As we near the end of the year, and the pace of everything picks up, including client’s philanthropic interests, many of us are looking for ways to increase our efficiency and speed of getting things done. In this moment in time, it’s easy to turn to AI to help bolster our workflow, but as experienced advisors know, you cannot substitute artificial anything for authentic engagement with your clients.
With advances in AI, many advisors are finding innovative ways to create materials, generate correspondence, and set reminders for themselves about critical tasks or events. Many of us derive great satisfaction from checking things off lists and knowing that we accomplished many tasks during a day.
However, at the core of any successful advising practice is the ability to create and sustain authentic, human relationships with your clients, and in a moment of fast-paced activity, an important and welcome gift an advisor can give to a donor is your undivided and focused attention. Donors come in all varieties – new, experienced, focused, broadly open, responsive, reactive – but they are all driven by generosity and a desire to make the world a better place. What better way to reflect back that generous spirit than by creating space for connection and conversation? To create a space for a dialog that encompasses people’s values, dreams, and philanthropic goals. To slow down and connect about how you can support this philanthropic impulse. If you are working with an active donor, when was the last time you stepped back to review what was accomplished, rather than just what there is still to do? There are too few moments in most of our busy lives for taking that breath and stepping back to assess where you are, where you have been, and what you want to do next. Create that space with and for your clients, and they will thank you for it.
As you begin to have end-of-year conversations with clients, don’t just ask about their financial goals, or go over how their assets performed this year. Ask them what’s on their minds about their charitable giving. What questions they are considering regarding their children and philanthropy. (Hint: we have a checklist to help them get started with conversations with their kids). Connect them to resources to help them explore their interests.
When I think about an advisor tapping into AI in its present state, I often think of a sculptor approaching an enormous block of wood. They might start with a chainsaw to rough out the shape of their statue, which is where AI can help. But ultimately, they will need a chisel, and then sandpaper to hone down the final, delicate details. Similarly, advising needs its full artist’s tool kit. Let AI do the brute force work for you but make sure you are taking the time to truly let your artistry shine as you work with your clients in refining their philanthropic work and vision.
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Miki Akimoto is the Vice President of Philanthropic Advisory Services where she is responsible for Foundation Source’s clients across a range of philanthropic work, including governance review and refresh, grant strategy, learning agendas, next-generation engagement, and grant application development. She is actively involved in the philanthropic community nationally and locally and is president of the board of Third Sector Holdings, and a member of the board of TSNE. She holds a Bachelor of Political Science degree from Stanford University.
