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Recently, George Nichols III, the new President and CEO of The American College of Financial Services, visited Dallas to hear insights from the country’s largest Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) study group. C3 Financial Partners (formerly Texas Financial Partners) organized the first group in 2010 with the aim of helping CAP® advisors share questions and insights about how to help clients achieve their philanthropic goals and benefit their communities. George was especially interested in how study group participants used their CAP® designation in their professions, and what it meant to them to have study group support as they underwent the CAP® curriculum.
Administered by the American College in King of Prussia, PA, the CAP® designation was established to provide financial advisors with the knowledge and tools to transform their clients’ wealth into a philanthropic legacy. The CAP® program is there to help experienced advisors build charitable giving into the overall financial plans of clients who want to benefit their communities. C3 Principal Todd S. Healy and Senior Director Carolyn J. Smith both hold the CAP® designation.
Prior to George’s session with the study group, he sat down with Todd to discuss his goals for his tenure at The American College. His vision is threefold. First, he wants to focus on technology. As we move further into the digital era, technology becomes ever more crucial to how we make decisions, and George believes advisors should be aware of the ever-evolving digital tools available to support the human element—their clients.
Second, he believes that philanthropy should be a central concern in private wealth advising. In his experience, people want to leave a legacy, they want to make a difference, and their advisors should have the know-how to help them do so effectively.
Finally—and most crucially—he wants to inspire advisors to take a more humanistic approach to their work, to use their knowledge and experience to help families who often are going through difficult transitions and experiences. Todd, who holds a Master of Social Work, has always taken this approach, and he agrees that empathy is one of the most important credentials a financial advisor can hold.
The Dallas CAP® study group gives advisors the tools and insights to help individuals, families, and businesses who want to enrich their communities and establish a legacy. One participant noted that “there is so much money that is ready to be unlocked for philanthropy.” Todd’s response: “There are so many people whose hearts are ready to be unlocked – and they go together.”
Listen as Todd S. Healy and George Nichols III discuss the importance of the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® designation and how financial advisors can help their clients give back to their communities.
