The Informed Investor

From choosing the right causes to navigating different perspectives, your family’s charitable giving is a team effort that requires collaboration. To help you navigate these conversations, just in time for the holidays while families gather, we’ve rounded up several strategies you can use to talk about charity with your family.

Start a Conversation

Giving back is done best when there are clear and strong motivating factors behind your actions. As a family, you’ll likely all have different interests and sources of inspiration when it comes to charity, and facilitating an open and honest discussion will help you all get on the same page as you move forward.

To help you along the way, here are our top ten conversation starters for talking about charity with your family members:

How are you currently giving back or serving your community?

What causes are nearest and dearest to you?

What resources (time, money, expertise, etc.) do you have to share?

Your aunt and I are volunteering at [insert organization] this weekend. Would you like to join us?

Who needs your help most?

How can you motivate others, like friends and colleagues, to get involved in this cause?

If you had to give away $100,000 today, who would you give it to and why?

How can you make time in your schedule to do more without risking burnout?

When you think about the world your children and grandchildren will inherit, what would you want to change?

What legacy would you like to remain after you’re gone?

How to Involve Younger Children in the Discussion

 Choose a few charities you care about and allow your children to help narrow them down or even decide which ones they’d like to support. Ask them what causes they care about and encourage them to research those topics. Bring empathy to the forefront of the conversation – why is giving necessary in the first place? Make charitable giving a regular topic of conversation in the household – your kids don’t have to be a part of every discussion, but they’ll pick up on it through regular exposure.

Establish Your Family Mission Statement

Your Family Mission Statement, or FMS, is the backbone of your charitable giving. It’s a summary of your goals that acts as a roadmap along your family’s journey. It doesn’t have to be lengthy; rather, your FMS should be about 1-3 sentences long. To create your family’s unique statement, begin by exploring your answers to these two questions:

Why do you want to give?

How would you define “success” when it comes to giving?

This mission statement can help you concentrate your giving efforts on the causes that matter most to you and assess the progress you’ve made toward your charitable goals over time.

Determine Your Giving Vehicle

Once you’ve narrowed down the “why,” it’s time to explore the “how.” There are several ways you can financially support your charities of choice, including:

Cash
Assets, such as retirement accounts or life insurance policies
Charitable Trusts
Donor-Advised Funds
Private Foundations
Real Estate
Stocks

A financial advisor can help you determine the best course of action for you and your family. The Investment Counsel Company’s (ICC) fiduciary advisors can help you develop a customized investment strategy, incorporating your philanthropic goals, to help you grow and preserve your wealth. ICC has been recognized as one of the nation’s top wealth management firms by publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Forbes. If you have $1 million or more in investable assets, contact ICC today at 702-871-8510 or check out www.iccnv.com to  learn how we can help with achieving your financial goals.

The Investment Counsel Company of Nevada (“Company”) is an SEC registered investment adviser located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Company may only transact business in those states in which it is registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Company’s web site is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, and links. Accordingly, the publication of Company’s web site on the Internet should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Company’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the Internet. Any subsequent, direct communication by Company with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. A copy of Company’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing Company’s business operations, services, and fees is available from Company upon written request. Company does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Company web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility, therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.

Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Company), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s).

*Please Note: Limitations: Neither rankings and/or recognition by unaffiliated rating services, publications, media, or other organizations, nor the achievement of any designation or certification, should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if ICC is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Rankings published by magazines, and others, generally base their selections exclusively on information prepared and/or submitted by the recognized adviser. Rankings are generally limited to participating advisers. Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, ICC did not pay a fee to be included on any such ranking. No ranking or recognition should be construed as a current or past endorsement of ICC by any of its clients.

 *The Barron’s Top 100 Independent Advisors ranking reflects the volume of assets overseen by the advisors and their teams, revenues generated for the firms, and the quality of the advisors’ practices. The scoring system assigns a top score of 100 and rates the rest by comparing them with the top-ranked advisor. There is no cost or fee involved to participate in this survey. The questionnaire is completed and submitted online.

**The Barron’s Top 1200 Financial Advisors by State ranking is based on data provided by over 4,000 of the nation’s most productive advisors. Factors included in the rankings are: assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record, quality of practice, and philanthropic work. There is no cost or fee to participate in this survey. The questionnaire is completed and submitted online.

***The Forbes “America’s Top Wealth Advisors” ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person interviews and telephone due diligence meetings and a ranking algorithm that includes client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations and quantitative criteria, including assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports.  Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any

 ANY QUESTIONS: ICC’s Chief Compliance Officer remains available to address any questions regarding rankings and/or recognitions, including the criteria used for any reflected ranking. Please review Important Disclosure Information set forth in the last section of this website