The Role of Donor Advised Funds in Wealth Management & Taxes

This material is provided as a courtesy and for educational purposes only from Olde Raleigh Financial Group, A member of Advisory Services Network and should not be construed as investment advice. All information contained in this video is derived from sources deemed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed.  All views/opinions expressed in this video are solely those of the presenter and do not reflect the views/opinions held by Advisory Services Network, LLC. Advisory Services Network, LLC does not provide tax advice. The tax information contained herein is general and is not exhaustive by nature. Federal and state laws are complex and constantly changing. Please consult your investment professional, legal or tax advisor for specific information pertaining to your situation. Fidelity investments is an independent company, unaffiliated with Olde Raleigh Financial Group. Fidelity Investments is a service provider to Advisory Services Network, LLC. There is no form of legal partnership, agency affiliation, or similar relationship between your advisor and Fidelity, nor is such a relationship created or implied by the information herein.

Donor Advised Funds and Financial & Tax Planning in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill or Cary 

Donor Advised Funds (DAF’s) help you fund your charities and manage taxes. You want to do good in the world. Tax management is a central part of your financial plan and Donor Advised Funds are some basic blocking and tackling in wealth the management process and the doing good. 

To be honest, on the surface, DAF’s are kinda (sic) boring. Harrison Miller, CAP®   Vice President, Charitable Planning Consultant at Fidelity Charitable is awesome and made it fun. Harrison is such a nice guy and put up with my meandering conversation. We started with his favorite coffee joint in his hometown of Atlanta and eventually got to his favorite charitable organizations. What are your favorite charities in Raleigh, Cary, Durham and Chapel Hill? 

 If you have never heard of Donor Advised Funds or need a refresher, please listen in. If you don’t use them, you are being underserved in your wealth advice. Let’s talk. 919.861.8212.  

 Here are some of the points we covered: 

·      Definition of DAF – how it works or at least how do you see it working best for clients? What is the history of this type of structure?

·      What role do they play in a wealth plan?

  • Fidelity Charitable and the State of Giving.

  • What’s CAP?

 

CHAMBERS:   Hey everybody.  It’s Trevor Chambers with Olde Raleigh Financial Group here in, I mean, it’s currently – I do see blue skies, so I’m going to say it’s sunny.  Okay, I do look outside here in my office here at 30 – 3110 Edwards Mill Road in Northwest Raleigh.  Every time I do one of these I look out and most of the time lately, it has in fact been sunny, so.  But anyway, Harrison, how you doing buddy?  What’s going on today?  How you doing?

MILLER:   I’m doing well, Trevor.  It’s – we don’t have quite the weather you do down in Atlanta.  It’s been mostly rainy today unfortunately. 

CHAMBERS:   It’s been rainy?  I heard that weathers coming our way, so.  Before I ask you – before I introduce you, the esteemed, Harrison Miller.  Before I do that, I have a huge, perhaps emotional and maybe even penetrating question.  Do you like coffee?

MILLER:   I love coffee.

CHAMBERS:  (Inaudible).

MILLER:   Absolutely love it. 

CHAMBERS:   Perfect.  Where do you go to get coffee in Hotlanta (sic)?

MILLER:   Well as with that, I saw the other day that it was national coffee day.  I’m not sure if that was last week but, yeah, pretty timely.  I – so I’m in Buckhead.

CHAMBERS:   Got it.

MILLER:   Which -- a lot of different places, but there’s the Atlanta History Center right next to me and there’s what’s called a Brash Coffee within the Atlanta History Center.  So, it’s really – it’s one of those fun places like you can go, like get a cup – get a coffee or two.  Do some work and you kinda (sic) feel like you’re in a library.  It’s – it’s fun.

CHAMBERS:   Oh, nice.

MILLER:  It’s a cool little spot.  About a mile from me.

CHAMBERS:   So, just for the record because I’m looking up Brash Coffee.  Brash Coffee in Atlanta.  All right people, if you’re going to Atlanta, or if you’re in Atlanta, we have a Brash Coffee.  I see it.  Okay, so there’s – oh wow.  Very cool.  Maybe even a couple of them.  All right, duly noted.

MILLER:   Yeah.

