We help you understand and assess tax-saving options to make the most of your client’s charitable giving. The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation is nationally recognized for our ability to handle complex charitable transactions.

What is the Financial Advisor Program?

Our financial advisor program is a win-win for you and your clients. If your client's donor-advised fund assets exceed $100,000, you can manage the assets after they are donated to the fund in a financial advisor managed account. Both you and your clients will have access to a knowledgeable staff of professionals who empower donors to become organized and efficient philanthropists. The financial advisor program requires financial advisors to adhere to the Community Foundation’s professional and industry standards and the financial advisor program guidelines.

Find out more in our Financial Advisor Managed Account FAQs.

Watch: How the Financial Advisor Program Works

What is a Donor-Advised Fund?

Donor-advised funds are charitable giving accounts that grow tax-free. Our donor-advised funds make charitable giving easy, efficient and rewarding without unnecessary rules or limitations.

• Your clients can choose to set up the fund under the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation or our national entity, Greater Horizons.
• If the fund's asset exceed $100,000, you can choose to manage the assets on your own platform, along with the rest of your client’s wealth portfolio. Or, your client can invest the assets in the Community Foundation’s low-cost investment pools.
• Your clients contribute cash, stock or other complex assets to the fund and their charitable dollars grow tax free.
• Your clients receive online access to their fund and are able to easily request grants, track the fund’s charitable activity and access monthly fund statements.
• Your clients can name successor advisors to their fund, involving future generations in their charitable goals and giving, allowing you to establish and foster connections with the next generation.

Identify Your Ideal Clients

Think about your clients who fit the descriptions below – they might be an ideal fit for a donor-advised fund. We often work with clients who:

• Want to create and leave a legacy for future generations
• Desire a charitable tax deduction now with the flexibility to make distributions in the future
• Want to grow their contributions tax-free over time
• Are in a transition phase of life – empty nest, nearing retirement, involved in estate planning
• Plan to sell a private company
• Are holding appreciated assets (publicly traded securities or other complex assets) and have high capital gains tax exposure
• Are private about their wealth and/or giving
• Are too busy to handle the administrative side of giving

Maximize Your Client’s Charitable Giving

Clients may be able to avoid capital gains tax on gifts of appreciated assets. The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation is a public charity, so your clients will receive the maximum tax deductions allowed by law for their donations. Even if your clients would ordinarily take the standard deduction, now at higher levels under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, they can continue to support the charities they care about with help of a donor-advised fund and a tax strategy known as bunching.

There is no minimum dollar amount required to establish a donor-advised fund. There are also no minimums for gifts to the fund or grants from the fund.

Bequest: Name Your Client’s Fund as a Beneficiary of a Retirement Plan or Life Insurance Policy

If you have a client who wants to name their fund at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation as a beneficiary of their life insurance policy or retirement plan account, the following information may be helpful in completing their beneficiary designation forms.

After your client describes what they want to leave to their fund (i.e., a percentage of the estate/trust/account or a specific dollar amount), please note that it will pass "to the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation (EIN 43-1152398) for the following component fund: [name of the fund]."

Our staff will be happy to work with you and your client to establish a fund during your client’s lifetime to receive assets at their death. By working together ahead of time, we can ensure your client’s fund will carry out their charitable goals beyond their lifetime.

IRA Charitable Rollover: Qualified Charitable Distribution

If you work with clients age 70.5 or over who want to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from their IRAs, we can help. While donor-advised funds are not eligible to receive QCDs, we can set up a designated fund or a scholarship fund to receive a QCD. A QCD can satisfy your client’s required minimum distribution (RMD) up to $105,000, and help your client avoid taxable income. And, as your client’s financial advisor, you can continue to manage your clients’ investments in both designated funds and scholarship funds if the assets in each fund exceed $100,000. Learn more on our blog, or contact us to set up a designated fund or a scholarship fund.

Questions? Contact us at info@growyourgiving.org or 816.842.8139.