Talking About Philanthropy

During a regular review of one of his client’s investments, Leo Johnson took the time to raise the issue of charitable giving – and opened new doors for his business, his client and their community.

“In making sure that I understand my clients’ objectives, I spend a great deal of time getting to know the clients, doing financial plans, and asking what they ultimately want their money to do for them,” says Johnson.

The BMO Nesbitt Burns advisor, who is an extremely active volunteer in his home of Fredericton, New Brunswick, started a conversation about his client’s charitable giving and introduced the benefits of the Supporting Your Community program. Johnson knew his client had inherited some money from siblings and didn’t have a lot of family or expenses at this stage in his life. He also knew his client wanted to give to more than one charity.

“It was during one of these discussions, I discovered that my client wanted to have money left as a bequest for local charities,” says Johnson. “We talked about the Community Foundation and the opportunity to use some of his portfolio market gains to begin this legacy.

“The client was very receptive and so I introduced them to the Executive Director and the President of the local community foundation. The meeting went very well and my client felt that the program would very definitely meet his objectives.”

Now his client has his own charitable fund, which consolidates all his giving and gives him the option of adding to the fund over time, or after his death.