As a professional adviser, you frequently have an opportunity to help your clients achieve their philanthropic goals as effectively as possible. Charitable giving, which offers specific tax benefits, gives you a unique vehicle to help your clients achieve other financial, personal, or business goals.
One of the greatest opportunities to assist clients in maximizing the personal benefits of giving occurs when they are making other major decisions, such as estate planning, sale of a business or other major asset, retirement planning, and at time of an unusual financial gain, such as a major bonus. In many of these situations, an opportunity exists to help clients make planned giving decisions. One of the simplest and most important things you can do to help your clients enjoy the benefits of planned giving is to pose the question; “Are you interested in structuring a way to support charitable opportunities or community needs?” If the answer is yes to this question then The West Bend Community Foundation may be able to help you help your client.
The West Bend Community Foundation, through its partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, can be an invaluable partner for legal and financial advisers working with charitably inclined clients. The GMF highly experienced staff is your partner in philanthropy and available to answer questions and provide whatever guidance is needed to help your clients define and reach their charitable giving goals. The West Bend Community Foundation is in a unique position to offer prospective donors a variety of giving and investment options.
Since 1915, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation has helped hundreds of people create personal, permanent and powerful legacies by establishing charitable funds. The causes served by the funds within the Foundation are as varied as the donors themselves. They are united by the common goal of making communities especially those in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties better places to live.
Foundations help donors create nature preserves, start scholarships, expand schools, protect domestic violence victims, provide food and shelter for the hungry and homeless, establish nationally renowned scientific research programs, and much more.
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation has an attorney on staff who specializes in gift planning to assist you and your clients. Why create a charitable fund rather than making an outright gift to a charity? What are the tax advantages of creating a charitable fund? How can I leave something for my children and also give to charity? What are the steps I have to take to establish a fund at a community foundation, like the West Bend Community Foundation? The Foundation offers a variety of different services to advisers and their clients.