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For Financial Advisors

Charitable planning that keeps you at the center of the client relationship

Pinellas Community Foundation works alongside financial advisors, CPAs, and attorneys to simplify charitable planning. We bring the tools, local expertise, and administrative support; you stay the trusted advisor in the room.

Partner with PCF

How do I integrate charitable planning without complicating my client relationships?

Advisors are increasingly asked to help clients bring charitable giving into their financial plans. Doing it alone adds complexity, administrative burden, and risk to the relationship.

Whether your client is considering a donor-advised fund, a charitable remainder trust, or a long-term legacy strategy, our team helps structure solutions that align with their financial goals while you remain the trusted advisor at the center of the relationship.

We handle the operational details, so you can focus on advising your clients with confidence. Fees are reinvested locally into Pinellas County programs, grants to local charities, and community support, not to national shareholders or platform overhead.

Meg Lokey, Vice President of Philanthropy
How can I help?

Meg Lokey

Vice President of Philanthropy

We only contact your client in the way you specify, and never outside your introduction.

Designed for your practice

Start where your clients start

The same local team, the same tools, organized around the conversations each practice has most often.

Financial advisors and wealth managers

Liquidity events, appreciated securities, and multi-year giving plans.

Donor-advised funds for appreciated securities and capital gains mitigation

Support for closely held stock, real estate, and pre-IPO shares

Online fund portal for client access, with clear and consistent reporting

Named philanthropic advisor for your client, not a support queue

CPAs and tax professionals

Deduction timing, bunching, and complex asset gifts before year end.

Bunching and multi-year giving strategies

Immediate deduction on contribution, with grants recommended over time

Grant processing and IRS compliance handled by PCF

Audited financials and full governance transparency

Estate planning attorneys

Wills, trusts, income planning, and legacy intent with flexibility for heirs.

Charitable remainder trusts for income, estate reduction, and complex assets

Planned legacy funds that formalize charitable intent through a will or trust

Sample bequest language in the advisor resource library

No obligation to name specific organizations now

The local difference

Why advisors choose PCF over national platforms

Your clients have access to Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and other national donor-advised fund sponsors. We know that. Two things advisors often assume, and what is actually true.

A staff member shows a financial advisor around a local community center
What we hear
“A community foundation just holds funds and grants them out.”

Holding and granting is the smallest part of the job.

When your client gives through PCF, they are not routed to a call center or a generic online portal. They have a named relationship with a local team that knows Pinellas County’s nonprofits, needs, and community priorities in real time, and that does the due diligence before a grant goes out.

Named philanthropic advisor, not a support queue

Deep due diligence on local nonprofit grantees

Real-time community needs data

We work in the background or in the room, your call

No solicitation of your clients outside your introduction

Advisor resource library, from fund overviews to sample bequest language

What we hear
“A local foundation cannot be as durable as a national platform.”

PCF has served Pinellas County for more than 55 years, with audited financials and open governance.

Every fund is administered with audited financials and full governance transparency. Fees fund Pinellas programs rather than national infrastructure, and the same local team handles compliance, grant processing, reporting, and fund administration after every contribution.

Audited financials and full governance transparency

Platinum transparency rating from Candid

Fees stay in this community

Grant processing and IRS compliance handled for you

55+

Years serving Pinellas County

400+

Funds managed, with zero burden on your practice

$140M+

Granted to local causes, not national overhead

Platinum

Candid transparency rating

Designed for your practice

Three ways PCF supports the advisory relationship

We reduce administrative burden, add local credibility, and give you a reliable charitable partner, without asking you to change how you work.

Tax-efficient charitable tools

Solutions built for financial, estate, and tax planning conversations, from DAFs for liquidity events to CRTs for income planning and complex asset transfers.

DAFs for appreciated securities and capital gains mitigation

CRTs for income, estate reduction, and complex assets

Bunching and multi-year giving strategies

Support for closely held stock, real estate, pre-IPO shares

Local knowledge you can trust

Your clients want their giving to matter. PCF brings decades of place-based intelligence, so you can speak credibly about local impact without doing the research yourself.

