As you look to deepen relationships with clients and visit their financial plans in the new year, a charitable giving plan can be a key component of an overall financial strategy. It can also be the market differentiator you need to help retain and add new names to your client list.
Here are 5 crucial steps to create a charitable giving plan, and help your clients incorporate generosity into their overall financial strategy.
1) Define giving goals.
Good plans start with goals. What do they want to achieve or express through their generosity? Consider these questions to help you get started. Do they want to:
- Include family or friends in giving or model generosity?
- Start now to see the impact?
- Keep loved ones’ inheritance intact?
- Support charities upon death?
- Potentially minimize taxes now or upon death?
- Increase retirement income?
2) Identify what giving option(s) may work best for your client.
Whether they’re contributing to an existing fund or creating a new charitable fund, there are several ways to
- Give Now: Utilize cash, publicly traded securities, real estate, or closely held stock to make an immediate charitable gift.
- Give Later: Keep control of assets (such as beneficiary proceeds or life insurance) while living and make a significant gift upon death.
- Give & Receive: Make a charitable gift and receive ongoing income payments for life or a term of years. Plus, provide support to favorite charities and causes.
3) Determine how they would like their favorite charities and causes to use contributions.
Do they want to support an organization’s general operational expenses, or address a specific need? They can support their favorite causes or charities through a wide variety of charitable fund options. Whether they want to advise grants at a time of their choosing, designate charities for automatic annual grants, or support a specific cause or area of interest, you can help them match giving interests with any of these flexible fund options to create a positive impact in the communities they cherish.
4) Share your own charitable giving experience
If you’ve had a positive experience with charitable giving, share it with your client. Remember our stat--76% of purposeful providers say giving back to their community is important to them1. Your personal experience might be the inspiration they need to open-up about their own charitable goals. This intimate conversation will reinforce your personal interest in your client and be a collaborative way to deepen the relationship you already have2.
5) Connect with Thrivent Charitable
Thrivent Charitable has deep expertise in charitable options to fit your clients’ goals and financial situation. With support from our team of charitable gift planners, you can rest assured charitable decisions will positively impact your client’s financial plan (potentially realize tax efficiencies) and reflect their values and goals.
Contact our team of gift planners to discuss unique solutions for your clients.
1) Source: “Generosity: Segment Summary,” Thrivent research team, January 2021
2) Source: Financial professional survey, Forsyth Insights, April 2021