Finding a Charitable Advisor Who Fits

Are you as good at giving away your wealth as you were in creating it?  Giving away money is half of the equation.  Giving it away well—to achieve transformative outcomes—is really the best way to bring joy to your philanthropy. Hiring a charitable advisor can help!

Using a charitable advisor can make drafting a donor intent letter, developing a charitable giving plan, conducting due diligence on grants/gifts made, and thinking through clever ways to involve multiple generations considerably easier and more gratifying. 

But not all charitable advisors are alike.  Just as you would want to identify a financial advisor’s investment strategy, you, too, should consider your charitable advisor’s philanthropic strategy. 

Here is a list of questions you should ask a prospective charitable advisor to determine fit:

1)      How does your company differentiate between a great nonprofit and a good one?

2)      What is the company’s geographic focus?

3)      How do the backgrounds of the company’s principals inform its grantmaking recommendations?

4)      How much of your company’s attention can I expect?

5)      How does the company charge for services?

6)      Where or from whom does the company derive its credibility?

7)      What is your company’s response to “bad news” from a charity?

8)      How does your company convey “bad news” to a charity?

9)      What steps does your company take to evaluate a nonprofit?

10)  How does your company protect my privacy?

11)  Can your company handle legal, accounting, and other questions that may arise with respect to my charitable plan?

And, perhaps the most important question to ask:  Does your company work for donors and nonprofits?  At Hoplin Jackson Charitable Advisors, we focus exclusively on you, our donor client.  We do not accept engagements with grant-seeking organizations.  To do so would create a potential conflict of interest.

We understand the definition of successful giving varies significantly from donor to donor. As charitable advisors to successful high net worth families, we have come upon one certainty: the needs and expectations of each donor client is uniquely different and, to be successful, we must tailor giving plans to these individualized needs. That is the value of using a boutique advisory service like Hoplin Jackson.     

For example, one client may ask our company to focus on newer nonprofits that have formulated an ingenious idea to solve an intractable social problem, while another may seek our help in identifying and vetting well-established local nonprofits that educate kids about American history and values.  The steps required to fulfill each client’s need are different.  In the former case, Hoplin Jackson must first develop a pipeline of qualified nonprofits and then evaluate the potential of each to grow and scale their “big idea” into transformative social outcomes.  In the latter case, we would simply create an evaluation matrix to distinguish which nonprofits within the donor’s community are most effective at teaching American history and values.

Finding the right “fit” may take some effort.  Once you have a philanthropic advisor who understands your unique interests and goals, you’ll find comfort in knowing that, just as you built a business using sound economic and management principles, so too will your philanthropic dollars be maximized for good.