CHAMBERS:   I’ll throw one out.  I love Sola.  I meet people at Sola up on Leadmine here in Raleigh, North Carolina a lot.  I also like Cup A Joe.  I met a person – met a guy at Cup A Joe the other day and I’ll be honest with you, I do like Caribou.  I mean, they’re nice people and they’re right around the corner, so.  That’s coffee. We’ve covered coffee.  If anything, we have covered coffee, Harrison. So, now I’m going to move on to the introduction part of this whole thing.  So, once again, we add another episode, another song, if you will, to our podcast called A Soundtrack to a Financial Advisors Life.  Today we are recording a tax track.  I say that because we’re going to talk about donor advised funds and you know, we like to say to people, you know, Mr. Market or Mrs. Market – I don’t know why they call it Mr. Market, but I think it could be Mrs. Market too, you know.  Market’s going to do whatever he or she is going to do but one thing that remains constant is taxes.  And tax planning when it comes to your finances, and estate planning and all this stuff, so it’s pretty important.  And today, again, I wanted to bring in somebody who knows a lot about a thing called Donor Advised Funds or what we’re going to call DAFs.  Harrison Miller is vice president of Charitable Planning and he’s a consultant at Fidelity Charitable. Great company.  And he’s with Fidelity Charitable and he is a – he’s a cap.  First of all, you have a CAP certification.  A CAP certification.  What is that?  It’s very official.

MILLER:   Yeah, it stands for Chartered Advisor and Philanthropy and it’s, I want to say it was three separate tests that I took through the American College for Financial Services and I think one of the coolest things about it, I guess, I’m kind of jumping right to it, I’m actually in it.  Which is kind of cool. 

CHAMBERS:   What do you mean you’re in it?  What do you mean you’re in it?

MILLER:   Well, so on the third test there’s a case study on, I think it was pretty significant, you know, a family of wealth, 50 million dollars or so being allotted towards the charitable giving and it was like a panel of advisors, you know, accountants, attorneys, what have you, sharing their opinions on the way that this family should be thinking about giving given their background, their philanthropic goals et cetera.  But yeah, I was – it was great to be included in that.  I’ve actually – I’ve met the creator of CAP a few times at conferences here and there.  And I really enjoyed the program, when I did it.

CHAMBERS:   Excellent. I’m going to need that person’s name and because I’m going to have to probably take this whole thing to a higher power, if you know what I mean.  You know what I’m saying?  No, I’m just kidding, man.  Anyways, moving on.  Now that I have perhaps insulted you, I don’t know.  Anyway.  We’re going to talk about DAFs.  Okay. So, and I love having smart people on like you because mostly I just babble and then I ask smart people a question and they tell me smart – a smart answer.  So, I have a question for you.  What the heck is a donor advised fund?  How does it work?  And what – what role does it play in somebody’s wealth plan?  And then I have a couple follow on questions.

MILLER:   Yeah, that’s a great question.  So, if I was in, you know, an elevator with somebody and I only had a minute or so to explain a DAF to somebody, I would say that it’s a – it’s a vehicle for giving in the year that it makes the most sense to.  You’re then able to grow what you give, tax free within the vehicle and then when you’re able – when you’re ready to start making gifts to end charities, we help facilitate that for you.  So, what does that look like for a lot of folks between now and year end, it’s folks that are figuring out their financial picture for the year.  You know, maybe it’s a high-income year, maybe there’s a liquidity event about to happen or maybe someone’s right on the cusp of retirement and they want to take advantage of one of their last high-income years to prefund some – some future giving.  So, between now and year end, you have up until 12/31 to get a full fair market value tax deduction for 2021.  You can fund a donor advised fund with cash, but we also try to get people to think about other assets to give like long term appreciated securities, low basis stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etcetera.  And then we have a lot of capabilities around accepting non publicly traded assets too.  So, like if a client was selling a business, you – in the right scenario you’re able to donate a portion of that business ahead of the sale that – that might be happening down the horizon.  So, you know, let’s say you put 50 thousand dollars or 100 thousand dollars into a donor advised fund, any growth in the vehicle is just more that you’re going to be able to give out to end charities.  So, if you put 50 thousand in, you know, hopefully well above and beyond 50 thousand is what you’re able to give out to, you know, the favorite – your favorite 501c3 public charities that you like to support.

