Last week, I had lunch with two Asian American wealth advisors from a well-known wealth management firm in Silicon Valley and learned that introducing clients to philanthropy is now part of their core services.
In the past few years, these advisors have helped their clients give more than $20 million to Asian-focused charities. Their clients are immigrant entrepreneurs who have homes here in the Valley and overseas. Most of the funds are directed to educational and health institutions in Asia. However, their clients are learning more and more about philanthropy and causes here in the U.S. They are beginning to ask questions about organizations in the community and their giving-focus is changing - or perhaps, growing.
So it seems that instead of being conduit-advisors, these particular advisors are now seeking out a 'portfolio of charities' that they can use as an introduction for in-depth education. They asked me if there was a place they could get information on several charities that are the leaders in a particular niche, i.e., environmental issues, social justice issues, education, etc. Now, wouldn't it be nice to be an example in that portfolio if you were a charity?
This conversation reinforced some of my thoughts: (1) advisor cultivation is just as important as donor cultivation; (2) Asian American donors give to causes they know; but if enough time has past, they do want to support Asian and non-Asian causes in the community they live; (3) philanthropy is now becoming an expected service from wealth management firms - not just added-value; and (4) donor education requires that advisors know about particular issues in the client's community instead of 'general charitable issues.'
