April 2010

Advisor Spotlight: Encouraging Clients to be Philanthropic

(Courtesy of Alin Wall)

Alin Wall has more than 25 years of public accounting experience. She is co-partner in charge of the RBZ Family Wealth Group and works with high net worth individuals and their families on estate, trust and family planning issues. Wall has served on the board of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles, USA for Africa and the Alpha Phi Foundation. She is
a member of the Women’s Leadership Council of Los Angeles, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. She discusses the qualities she looks for in a philanthropic partner as well as how she discusses philanthropy with her clients.

What do you or your firm look for in a philanthropic partner?
AW: We look for an organization that will add value to the grantmaking process. It should have the resources to research organizations, provide guidance on new regulations, assist in making grants to nontraditional grantees, inform us of best practices and have knowledge and expertise on specific issues we are interested in working on.

Why did you pick CCF?
AW: My experience interacting with CCF has been very positive. Reaching someone is easy, calls are promptly returned and special requests are considered and oftentimes granted. It feels like good value for the cost.

How do you define effective, strategic grantmaking?
AW: I define it as identifying the problem you are trying to solve, deciding what approach would work best, assessing your internal resources, developing and then implementing a plan, monitoring it and then assessing whether it’s working and adjusting it if it’s not.

What are your clients looking to do with their philanthropy?
AW: Charitable giving is so personal that what they are looking to do is different for every one of them. I have clients who want to help animals and those who want to ease human suffering; those who are interested in improving our education system and those who want to make sure children are not homeless and hungry. Some simply write checks to established charities. But all my clients want to make life better for those who need help.

How has their philanthropy changed strategically?
AW: They are not necessarily giving less but they are narrowing the field of who they are giving to. They seem to be picking those projects and programs that are closest to their hearts. I help them narrow the field of programs that best align with their passions and then identify the organizations that are accomplishing the most with their programs.

As a philanthropist yourself, does that help drive your conversations with your clients who
may or may not be charitably minded?
AW: Anyone who is involved in charitable giving and activities feels they get back so much more than they give. Besides making a contribution to the human condition or to the planet, you get the opportunity to see the resourcefulness of people who have little or nothing and it gives you such hope for the future. It’s easy to encourage clients to consider getting involved and giving because it enriches life to do it.

What kind of impact or evidence thereof should your clients expect for their grantmaking
from the nonprofits they give to?
AW: They should see evidence that the programs they are funding are producing results. They could set metrics with the organization up front so that actual results can be compared to targeted outcomes.

How do you first broach the topic of philanthropy and take it one step further to
discuss being focused in your philanthropy?
AW: When I first meet a client, I ask a lot of questions about their families, where they grew up, what they are looking for and what their concerns are. This has nothing to do with preparing their tax returns, but everything to do with giving them good advice and pointing them in the right direction for their giving.

For clients who want to create private foundations, how do you talk to them about charitable giving that’s meaningful and the right vehicle to accomplish that?
AW: I tell them they need to spend some time thinking and discussing what they want their charitable legacy to be and how they will get there. How will they measure their effectiveness? Will they get family members involved? Do they believe the family is equipped and able to manage and sustain the foundation after they pass away? Are they willing to pay the expense of running the foundation properly?

I advise clients to set up a Donor Advised Fund when they want to give a large sum but aren’t sure which organizations to support. It is a practical way to give now and figure out the fine details later. I recommend the option of supporting organizations when the client does not currently have and is not likely after their death to have the infrastructure in place to manage a large private foundation but they want to create a legacy of support to those organizations and issues they are passionate about.

Contact Alin Wall at (310) 745-5704 or awall@rbz.com.