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This fall, I have been feeling incredible joy being able to connect and reconnect with colleagues in-person at so many events, convenings, and conferences. In these moments, we hear about each other’s families, discuss the pros and cons of returning to some sense of pre-pandemic “normal,” and catch up on our work: what’s working, what’s challenging, what we’re learning—essentially storytelling. And so, for this newsletter issue, I’ll tell a few stories from this last month to shine a light on the nature of the conversations I’m having with both financial advisors and donors.
On the financial advisor side, I have discovered that since the structure and format we’ve introduced with GiveTeam is so novel, many firms can’t fully grasp how easy it is to integrate GiveTeam with their processes and how impactful the experience is for their clients. Therefore, my favorite way to on-board a new financial firm is to run the process with one of the firm’s partners or planners as their first “client.” In so many cases, the financial planners I work with fit squarely into the segment of client we support: those giving away ~$10K-200K/year, usually without an intentional plan. By supporting the advisor in this way, they get to see first-hand how the process works, the powerful and transformative nature of the Reflection Session, and the excitement of receiving a short list of hand-picked nonprofits to support. One advisor called the nonprofits presented in our “custom giving opportunities” deck an “absolute bullseye” in terms of aligning his priorities with the specific charities we found for him to support. He followed up that statement with, “Now the question is, how do we get every client to do this?!” Having experienced the process, he is now the best advocate for this kind of philanthropic planning within his firm, nudging more clients to give more, give better, and give now.
There are so many stories to tell on the donor side! I’ll pick just two which are related yet, in some respects, show opposite donor inclinations. Many of the donors we work with are incredibly ambitious: they are inspired to tackle so many of the world’s challenges. I love their intention and conviction, but often, I have to remind donors that their budgets are only so big! We don’t want to give lots of small donations to many, many organizations; I’d rather they go deeper with a few. Sometimes, I have to raise this point with the donor. However, I recently had one client who made this realization on her own and it was great to see. She and her partner were adding more and more causes to their priorities until she said, “Wait a minute. Our budget is only so big right now, we probably can’t support all these causes!” I suggested that we keep a note of all their goals but said, “This year, let’s focus on these first two areas and as your budget grows, we can add more to your strategy.” They agreed this was a good way to move forward.
In a somewhat opposite scenario, I recently worked with another couple who, when they got to the part of our exercise where the donors identify the causes they wish to support, they were both immediately drawn to “women and children”—without hesitation and with great conviction. They talked at length about this topic and the challenges. One of the partners said, “OK, what else should we add to this?” The other partner had a sullen look on her face and a furrowed brow, so I asked, “What’s on your mind? You look deep in thought.” She revealed she was so disturbed by the magnitude of challenges facing women and children, she couldn’t imagine supporting anything else. She felt their full efforts and budget should go to this topic. Her partner agreed. It was a deeply moving and emotional moment as they committed to supporting this topic fully.
Some clients aspire to tackle every challenge, others prefer to narrow their focus. Neither strategy is objectively better than the other (though budgets can impose some practical limitations on aspirations). Philanthropy is deeply personal and with reflection and purpose, each path uniquely unfolds.
These are the kinds of stories that make me excited and enthusiastic to talk to financial firms, to work with new families, and to tell others about GiveTeam. What are the stories that motivate you?
With gratitude and in reflection,
Erinn Andrews
Founder, CEO
GiveTeam
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