Professional Advisors

Since 2008, the Community Foundation has partnered closely with the region’s professional advisors to help clients achieve their philanthropic goals.

Because clients often turn to trusted advisors like you to incorporate charitable giving into their financial plans, we are here to support you with flexible, effective options tailored to their needs.

As a public charity, the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana offers donors the maximum tax deductibility allowed by law. We also have extensive experience accepting complex assets—including real estate, closely held business interests, and other non-traditional gifts—making it easier for clients to give in ways that align with their financial strategies.

We’ve created some talking points to help spark the charitable conversation with your clients here.

You might notice a guy in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. His name is Frank and he’s here to help you.

What is Frank™ for Advisors?

Frank™ for Advisors is an innovative generative AI tool designed to assist estate attorneys and other advisors with questions about complex planned giving and estate planning concepts.

Frank™ for Advisors is trained on exclusive, safe, and reliable content specifically created and contained within the Gift Planner's Workstation™, making the complex world of planned giving accessible and easy to navigate.

The knowledge base behind Frank™ includes federal and state regulations, expert contributions from Paul Caspersen, Bryan Clontz, and other leaders in the field. 

Year-End Tax Planning

Charitable accounts at community foundations allow your clients to make tax-deductible gifts in the current year while distributing grants to nonprofits over time. “Bundling” or “bunching” charitable contributions has become an effective strategy for many donors, enabling them to maximize tax benefits while supporting the causes they care about.

Check out this spreadsheet to see the big impact of “bundling” a donation of appreciated stock.

We can open a fund quickly, often in one or two days, to help you and your clients achieve tax savings and charitable goals in the current year. We can help your clients find worthwhile charities that match their causes.

Also, your clients can donate up to $108,000 of their annual Required Minimum Distribution from a traditional IRA to a qualifying charity like the Community Foundation, which will benefit the community for years to come.

Estate Planning

Your clients can use a charitable bequest or other planned gift to help manage estate taxes while creating a lasting legacy. We honor each donor’s intentions by supporting the causes and nonprofits that matter most to them—providing meaningful impact in perpetuity.

If your client is considering establishing a private foundation, a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) may be a simpler, less expensive solution. DAFs offer many of the same benefits as a private foundation, but with none of the administrative hassles or payout requirements. We minimize the paperwork, allowing your client to focus on the joy of giving and creating a lasting legacy in the community.

We’ve created a breakdown of these benefits here.

IRA/401(k) Assets

Our legal counsel and donor services department can recommend the best distribution of large retirement accounts to minimize taxes and preserve the money for charitable giving.