1. UK Community Foundations Conference Professional Adviser Masterclass
Wednesday 12th September 2017
Stephen Singleton

2. March 2005
“The best advice I can give to you but you won’t do it, is to get your legacy campaign up and runnin’ now.”

3. US Community Foundation Endowment Growth

4. Our Story – Referrals from Professional Advisors
The first 7 years
£ Zero
The past 5 years – 11 major gifts
Largest cash gift - £1.2m
Largest asset transfer 12 cottages (current valuation £2.5m)
1 in-memoriam fund
The pipeline – 16 known legacies planned in our favour including
A house – value circa £500k
Three known 7 figure legacies estimated at £1.5m, £3m and £7m
Four funds likely to carry in-memoriam status
A bonus – 5 professional firms have established CSR funds

5. Our observation…

6. Opportunities for working with Professional Advisors (Lawyers, Accountants & Financial Advisors)
Often the first step taken by people who want to make a difference is to seek professional advice
Lawyers tend to be the first port of call – private client solicitors for individuals, commercial lawyers for corporates
Philanthropic triggers include:
Inheritance
A memorial for a loved one
Business or land sale
Tax management
Intergenerational wealth transfer
Retirement
Large termination pay-out, bonus payments, lottery wins

7. Our aim should be to assist the Professional Advisor in helping their clients fulfil their clients’ aspirations to make a difference … tax effectively

8. Engaging with Professional Advisors
Incorporate PA strategy into business plan
Look at your trustee recruitment – solicitor and accountant
Identify good networking events where there will be plenty of Professional Advisors
Build a database – SCF has circa 160 firms with 250 individual names
Arrange individual meetings with firms with the ambition of tagging onto their internal partner/staff meetings
Don’t forget existing professional firm trust management – dormant, slow moving or in trouble that may require help
Professional Advisor lunches
Professional Advisor Pack – (contact Judy Dow at SCF for word document at
Your knowledge around local needs and local giving will be unsurpassed – invite to your events where this is demonstrated (Annual Reviews)

9. Challenges with Professional Advisors
They often have defined routes and chosen charities
Competing with their trust capability and fee earning requirement
Your ‘fees’ (charitable contribution) to run your community foundation
Ego
Identifying the key people
Cross-border co-operation

10. Final Thoughts
Clear objective – to make your Community Foundation the voice for local philanthropy
Confidence – Philanthropy Impact Report of June 2016 stated “less than 20% of the UK’s advisory firms offer philanthropic advice and the depth and breadth of the advice varies significantly”
You will widen your potential market place from your historical position (averaged terraced house £234k)
The donors of all but one gift that we have received have no children
Opportunity to develop gifts that can be used as a catalyst for further fund development through using it as a match fund

11. “There is charity which is good, and there is problem solving charity which is called philanthropy.”
Steve Gunderson, former President of the Council on Foundations