Unlocking Today’s Philanthropic Potential

This Giving Tuesday, we are shining a light on professional advisers and the important role you have in helping to unleash the good in local giving.

As professional advisers, it is widely recognised that you are crucial in shaping your clients’ decisions on wealth, but you may not yet realise that you also hold the key to unlocking some serious philanthropic giving too. And the joy that comes with that!

A study by Pro Bono Economics revealed that an additional £1.1 billion could be donated annually if wealthy individuals with professional advisers were to receive advice on philanthropy. This untapped potential represents a unique opportunity for you to add value to your services, fulfil your clients’ wishes and help make an impact on local society.

Let’s begin with you as a professional adviser. Why offer guidance on philanthropy to clients?

For a start, it’s good client care. Offering guidance on philanthropy can deepen your relationship with clients and can be an excellent way to retain clients and their family members, especially during ‘The Great Wealth Transfer’. This piece on wealthy individuals outlines the keen, growing desire of those under 35 to “have a positive societal impact with their money”.

High net-worth giving grows year-on-year and increasingly, many want to see the difference now while they are here to see and experience it. You can be part of that.

By understanding all your clients' goals and passions, you build stronger connections. It will also enhance your reputation as a trusted adviser and differentiate you as a professional adviser.

And let’s face it, it feels pretty good to do good and help others do good too.

A sidenote: To briefly cover one other reason why it’s good to ‘give while you live’, aside from being able to experience the joy and connect with those who are benefiting from a donation…

Your client’s generosity can be maximised through Gift Aid – this means we can claim and distribute an additional 25p for every £1 donated (providing enough Income Tax has been paid, of course). For example, your client donates £100,000 to charity - we claim Gift Aid to make your client’s donation £125,000. If the client pays 40% tax, they can personally claim back £25,000.00 (£125,000 x 20%). Your client’s donations will qualify as long as they’re not more than four times what they have paid in tax in that tax year (6 April to 5 April).

In the interest of balance, let’s also cover why you might not want to offer guidance on philanthropy.

Here are some of the common challenges we hear:

• Time constraints: Balancing existing client commitments with new philanthropic guidance. And if your client wants to form a trust of their own, there is considerable work to be done, not least legally and administratively.
• Lack of expertise: You may feel you don’t have enough knowledge on charitable giving, the different ways to give and the tax efficiencies.
• Dealing with client decision paralysis: There are thousands of charities in Kent and Medway alone, the majority being micro and small organisations, and needs of the county and how to meet these needs are undoubtedly complex. Navigating the philanthropic landscape can become overwhelming.

Of course, we wouldn’t be writing this if we didn’t have solutions.

Test the waters. Understand philanthropic giving by experiencing it. We can show you just what can be done with even modest grants, providing reassurance that money will be used well.

There’s no blueprint for giving, but we have been distributing grants since 2001 and have the experience in guiding those with wealth on where funding can have the greatest impact.

At Kent Community Foundation, we have very strong links with the voluntary sector and understand the gaps and opportunities where funding can make a real difference to people across the county. We are always happy to share this knowledge.

Our long-standing and robust processes and knowledgeable team mean you and your client can have confidence and enjoy the process.

You don’t have to have all the answers. What makes us unique as a local philanthropy expert is that we complement your work as a professional adviser and add additional value to your client offering.

Victoria Papworth, CEO of Natwest Social & Community Capital and former Coutts Specialist Philanthropy Adviser “Don't feel intimidated if you think you don't have all the expertise to hand. You will always retain that conducting role with your clients.”

As well as having all the legwork done in finding the ‘right’ organisations to support, the beauty of giving through a grant-maker is that you have an established, trusted team of people behind you and your client to remove the administrative headaches and leave only the joy of giving.

One of our existing Fundholders, Peter Hardly DL, summarises it nicely, “Fund-holders enjoy all the fun of giving without any hassle.”

If we could offer just one piece of advice, it would be to simply ask the question and find out if it’s a conversation worth having for both you and your client.

If you would like talk to us about how we can partner with you to unlock this philanthropic potential, get in touch with Senior Philanthropy Adviser, Rachel Vinton, rachel@kentcf.org.uk.