Community Foundation of Western North Carolina

For Professional Advisors

Your recommendations as an advisor are pivotal to clients as they make decisions about the distribution of family wealth, trust arrangements, bequests, and gifts to individuals and charities. We are pleased to work in partnership with professional advisors across the region to increase philanthropy in Western North Carolina. Our services include:

Technical Assistance

  • E Newsletter - With tips for advising your clients about charitable giving options. Sign up for this free service with Sheryl Aikman, Vice President, Development.
  • Charitable Gift Calculations -Available by request to Sheryl Aikman, Vice President, Development.
  • Gift Planning Assistance - Staff can provide information and research on technical gift planning questions.
  • Meetings & Presentations - The CFWNC staff is available to meet with your clients at your office or ours. Along with members of our Professional Advisory Committee, we are also available to talk with firm members, your bar organization or civic club.

Charitable and Planned Giving Options

  • Charitable Funds - A charitable fund at The Community Foundation offers individuals, families and corporations a convenient, flexible vehicle for their philanthropy. A fund can benefit one or many charitable organizations, and expert assistance is available to guide donors in grantmaking and charitable planning.
  • Charitable Trusts - The Community Foundation will act as trustee of charitable remainder and charitable lead trusts ($50,000 minimum). Donors have access to our philanthropic services for planning their philanthropic legacy.
  • Charitable Gift Annuities - Charitable gift annuities are a flexible life income vehicle created with a simple contract. Minimum gift is $10,000; income can be deferred to a future date.
  • Pooled Income Fund - The pooled income fund (minimum investment of $5,000) offers a life income vehicle for donors that do not want to create a separate trust, or who have a relatively small amount to donate.
  • Special Assets - The Community Foundation can facilitate charitable gifts for your clients of publicly traded or closely-held stock, real estate, insurance, and personal property.
  • Private Foundations - Donor advised endowments and supporting organizations are an attractive alternative to the creation or maintenance of private foundations.

Philanthropic Services for Clients

  • Philanthropic planning - Counsel for defining charitable interests, establishing and using a charitable fund for effective giving, or creating a fund to receive a bequest or charitable trust remainder.
  • Partners in Giving - A special program for donors who want to review grant proposals in their areas of interest and respond to emerging needs.
  • Networking and education - The Community Foundation regularly sponsors special events for donors who want to learn more about effective philanthropy, charitable needs in our region and network with peers.

Educational Opportunities

Each spring, we hold a professional seminar for our advisor community for three hours of continuing education credit.

Semi-annually, we offer lunch and learns where the professional advisor community is invited to share a lunch with their colleagues and learn more about an aspect of charitable giving.

Past lunch and learn topics have included:

    • New Options for Long Term Care Financing
    • Ethical Challenges with Older Clients: Recognizing Diminished Capacity
    • Scholarship Funds: The Good, the Bad and the Complicated
    • Charitable Trusts: Case Studies
    • Community Foundations and Private Foundations: Ideas and Solutions for Clients

For more information, please contact Sheryl Aikman, Vice President, Development, or Elizabeth Brazas, President.