new collaboration model for cultivating professional advisor relationships

Cultivating Professional Advisors: A New Model for Collaboration

• Bullet information here

ORGANIZATION HISTORY

• Founded in 1951 as The Metropolitan Foundation of Atlanta

• Atlanta’s then four largest banks—Citizens and Southern, First National Bank of Atlanta, Fulton National Bank and Trust Company of Georgia

• Purpose – serve a permanent charitable resource to benefit and improve quality of life in the metropolitan Atlanta region.

• 1977- Metropolitan Atlanta Community Foundation created, $7 million in Assets


ORGANIZATION HISTORY

• 1997 Foundation Renamed The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

• Regional Foundation23 Counties surrounding metropolitan Atlanta serving nearly 6 million residents

• Three local funds Clayton, Morgan and Newton Counties

• 2014 Assets $920 million• 2014 Grantmaking $107 million


HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’S PROFESSIONAL ADVISOR ENGAGEMENT

Engaged the Boston Consulting Group in 1999 for

comprehensive organizational assessment, and one result of the

study pointed to professional advisors as major potential

pipeline for new donors



Reorganized development and donor relations into

Philanthropic Services Department, including gift planning and

donor relationship management, each headed up by a director-

level staff member reporting to VP-PS



Began 15 year process of identifying key professional advisors

(financial advisors, T&E attorneys, CPAs and other financial

professionals) and cultivating relationships through gift planning

that could lead to client referrals as prospective donors to The

Community Foundation



How we engage:• One-on-one meetings with advisors in community

• Firm Presentations

• Speaking Engagements to broad variety of groups

• Reference Source for professional advisors for their clients

• Planned Giving Design Center – licensee for GA



How we engage:• Membership, Visibility & Leadership with trade organizations:

• Georgia Planned Giving Council• Atlanta Estate Planning Council• Georgia Society of CPAs• Georgia Financial Planning Association• Financial Services Professionals• Atlanta and Georgia Bars• Association of Fundraising Professionals



Special Programs:

• Leverage other Foundation and community events (e.g. piggyback extra professional advisor event when speakers are brought in for donor events, or for other organizations)

• PALI (Professional Advisor Leadership Institute)

• Volunteer opportunities (e.g. the Foundation’s Planned Giving Advisory Board or Philanthropic Services Committee)

• CAP Study Group


COLLABORATIVE HISTORY

The Balser Symposium

• Fund set up in 2006 by retired professional advisor to promote planned giving through collaboration between The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and United Way of Greater Atlanta

• Annual Balser Symposium created, an all-morning event with two speakers on charitable planning, held in 1st Quarter (approximately 400 attendees annually) – 9 held to date

• Steering Committee of professional advisors and the three organizations solicit sponsorship dollars and charge a registration fee for the event (always generates surplus)



PALI (Professional Advisor Leadership Institute)

• Additional collaboration spearheaded by The Community Foundation with Jewish Federation begun in 2007

• Year long program (five sessions) about philanthropy – not technical aspects

• 20-25 participants per class – evenly divided amongst FAs, CPAs, T&E attorneys & insurance professionals



PALI (Professional Advisor Leadership Institute)

• Application process is competitive

• Initially held every other year, but popularity caused PALI to move to annual basis

• Recently completed 5th class (over 100 participants to date)

• Began PALI alumni programming in 2014 with 5 events per year, leveraging speakers and other events, at request of alums


THE BALSER PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS COUNCIL

BPAC Origin (launched in January 2015)• Building on existing collaborative experience

• Believing that rising tide lifts all ships

• Understanding that partnering both shares the load and creates deeper relationships between organizations and with professional advisors



BPAC Purpose

Create formal structure to teach professional advisors

about philanthropy through partnership with The

Community Foundation, Federation and United Way,

while growing philanthropic $s at and through each



BPAC General Structure• BPAC is staffed by one representative from each

of the three participating organizations (these are the only nonprofit members)

• BPAC participants form an exclusive group of professional advisors with demonstrated interest in philanthropy and willingness to partner with Federation, The Community Foundation and United Way

• A BPAC Advisory Committee is created with the following responsibilities:



BPAC Advisory Committee Responsibilities Provides counsel on BPAC events Reviews and helps select PALI participants from

applicant pool annually Recommends BPAC members for consideration

by Federation, The Community Foundation and United Way

Recommends speakers for Balser Symposium and assists in Balser Symposium sponsorship efforts



BPAC Advisory Committee Structure• Three Co Chairs, with one selected by each of the

three organizations• Three staff member representatives• Nine At-Large members, with three each selected

by each of the three organizations• Balser Symposium Co-Chairs shall serve as

representatives on the BPAC Advisory Committee



BPAC Advisory Committee Terms• Each Co-Chair shall be selected for one non-

renewable two-year term• At-Large members will be selected for rolling two-

year terms, renewable for an additional term• At-Large members may not serve more than two

consecutive terms• For the first year of operation, half of the

Committee will have one year renewable terms, and half will have two year renewable terms



BPAC Participant SelectionParticipants are selected in one of three ways:• Graduates of PALI are automatically included• Staff representatives may invite professional

advisors to join BPAC, with unanimous agreement from all three staff reps

• BPAC Advisory Committee can nominate professional advisors to participate, and there must be unanimous approval by the three participating organization reps



BPAC Funding • Federation will house BPAC Fund assets• $150 annual dues or $70 for Balser Symposium &

preceding dinner and $35 per event for other events

• PALI program fee is $750 to be paid by each individual PALI participant or their employer

• Net proceeds from Balser Symposium sponsorships & registrations and PALI registration fees will be placed in the BPAC Fund at Federation

• Staff reps’ time provided pro bono



BPAC Programs• Balser Symposium (Federation staff leads)• Community Bus Tour (Community Foundation staff

leads)• Social/Networking event (United Way staff leads)• Community Service event (United Way staff leads)• PALI (Community Foundation staff leads)• Other events opportunistically



BPAC Communications• Community Foundation manages• Predominantly electronic (email)• Includes announcements, invitations, reminders

and RSVPs• BPAC list not shared outside of the three

organizations• Highlight BPAC members on all three organizations’

websites• All three organizations’ logos on all

communications



BPAC Outcomes for Advisors Expanding cohort of philanthropically knowledgeable

professional advisors able to tap into the expertise of the three preeminent charitable organizations in the Greater Atlanta region

Network of advisors dedicated to philanthropy in their own lives and in lives of their clients

Multi-disciplinary network of advisors from legal, accounting, financial services, insurance and valuation fields with whom knowledge in their respective areas of expertise can be shared



BPAC Outcomes for Advisors (cont.)

Start an ongoing learning journey with clients around philanthropy

Differentiate themselves from other advisors who do not talk about philanthropy to their clients, creating added value for their respective practices



BPAC Outcomes for Three Participating Organizations Growth in successful referrals of clients by

philanthropically knowledgeable professional advisors to all three organizations

Growing cohort of professional advisors perceiving the three organizations as the experts in charitable planning

Growing cohort of professional advisors wanting to associate with the three organizations, both through BPAC and direct relationships with each


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