The team at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan fields questions from attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors about diversity, equity and inclusion issues related specifically to philanthropy. We appreciate your questions, and we are especially grateful that you are having these discussions with your clients and that you think of the community foundation as a resource.

Here’s a little background for your client conversations.

Our team has observed over the years that well-intended donors can sometimes become unintentionally siloed with their generosity. Maybe that’s by concentrating their support toward a few organizations, supporting the same causes repeatedly, or only supporting the same types of causes. And recurring or automated gifting, for all its convenience, can sometimes become too routine, keeping donors from recognizing the community’s broader needs.

As you talk with your clients about the financial and tax benefits of establishing a donor-advised or other type of fund at the community foundation, keep in mind that the benefits go beyond tax savings and administrative streamlining. What’s especially beneficial for community foundation fund holders and donors is the resourcefulness of our experienced staff when your client wants to learn more about particular causes, expand horizons to new nonprofit organizations, or infuse a strong commitment to diversity into a charitable giving plan. Indeed, when a fund holder decides to give to organizations outside of the fund holder’s established giving practices, the community foundation can help. And, our team also can help increase support for diversity even within a client’s current giving to a place of worship, a favorite healthcare or recovery facility, or an alma mater by helping craft the terms of a grant to specifically address diversity and inclusion challenges within favorite organizations and the populations they serve.

At the community foundation, we always welcome conversations to help your clients give to their favorite causes. What’s also rewarding is to learn about your clients’ intentions and then introduce them to a grantee who is either new to them or has been traditionally underserved by the philanthropic community. We believe philanthropy is most effective when it reflects our increasingly diverse world. As a service to our donors and fund holders, their advisors, and to the community as a whole, our team is committed to identifying and supporting grantees that reduce or eliminate long standing societal differences and inequalities.

This material was developed by Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. It is published with the understanding that neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a professional advisor should be sought.  

Contact Donor Services for more information