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How you can help your clients as they pivot their giving to better support their community

In times of change, crisis or transition, donors often want to react quickly to help — but they aren’t always sure where they can give to have the most immediate impact on the community.

As an advisor, you may be less aware of how to respond to crises or cultural events through giving. By working together, we can help your clients support organizations and causes they care about already as well as ones that address emerging community needs.

While we look to the unknown future, it is important that we make sure donors are aware of their charitable options. Helping your clients make the greatest impact to causes they care about can significantly improve your business.

At the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, we work with you and your clients to find ways to make an impact during times of crisis and calm. Our staff has been able to offer guidance and help fundholders shift their focus to meet their philanthropic goals as they change.

“Two of our fundholders who primarily give to environmental causes pivoted their grantmaking to support food shelters and banks because they saw a need in the community,” said Philanthropic Advisor Heidi Tieszen.

While the environment is still important to this couple, they felt the need to move their support to where they perceived it was needed most. This is just one of the ways our fundholders shifted their giving due to COVID-19 related issues and the murder of George Floyd.

When donors are flexible with their giving, they can support the present needs of the community, in addition to continuing to support initiatives and organizations they already care about. As a community foundation, we have our finger on the pulse of the community and work closely with our nonprofit partners to make sure we are aware of their needs.

“One of our donors wanted to donate $100,000 — but wasn’t sure who needed the money more — frontline workers or people who had lost their jobs and homes,” said Director of Philanthropic Services Aurea Gerard. “I suggested splitting her grant down the middle, giving $50,000 to the Minnesota Disaster Recovery Fund (MDRF) and $50,000 to Community Sharing Fund.”

“ Two of our fundholders who primarily give to environmental causes pivoted their grantmaking to support food shelters and banks because they saw a need in the community.”

Heidi Tieszen

Partner with Us

Our goal as a partner is to take the guesswork out of giving. We work hard to make charitable giving easy for your clients, whether they’re making a gift of cash, stock or a non-cash asset such as grain.

The past year and a half has taught us all lessons about the importance of philanthropy, encouraging us to reimagine how we support our community and explore new charitable ways to give.

At the Foundation, we accept a wide variety of non-cash assets, including real estate, life insurance and cryptocurrency, to name a few, which may be advantageous to contribute to a charitable fund, such as a donor advised fund.

To learn how we can better work with you and your clients, please contact one of our gift planners. For more helpful information, sign up for our professional advisor e-news.

The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors regarding your individual situation before engaging in any transaction.

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