CHAMBERS:   Okay.  So, take me back, let’s unwrap this a little bit more because I, as an advisor, have seen this work and I understood everything you said but I think the best way to explain this is through a story.  Can you tell us a story, just of an – you know, just somebody just – doesn’t have to be an illustrious story.  But tell us a story about a client and how the mechanics work through the story so that people understand.

MILLER:   Well, yeah.  So, I would say that, you know, jumping right to it, like our median account holder is someone who’s 62 years old and is funding a DAF for $22,000.  And you – a DAF just as a side, really can be available for anyone at any dollar amount.  We have no minimum but we have programs for folks that where advisors can manage the DAF when it’s over two million dollars.  We have a program for folks where when the DAFs over three million dollars, they have a dedicated relationship manager.   But the primary story is an individual that is – that’s funding the giving they know they want to make in retirement.  That 62-year-old, so.  Let’s say it’s one of the last high-income years of putting aside maybe ten years’ worth of giving but they know they want to be supporting, you know, let’s say the University of North Carolina, their alma mater, the local soup kitchen down the street, what have you.  And for ten years, let’s say, and again this is like a typical profile.  They’re going to their donor advised fund to make the gift out of there and they again funded the account right before retirement in a high-income year.  And then maybe once the individual gets to 72, their taking advantage of utilizing the DAF for future gifts out to end charities or current gift that to end charity and then a combination of that, minimum required distributions once you hit 72.  So that’s kinda (sic) the median profile.

CHAMBERS:   Okay, so let me just follow up.  So, let me – let me – this is what we see a lot.  Just kind of a scenario.  A couple, okay, again to your point, 62 years old.  They have an inherited a low-cost basis stock, which of course they get the step up but, they – or let’s say they – no, better yet, they’ve had a stock for a really long time.  They didn’t inherit it.  They’ve had a stock for a really long time.  I don’t know they bought Home Depot fifteen years ago and it’s just this low-cost basis thing, right.  What we advise is give that away.  So, you want to give away stocks.  You want to give away assets and then if you want to take – if you were going to give away cash, I think what a lot of advisors say is give the advisor the cash and give away stocks through the donor advised fund.  But you could also do – can you – you can do land, you can do – can you do a company?  Can you do, like stuff like that too?  I think that’s what – okay.

MILLER:   Yep.  Yeah, you can.  So, yeah, privately held business interests, S corporation stocks, C corporation stocks, are – we have four attorneys on staff that help us with those.  So, you know, ultimately, we have to review each time.  A number of factors but the big ones are the – the transferability of the assets.  So, is it ahead of the legally binding sale?  And then also, what’s our exit as a charity.  But what you just mentioned, Trevor, I would say is like a pretty common scenario.  Take that Home Depot stock, like you mentioned –

CHAMBERS:   Right.

MILLER:   -- and donating the stock away and then let’s say that that’s a stock that, you know, the individual really likes, really cares about, would love to have more of that in the portfolio.  Sometimes what you see is people donate the stock away and then purchase more shares of it so it’s reestablishing the cost basis that you have and then that can create a cycle of how that individual gives.  So, they – as soon as the stock is over a year old, it’s eligible for our fair market value deduction when it’s given away.  When that stock is given away at that later date and, you know, really there’s the two-sided benefit of giving the Home Depot stock versus the cash.  You get the deduction and then your also eliminating the capital gains taxes on what you gave away as well and that, not to jump around but, that – that’s actually a pretty timely conversation right now because, you know, one of the big potential tax changes out there is Capital Gains taxes going up so the value in donating the Home Depot stock versus giving the cash away, you know, potentially it’s going to become that much more as capital gains taxes do go up like it looks like they could.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.  Perfect segway.  I was on Fidelity Charitable site and there’s this article about how potential tax reform in ’21 could affect your charitable giving.  Like, people again, Mr. and Mrs. Market’s going to do what it wants but it’s pretty – I think we’re pretty sure that we’re going to have – taxes are going up so.  Is there anything, yeah, along those lines?  What are you hearing?  I know you guys listen to what’s coming out of Washington, pretty closely.  Is there any insight you might be able to add to that like, I don’t know if you saw this article but, you know, there’s – there’s – it looks like the brackets are going to move around and stuff like that are – maybe not the brackets but just the taxes – the levels are going to go up for sure across very specific areas.  So, is there anything you want to talk about with that?