55+ years of Pinellas County nonprofit relationships

Due diligence and grantee vetting

Real-time community needs data

Guidance grounded in evidence, not assumptions

Administrative ease, clear reporting

We handle everything after the contribution: compliance, grant processing, reporting, and fund administration, so you and your clients stay focused on strategy.

Grant processing and IRS compliance

Clear, consistent fund reporting

Online fund portal for client access

Responsive local team, not a call center

During busy seasons, advisors are heads down on client work. PCF fills the gap, with boots on the ground and a 10,000 foot view of what Pinellas County needs, who the players are, and where the opportunities are. That knowledge is invaluable, and I'm grateful PCF makes it their business so I don't have to.

CJ Zygadlo, CPA, Senior Manager, Carr Riggs & Ingram

Charitable fund options

Structures that fit into planning conversations

PCF offers nine fund types that align philanthropy with a client’s financial, tax, and legacy planning. Each fits into an existing advisory relationship. This is a quick reference; the recommendation comes from a conversation.

Not sure which structure fits?

Reach out to Meg to talk through your client’s situation and get one recommendation, not a list.

A financial advisor reviews documents with an older couple
Most common

Flexible charitable account. The client contributes, receives an immediate deduction, and recommends gifts over time.

Used when: managing a liquidity event, offsetting capital gains, a multi-year giving strategy, or bunching deductions.

Enduring impact

Preserves principal while generating ongoing charitable support. Structured for permanence.

Used when: the client wants legacy planning, multi-generational impact, or sustained support over time.

Estate planning

Formalizes charitable intent through a will or trust. No obligation to name specific organizations now.

Used when: the client wants charitable giving in their estate plan with maximum flexibility for heirs.

Community impact

The client designates a broad cause, such as education, environment, health, or food insecurity. PCF directs gifts within that field.

Used when: the client cares about a cause but prefers PCF’s local expertise to guide gift decisions over time.

Foundation alternative

Foundation-level control and family involvement without the operational and compliance burden.

Used when: the client wants the experience of a private foundation without the administrative cost.

Specific organizations

Consistent long-term funding for one or more named nonprofit organizations selected by the client.

Used when: the client has strong loyalty to a specific organization and wants perpetual support.

Flexible reserve

Sets aside charitable assets for future community needs, economic shifts, or unforeseen priorities.

Used when: the client values prudent planning and wants charitable capacity without immediate commitment.

Education and legacy

Formal, IRS-compliant structure for supporting students and education. Can involve family selection.

Used when: the client wants a family legacy in education or workforce development giving.

Advanced planning

Irrevocable trust that provides the client income for life or a term, defers capital gains, and supports charity.

Used when: the client has appreciated assets, needs income, and wants estate reduction with charitable intent.

The process

What happens after a referral

You decide how involved we are. We handle everything on the charitable side, keep you informed at every step, and never go around you.

01

You submit a referral

Use the online referral form or reach a giving specialist directly. We only contact your client in the way you have specified.

02

We connect with your client

We reach out within one business day, only in the way you have specified, to introduce PCF and understand their goals.

03

You stay in the loop

We keep you informed at every step. You decide how involved to be.

04

The fund opens

Once the fund is established, your client has ongoing access to a local philanthropic advisor and online fund management.

Charitable planning guide for advisors

A majority of high-net-worth clients incorporate philanthropy into their financial strategies, and many look to their advisors to lead that conversation. This guide gives you a clear, practical framework for doing exactly that, from identifying the right moment to introducing charitable planning, to selecting the right vehicle and executing with confidence.

Meg Lokey, Vice President of Philanthropy, and Duggan Cooley, Chief Executive Officer of Pinellas Community Foundation
Ready to work together?

Refer a client or start a conversation.

If a client is exploring charitable giving, legacy planning, or a complex gift, our team can support the conversation without stepping into your role.