What does it take to be a great philanthropic advisor? 

By Tony Macklin

Every week, the Daylight team meets with leaders of wealth management firms, banks, foundations, nonprofits, consulting firms, and more. We hear them trying to respond to four trends:   

1. The increasing number of wealth creators and inheritors who want to focus part of their financial and estate planning on philanthropy. 

2. The increasing amount of money being placed in donor-advised funds and foundations. 

3. The expanding ways people achieve social impact, going beyond charitable giving to use impact investments, advocacy, crowdfunding, and other tools. 

4. Advisors and clients alike hoping to find ways to make a difference in the complex challenges our communities and planet face. 

They’re often expanding and refining their roles as philanthropic advisors—people who help clients and donors navigate the why, who, what, where, and how of philanthropy and social impact. But the field of philanthropic advising is a messy mix of professional backgrounds, business models, skillsets, services, and success metrics.  

To help shed…well…daylight on that mess, we’re releasing a draft philanthropic advising competency model this summer. The model will describe attitudes, knowledge, and skills essential for succeeding in philanthropic advising roles. It should clarify recruitment, hiring, performance measurement, and professional development plans for employers, employees, and solo practitioners.  

We’ll base the model on dozens of job descriptions, interviews with a variety of employers, and competency maps from organizations such as the UHNW Institute (see graphic), Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy, CFP Board, and SkillsFuture Singapore.

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Our project partner is the LaCire team who bring deep experience in developing effective and equitable human capital policies and procedures. And we’re fortunate to have the expertise and leadership of our volunteer working group and advisory board members.

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