MILLER:   Well, I would say the big two and yeah.  But, you know, really that the overarching, what I – so in my role I spend a lot of time talking to, you know, advisors, attorneys, accountants and it’s always good to get good insight from those folks.  It’s just a matter of how much.  You know, the initial proposal was for it to double, which would have been very significant.  It feels like it’s probably going to be less than that but we’ll just have to see there.  And then, you know, the other big piece in the charitable world that, I think is a potentially significant planning opportunity is the estate tax exemptions potentially going down.  So, your initial proposal was for it to come from a little over eleven down to three and a half.  And now it seems like it could be somewhere in the middle.  So, I mean for those less familiar with the estate tax exemption, so if you make a charitable gift before passing, you have the ability to minimize the overall amount that the – your estate is exposed to tax.  So, if the exemption is to come down significantly, you have more and more folks that would be above and beyond the threshold, whether its three and a half or five million dollars.  And having that estate tax exposure, so.  A charitable gift would be a way that to offset that.  So those are the two most prevalent ones and, you know, unofficially going back to capital gains taxes for a second.  Just seeing a lot of folks call us about business sales.  So, you know, this potentially could be, with the tax changes a really significant time to sell the business.  So, for folks that were thinking about selling it, you know, a few years down the road, with the, you know, potential for the capital gains to go up, you know, maybe that business sale gets moved up a few years.  And for folks that are doing the pre planning on charitable giving, you know, assigning a portion of the business ahead of the sale to eliminate the capital gains taxes, also get the deduction, but eliminate the capital gains taxes on what’s given ahead of the sale.  I’m getting a lot of calls on that right now.  So, those are the two big ones.  The ones I’m hearing about the most.

CHAMBERS:   That’s huge.  And you know just how it works here.  You know, we clear – Olde Raleigh Financial Group here, you know, we – our custodian is Fidelity and so, you know, we get access to people like Harrison to, you know, sort out these more complex situations so it’s a – and it’s a really, really great resource.  All right, that’s cool.  Yeah, but again, taxes are going up, guys, unfortunately.  The other thing that’s kind of cool about a DAF, it’s one receipt so your CPAs going to love you.  So, right?  I mean, you know, right now, you know – let’s back up, sorry.  If you don’t have a DAF, then what are you doing, right?  At the end of the year, or whenever, you’re writing checks and you’re sending it out and you send it out, you know, your four or five checks to your, whatever, one to church, this one to that and that one to that.  And you get all those receipts.  And then you gotta (sic) give all those to the – with all your other receipts, you gotta (sic) give them to the CPA.  With this, if I remember correctly, the magic, through the magic, you get one receipt.

MILLER:   Yeah, you get one receipt.  And then on top of that too, you know, let’s say you’re making, yeah let’s say you’re actually writing fifteen or twenty checks to charity each year, which is pretty common.  And all the while you probably have some low basis stock that you can be giving instead.  It’s just one receipt come tax time.  And then also, you know, let’s say a few of those gifts that you’re making are very specific.  They’re very specific.  Contacts at the organization, specific campaigns, it’s just – it’s kind of a shift in mindset to making the gift out of the DAF but once you do it once, you have all that information about each specific gift saved. 

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.

MILLER:   So, if you know you want to go in there and do it again next year, or if you want to make, you know, some sort of recurring gift, like a quarterly gift to one of your favorite charities.  You can set it up so that they go out, you know, as long as there are assets in the account, that they’ll go out on that recurring basis, if that’s what you would like to do, as well.

CHAMBERS:   So, it’s just – it’s just so easy.  It’s just such a logical thing to do.  And by the way, you can name – you can name it, you know, whatever – I assume like in the future if not right now, you probably have the Harrison Miller Charitable whatever, right?  Handing money out?

MILLER:   I do have my own.  I think I went with the Miller Charitable Fund which is (inaudible).

CHAMBERS:   You went with the Miller?  You didn’t go with the first name?  I mean, you’re – dude.  All right. 

