Looking for how to's and tips re beginning Professional Advisor engagement

LornaSandberg

We are looking for ideas, and resource samples - if you are willing, regarding Professional Advisor engagement.

We don't have a formal "program" but would like to begin reaching out to Advisors to form partnerships. Can you share any info re the below? Your answer may fit in several of questions - just posing the questions as a discussion starter:

• strategies you have used to get the first meeting - what has worked the best and what does the first meeting look like?
• what benefits you offer them, beyond knowledge of community needs/expertise in funds/gifting?
• do you have a formal network/council group, and if so, how does that operate? was it a matter of organic growth into a network or did you start with a network in mind?
• do you plan specific activities for them?
• do you have new or unique materials you share with them?
• do you have them listed in your website, and, if so, how do you decide who goes on?
• what are your best tips for starting on this journey?
• what do you wish you knew before you started engaging professional advisors?
• what has been your biggest hurdle in engaging professional advisors (and how you have overcame it, if you have)?

KentWeimer

Hi @LornaSandberg,

We have a robust professional engagmeent strategy at Parkland Foundation. Professional advisors are so important in connecting their clients to charitable purposes.

I have a council of advisors. We call it the Parkland Foundation Gift Planning Council. Our members includes some of the most higly regarded planners in the area and includes estate planning attorneys, CPAs, wealth managers, trust officers, insurance professionals. Most of our members are also members of the Dallas Estate Planning Council. I have been an active member of that group because of the networking opportunities and was voted to be on the board of governors this year.

Our council members have secured $millions for our hospital from their clients, plus most of them have personally been generous to Parkland.

The council meets quarterly. We have a speaker from the hospital system that talks about some line of service that is a fund raising priority for our foundation. The group is highly engaged and asks great questions. They walk away motivited and moved by what they learned. The council has been a pathway to board leadership as well. Some of our most committed and generous board members started their journey with us on the council.

That of course did not happen over night. We started by cultivating relationships. Meeting and talking with people at the estate planning council meetings. Getting introductions to other planners from current contacts - I would ask peolple who else I should know. In a first meeting, which is clearly meat and greet, I introduce them to what we do and talk about their practice.

In one first meeting with an attorney I discovered that two of her clients had included Parkland in thier estate plans. They wished to remain anoyomous. We added them as anonymous members of our legacy society.

Having the conversation with advisors about how they include philanthropy in their client conversations can be insightful.

Hope that helps. Please reach out if you would like to explore further.

Thanks!

Kent