Do something good: Why community connections are now part of your client work
Today’s social impact culture mindset has infiltrated every business, nonprofit, and financial institution in America. The boundaries of our personal and professional lives are blurred across a wide range of social impact behaviors.
What does this mean for your work with your clients? It means your clients are walking into your office with "doing good" on their minds. You can build an immediate connection with your clients when you start a conversation about the ways they--and you--are getting involved in the community. Here are three tips for starting that conversation.
1. Demonstrate that you are in touch with the wide range of "doing good" activities.
With the rapid rise of social consciousness, philanthropy is expanding to cover far more territory than just one or two ways to do good. Consider the full footprint of social impact lifestyle factors that make up the contemporary marketplace mindset: Giving to charities, volunteering in the community, serving on boards, donating necessities to people in need, recycling, purchasing products that support a cause, marketing a favorite organization, celebrating at fundraising events, sharing with friends and family, and caring about your own well-being. Ask your clients about a few of these social impact behaviors. This lets them know that you care about them as human beings.
2. Be aware of the regulatory environment.
Many of your clients who run or own businesses are paying attention to social responsibility in the corporate sector. For example, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an international standards organization that helps businesses, governments, and other groups understand and communicate the impact of business on critical sustainability issues such as climate change, human rights, corruption, and many others. GRI represents the commitment of hundreds of companies to strive toward a common set of benchmarks to protect the earth and humanity. More than 90 percent of the world’s largest 250 companies are among the thousands of “GRI reporters,” meaning they subscribe to the organization’s standards for sustainability performance. Ask your clients about their corporate commitment to civic engagement.
3. Show your clients that you are doing something, too.
Your clients want to know that you share their commitment to community. Give them peace of mind by talking about your own volunteering efforts, the boards you serve on, or the charities you support. Best of all, let your clients know that you are connected to the Community Foundation, an organization committed to helping people fulfill community dreams through the power of philanthropy.
IDEAS FOR USING THIS ARTICLE
As a parallel effort to your professional advisor outreach initiative, consider encouraging your donors to make sure their wealth advisors understand their family's charitable goals. This video illustrates sample messaging.