MILLER:  That’s --

CHAMBERS:   Can we put –

MILLER:   -- some people really like that.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.  How about coffee?  Can you give away coffee?

MILLER:   Yeah.  I’m sure – I’m sure there are some charities out there that – that are passing around coffee.  I’d have to – and, you know, kind of along those lines are – I don’t know if this is where you were going but, you know, we do rely on a lot of databases.  So, we’ve given to 330,000 charities life to date.

CHAMBERS:   Wow.

MILLER:   You can do lots of great research on those websites to find – to find your favorite charities and see what they’re up to.

CHAMBERS:   Right.

MILLER:   -- before you give.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah, and it has to be, you know, guys it has to be a 503c (sic).  I mean it has to be.  It can’t be just like, you know, Jim and Nelly’s Charitable thing that – you know it has to be like, you know, some documentation there, you know.  Right?

MILLER:   It does need to be a 501c3 in good standing, yep.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.  And there’s plenty of those out there so anyway, you know, at the end, you know, we’re laughing and kidding but to be honest with you, I hate that phrase.  The sum total of it is, there’s a lot of giving – there’s a lot of places to give in the world, right?  And, so this is just a – just a smart way to do it.  It’s just a really smart way to do it because you’re going to do it anyway.  Do it like this because it really adds benefit to the charity, obviously.  And then it also adds great benefit to you.  So, think about those things.  Is there anything that you want to talk about with Fidelity Charitable?  Do you want to plug?

MILLER:   Well, you know, I think just specifically with us, I mean it’s been – it’s been a really, you know, you think about the last year and a half during the, you know, the height of the pandemic.  It’s been really like a great story for donor advised funds.  So, you know, right at the height of the pandemic when the stock market was down very significantly.  Down 30 percent, you know, whatever it ended up going all the way down to, a lot of folks turned to their donor advised fund to fund their favorite causes and give that to end charities because they had set aside those dollars in the years that it had made sense to and it was – it had been growing tax free for quite some time.  And then, you know, it’s still a great year for philanthropy overall last year.  You know, coming back from March, April of 2020 all the way to year end and there was some strong stock performance – stock market performance so, you know, funding donor advised funds in a lot of ways was at an all-time high as well.  So, you know, that was really like 2020 in a nut shell.  And, you know, right now with the tax changes that are out there, particularly those two that we talked about.  There’s a lot of pro planning opportunities for considering donor advised funds as a part of, you know, clients overall philanthropic picture.

CHAMBERS:   Do you – I just want to go back on one thing.  Is like donation of a privately held business, is that, I mean, fairly common or what?

MILLER:   I would say it should be more common.  You know, we –

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.

MILLER:   -- we have a – so in a given year, roughly like ten to fifteen percent of what comes in is non publicly traded.  Last year, we did about 600 transactions.  I think it was somewhere around 1.8 billion of what came in last year.  So, you know, very significant.  But what I will say with that is that, you know, we still get so many calls to our home office where the first, you know, (inaudible) says hey, I just sold my business and now I’m ready to open a donor advised fund.  And we’re happy to help but, you know, the real – the real value in the pre planning –

CHAMBERS:   There you go.

MILLER:   -- was on the way in.  Yeah, so.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.

MILLER:   So, I would say – I would say, you know, we hope to hear about it more.  Just for the sake of, you know, not only saving folks on taxes but giving that person the ability to give, you know, that much more to charity on what, you know, they wouldn’t have been paying in taxes there.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.  And, you know, and also kinda (sic) and I think you’ll concur with this.  And this may be an obvious statement but to be honest with you, sometimes it isn’t to people who own businesses but like, if you want to sell your business, it’s a big thought process and it’s just not something you just do overnight.  And it has to be thought through on so many levels.  And you can also, if you want to sell it in – if you want to sell a business, you’re out there right now and you’re listening and you want to sell a business that you’ve worked at for 25, 30 years, okay.  A small privately held family business, okay.  And you want to sell the thing in ’22, at the end of ’22, you’re already behind the eight ball.  I’m sorry, you are.  You have to be ahead of these things because it’s nuances like this that could mean a lot of -- number one a lot of good in the world and number two, tax savings.  And there’s so many other things, I’m not going to get too deep into it, but wouldn’t you agree with that?  I mean it’s like there’s so much out there to just consider and it’s really, you know, our job – Harrison and I, you know, to help clients do that, you know.  And kind of, you know, a lot of baby boomers are retiring.  They’re considering these things, right?  And they’re in that stage in their life where they, okay what am I doing?  And like selling a business is a major part of your wealth plan.  So, if you can do something like this to help mitigate some taxes, especially with changes at foot, I think what Mr. Harrison with the CAP certification, is consider it.  Consider it.  And call, and you can call Fidelity directly, right?  You got your own – what do you put your personal number up there on the website for them, or what?

