Next generation clients: Using philanthropy to build loyalty

When families work together across generations to support charities they can create a powerful legacy, but communication challenges can sometimes get in the way. When this happens advisor relationships can be strained in the process. Let us help facilitate these important conversations.

How philanthropy can build client loyalty

More and more often, philanthropic families are working together across generations to build lasting legacies to support the causes they care about. At the same time, the common communications challenges between parents and their adult children don’t magically go away, and sometimes advisor relationships get damaged in the crosshairs.

Advisors are often acutely aware of this dynamic; studies consistently show that the majority of heirs fire their parents’ advisors. Fortunately, many advisors discover that philanthropy is an excellent tool for preventing this from happening. That is because philanthropic planning is an effective way for an advisor to engage a client’s children and grandchildren in conversations and begin to build relationships that can survive well into the future. 

As you embark on building cross-generational relationships through charitable planning, we can provide a neutral environment for working through the inevitable rough spots between parents and adult children. According to Jane Adams, a columnist for Psychology Today, these rough spots can include adult children feeling that their parents routinely offer unwanted advice, think they know everything, bring up unwelcome subjects, invoke feelings of guilt, and generally “push their buttons.” The team at the Community Foundation uses customized tools to help your clients develop and implement a family charitable giving plan that will stand the test of time and make a difference in the community.

Multi-generational planning is especially important right now. Changes made to the standard deduction and estate and gift tax exemption in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 are set to expire after the close of the 2025 tax year. Unless those provisions are extended, the sunsets could impact tax planning for philanthropic families and individuals.

As your clients begin to plan a family legacy of giving, the team at the Community Foundation is happy to help structure long-term strategies to maximize not only your clients’ tax benefits, but also the benefits to the community across generations.

Reach out to the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta to discuss how we can support family legacy planning, including facilitating meetings to determine a family’s shared philanthropic values and priorities. To learn more, contact Alison O’Carroll, director and philanthropic counsel, at 404.333.0421 or aocarroll@cfgreateratlanta.org.