How the Community Foundation Supports Professional Advisors: Partnering for Amplified Client Giving 

Advisors play a critical role in helping clients navigate wealth management, estate planning, and tax strategies. Increasingly, those conversations also include philanthropy. For many clients, charitable giving is not just a financial transaction, it’s a way to live out values, pass along family traditions, and make a lasting difference in the community. 

At Greater Houston Community Foundation, we are here to support you as you guide clients through these important decisions. By working alongside advisors, we provide expertise, tools, and personalized service to ensure your clients’ charitable plans align with their overall financial strategies. Read on to learn how the Community Foundation partners with professional advisors to amplify the impact of their clients in Houston and beyond. 

Working with a Client’s Trusted Circle of Advisors 

Philanthropy is most impactful when woven seamlessly into a client’s overall plan. That’s why we work hand-in-hand with a client’s trusted circle of advisors. Our philanthropic advisors bring specialized expertise in charitable planning and knowledge of Houston’s nonprofit landscape. By collaborating with financial, estate, legal, and tax advisors, we ensure that: 

• Charitable strategies enhance tax and estate planning. 
• Clients feel supported by a unified team of professionals. 
• Philanthropic goals reflect both financial realities and personal values. 

This holistic approach allows you to deliver more value to your clients while knowing their philanthropic vision is in expert hands. 

Flexible Fund Management

We recognize that donors want transparency, accountability, and confidence in how their contributions are stewarded. By offering flexible fund management options, the Community Foundation ensures that each fund is managed responsibly, safeguarding today’s charitable investments while establishing a framework for long-term impact. 

For funds of $500,000 or more, donors have the option to work with a preferred third-party investment advisor. This allows clients to maintain a familiar investment relationship while benefiting from the Foundation’s philanthropic expertise. 

Donor Advised Funds: A Flexible, Strategic Giving Vehicle 

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) are one of the most effective tools for clients who want both simplicity and flexibility in their giving. At the Community Foundation, we help advisors and their clients leverage DAFs to: 

• Receive an immediate tax deduction while retaining flexibility on grantmaking. 
• Support multiple charities over time from a single giving vehicle. 
• Engage spouses, children, and even multiple generations in giving decisions. 
• Invest charitable dollars for growth, potentially increasing long-term impact. 

With the Community Foundation’s local expertise, DAF holders also gain unique insights into community needs, emerging opportunities, and vetted nonprofit partners, ensuring that charitable dollars are not only given but given effectively. 

Continue reading: Donor Advised Funds Tax Benefits

Maximizing Noncash Assets 

For many clients, philanthropy extends far beyond cash gifts. To create meaningful impact, it’s important to strategically maximize the value of noncash assets before recommending grants. Whether your clients are passionate about early childhood education, the arts, or workforce development, the Community Foundation serves as a trusted partner in translating generosity into lasting impact. 

Our team of philanthropic advisors works closely with fundholders and their professional advisors to navigate the complexities of illiquid asset donations. From closely held business interests and appreciated stock to real estate and other noncash assets, we help clients structure contributions that deliver both tax efficiency and community benefit. 

By leveraging the Community Foundation’s deep expertise and resources, fundholders can be confident their gifts are optimized, not just financially, but also in terms of the real-world difference they make. This strategic approach ensures that philanthropy is both effective and enduring, creating a tangible impact on the causes that matter most. 

Continue reading: Innovative Giving Strategies: Impact Beyond Cash

The Professional Advisor Council: Engaging Expertise Across Disciplines 

The Professional Advisor Council (PAC) is a strategic partnership that connects trusted finance, tax, estate, and family office advisors closer to the heart of our community’s needs and opportunities for giving.  

This esteemed group of professionals provides valuable insights, serves as a sounding board, and helps ensure our services align with the needs of your clients. Members of the PAC also gain access to thought leadership, exclusive networking opportunities, and timely education on charitable giving strategies. Additionally, they serve as a trusted bridge—ensuring the Community Foundation remains a resource that complements, rather than replaces, the role of a client’s existing advisors. 

Continue reading: Professional Advisor Council Launches in Houston

Why Partner with the Community Foundation? 

Advisors who work with the Community Foundation tell us that partnering with us strengthens their client relationships and expands the scope of services they provide. Here’s why: 

• We respect your role. Our job is to complement, not compete with, the trusted advisor-client relationship. 

• We simplify giving. From setting up a DAF to handling a noncash asset transfer, we make philanthropy easy for you and your clients. 

• We offer specialized programming. Through events like our Advisor Breakfast Series, firm and study group presentations, and networking opportunities, we provide timely updates on giving trends and charitable planning insights. 

• We share thought leadership. Our team tracks national policy issues and emerging philanthropic tools—keeping advisors informed with resources they can immediately use with clients. 

• We bring local insight. As Houston’s community foundation, we connect donors with vetted nonprofits and emerging opportunities to address the region’s most pressing needs. 

• We create legacies. Whether it’s engaging the next generation or building a lasting family foundation, we help clients translate generosity into enduring impact. 

Let’s Start the Conversation 

If you’re looking for a trusted partner to help integrate philanthropy into your clients’ financial and estate planning, the Community Foundation is here for you. We work alongside advisors to make charitable giving seamless, strategic, and impactful. Whether your clients are considering a donor advised fund, exploring the most tax-efficient way to give, or planning their legacy through an estate gift, we provide both technical knowledge and deep community insight—ensuring that giving plans honor client intent while creating the most impact. 

By partnering with Greater Houston Community Foundation, you gain a trusted philanthropic ally. Connect with Andrea Mayes, Senior Director of Charitable Solutions, to explore how we can partner with you to advance your clients’ philanthropic goals.  

More Helpful Articles by Greater Houston Community Foundation:

• Bridging Expertise & Impact: A Conversation with Jennifer Klein Strauss on Philanthropy and Client-Centered Giving
• Easy Giving: Transferring Donor Advised Funds to Greater Houston Community Foundation
• Giving Strategies for Your Business Owner Clients
• Integrating Philanthropy into High-Income Tax Planning

This website is a public resource of general information that is intended, but not promised or guaranteed, to be correct, complete, and up to date. The materials on this website, including all comments and responses to comments, do not constitute legal, tax, or other professional advice, and is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, nor should it be considered an invitation for, an attorney-client relationship. The reader should not rely on information provided herein and should always seek the advice of competent legal counsel and/or a tax professional in the reader’s state or jurisdiction. The owner of this website does not intend links on the website to be referrals or endorsements of the linked entities.