MILLER:   Yeah.  I have – my phone number – my phone number is on the website but I would say exactly what Trevor is saying, it’s never too early to talk about that.  But it can be too late, so.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.

MILLER:   One of the big stipulations on giving a privately held business interest is that generally speaking, it’s got to be ahead of the legally binding purchase and sell agreement. So, you know, every once and a while, have the not so fun conversation where it’s too late.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.

MILLER:   If company A is already legally bound to selling to company B, you know in the eyes of the IRS, that’s already assigned income, so it’s an after-tax contribution.  So, you know, the earlier the better.  If there’s a letter of intent out there, that’s usually fine.  You know, there’s still time there, but, you know, even earlier than that.  So, we’re always happy at Fidelity Charitable to talk through any, you know, potential future client scenarios just so that you have everything in a row for when it’s starting to happen.

CHAMBERS:   That’s awesome.  Well, it’s been – this has been – this has been great.  And I hope that despite my babbling that we got some good content out of this.  And that people can really, you know, provide value.  Because, Harrison at the end of the day, I think that you and I, we’re just trying to provide value.  You know what I mean? 

MILLER:   That’s it.  And drink some good coffee.

CHAMBERS:   Drink some good, yeah.  Buy low, sell high.  Get the value, you know what I mean.  That’s what this is all about.  So, well, Harrison, I’d like to make this a bit of a series.  So, what I’m going to do, at least sometime in the next like twelve months, at the very least, we’re going to check back with Harrison Miller, CAP certification.  We’re going to check in with you and I want – I want every time we check in, I just want some riveting content out of you, you know what I mean.

MILLER:   Sounds good.

CHAMBERS:   But Charitable giving is fun, man. This is funs stuff.

MILLER:   (Inaudible).  Yeah, no would be happy to do it.  And you guys at Olde Raleigh have been great to work with.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah.  Thank you.

MILLER:   And, yeah.  You know there’s always something new and interesting to be talking about.  In the ten and a half years that I’ve been at Fidelity Charitable, so that sounds really good to me.

CHAMBERS:   Awesome.  Just one last one.  I may be catching you a little – I’m throwing an impromptu thing in here.  Is there any charity that you want to shout out to maybe in the greater Atlanta area?

MILLER:   Yeah, so I do a little bit of board work for two charities in Atlanta and, yeah, really, you know, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, actually like my grandfather was on one of the – he was on the founding board so it’s kind of one of these things that runs in the family.  So, love doing work for them.  Always been passionate about volunteering there and just, you know, helping with food and security, anyway that I can.  And then the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House charity is a really –

CHAMBERS:   Oh, nice.

MILLER:   -- cool subset of Atlanta – Ronald McDonald House charities that I got involved with a few years ago and that’s been great working with them as well.  In both capacities it’s really fun.  Like I do like utilize parts of my current role to, you know, help establish connections between donor advised funds and 501c3 public charities. 

CHAMBERS:   Oh, wow.

MILLER:   But doing anything volunteering wise for the both of them is great too.

CHAMBERS:   Oh, that’s super cool.  So, somebody could – a client could call you up and say hey, what do you got, you know.  I got some money and, you know, I’m doing this, that, and other things around here and now you know I’m connected but like what else is going on?  You know, like I like water.  Oh, okay well we have, you know, like of all these things that are doing water, you know what I mean.  So, like that type of thing?  Or whatever.

MILLER:   Oh, well, you know, I would say like from more – I think the big thing that whether it’s Ronald McDonald or the Food Bank or what have you, is just helping make charities aware of the capabilities of donor advised funds.

