instill their values towards their children during their lifetime. When families meet together to create a mission and identify sectors of personal interest, it can help to expand the power of philanthropy in many ways.