CHAMBERS:   Got it.

MILLER:   We’ve been giving, you know, I think a lot of times, and understandably so, like there’s always the – there’s always the pressure to get that, you know, immediate gift from a potential donor, so you know, sliding a check across the table.  But what I spend a lot of time, you know, helping those organizations out with is, hey, you know, let’s say you do have a Home Depot executive as a donor.  You know, they’re probably going to have restricted stock that might be a really good gift to give instead.  Or a business owner –

CHAMBERS:   I see.

MILLER:   -- that’s about to sell his business.

CHAMBERS:   Okay.

MILLER:   So, kinda (sic) just like establishing those connections –

CHAMBERS:   I see.

MILLER:   -- and making sure they’re aware of what, you know, if we can help going to the donor advised fund, and then making it easier for that charity to just receive cash.  That’s going to be the easiest for everybody.

CHAMBERS:   I see.  So don’t call Harrison and say, Harrison, I need an idea for water or anything.  Water charity.  Don’t do that.  But you can call him for things like, for example, where is his favorite coffee place and stuff like that.  But anyway.

MILLER:   That’s right.

CHAMBERS:   Exactly.  Well, I do want to say Harrison, this guy, guys, this guy is good.  He’s really good and your energy is great and you are very knowledgeable in what you’re doing.  So, if you have any questions, you know, want to get a little deeper with it, Harrison Miller and his team at Fidelity Charitable is a wonderful asset, so.  There’s a big plug for you right there.  You like that?

MILLER:   I did.  Thank you so much.  And, you know, I would say this.  You know, a lot of times, like this is when people are thinking about it.  You know, for us, like 60 percent of the whole year, in terms of donations, happens in the final six weeks, so. 

CHAMBERS:   Yep.

MILLER:   You know, to the degree that it comes up and, you know, obviously, call Trevor first.  We’re happy to help here at Fidelity Charitable.

CHAMBERS:   Thank you.  Yeah, you know, it’s got to be part of your year-end planning, you know, meeting.  And if you’re not meeting with your advisor, maybe a good reason why you’re not, but if you are, you know, bring it up.  And if he says I have no idea what you’re talking about or can’t do it.  You just call me directly or call Harrison.  But either way.  Thank you, brother.  I appreciate it.  I really, really do.  This has been fun and again like I said, we’ll do it again and if anything comes up, just reach out.  We’d love – you know, if you’re like hey man, I got a topic.  Sure.  Send it to me.  We’d love to do it and this is – just such valuable information for people and they just, you know, again, this is blocking.  Just basic blocking and tackling, so.  All right, brother.  Listen, I’m going to let you roll.  I’m sorry it’s raining in Atlanta but I do – I really appreciate e the time and thank you for this interview.

MILLER:   Yeah, well that’s what, you know, days like this where the coffee is the most important, right.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah. 

MILLER:   I got mine this morning.

CHAMBERS:   Yeah, and then maybe around 5:00 you have yourself a nice microbrew or something like that, you know what I mean.  Right?  Yeah.  Yeah.  I got it.  All right, well listen, keep trucking brother.  Thank you so much for your time and this has been Soundtrack to a Financial Advisors Life with Trevor Chambers from Olde Raleigh Financial Group, here in sunny Raleigh North Carolina.  Keep trucking man.  Thanks a lot.  Peace.

 

(INTERVIEW CONCLUDED.)

 

Trevor Chambers

Trevor joined Olde Raleigh Financial Services in January of 2015 and his primary role is new business development and marketing.  Prior to joining the firm, Trevor spent 12 years working at his family’s restaurant, Raleigh’s Bella Monica Cucina & Vino. “Exceptional service, no matter the industry, is paramount and we attract clients who value and take comfort in being taken care of.”  

Harrison Miller

Harrison Miller, CAP is Vice President and Charitable Planning Consultant for Fidelity Charitable.  Harrison is a premier resource for charitable planning in the Southeast region.  He is responsible for building relationships with advisors, enhancing their understanding of Fidelity Charitable donor-advised fund program and discussing ways to incorporate charitable giving into clients’ overall financial and wealth management plans. 

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Soundtrack to a Financial Advisor's Life Episode 11 with Mike Morey