What if Your Breakthrough To More Influence and More Impact As an Advisor Is Closer Than It Seems?
The work of philanthropy advisors can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also feel isolating, counterintuitive and frustrating. Many of us who end up in this role traveled idiosyncratic pathways and never had formal preparation for so many aspects of what we now do on a daily basis. So whether you are an advisor working with multiple clients or employed by a single family office or foundation, it's very easy to fall into "advising as usual" routines that leave you far short of your full potential to help guide donors to truly meaningful giving in a world so full of urgent needs.
It's also common to feel unclear about how to get better, especially when you're not sure which parts of what you've picked up along the way are the keys to success and which practices might actually be part of the problem.
So if you've been looking for a clear path to elevate your influence and your impact as an advisor through a uniquely tailored learning opportunity, as well as a community of peers to grow with in a confidential, trust-based setting, you're in the right place...
Why You? Why Now?
Are you experiencing one or more of the key challenges that comes with advising as usual?
Has following conventional wisdom and common practice actually contributed to some of your advising challenges?
If you recognize yourself in any of these challenges, you are not alone -- and there's a learning community here waiting for you!
Chances are, you already know from your own conversations with colleagues in the philanthropy advising field just how widespread these challenges are.
As a mission driven philanthropic advising practice, we at Building Impact Partners have navigated many of these same challenges ourselves. Over the past ten years we've helped our clients give away over $1 billion--and we have learned all kinds of lessons along the way. Inspired by the potential so many of us see for philanthropy advising to play a key role in getting more resources flowing to where they are most needed, over the past several years we've been going deep on a learning journey about the art and practice of truly influential advising with an emerging community of fellow advisors. The result is Advisors Accelerator. Uniquely crafted by and for philanthropy advisors, and now entering its third year, this program serves both established advisors looking to polish their practice as well as emerging advisors looking for a strong start in the field.
Become A Certified
Meaningful Giving Guide
The heart of the Advisors Accelerator program is the Meaningful Giving Guide Certification. This certification is delivered through two in-person seminars, totaling 5 days of programming, with a significant emphasis on hands-on practice and role playing.
A Unique Training Process Focused on Mastering the Essential Conversations for Influential Advising
Too many of us get stuck below our full potential as advisors because we've bought into the all too common belief that projecting expertise and competence in everything we do is the key to success. And that feels like a long and arduous path, especially because so few of us are coming into our roles with broad and deep experience in everything that philanthropy advising can entail, from the range of issues our donor might care about to the ins and outs of LLCs vs. operating foundations to the intricacies of impact assessment.
It's time to think differently about what great advising looks like--and how you get better at it.
The most influential and impactful advising relationships are not built on expertise alone. You don't actually have to develop and deliver expertise in everything your donor asks you about in order to succeed as an advisor. In fact, that's often a recipe for running yourself ragged and limiting the nature of your relationship with a donor.
Leaning into the expert role can be tempting. It may feel like the safest path to establishing trust and credibility with your donor, especially if your expertise in a particular issue area got you in the door in the first place. And if you got started with a donor because you had some kind of pre-existing relationship, establishing your expertise in the advising role can feel like an essential way to validate yourself. But constantly trying to perform from a place of expertise can be exhausting--and perilous anytime you get it wrong. And even when you're sure your recommendations are spot on, leaning into the expert role doesn't leave you with anywhere to go when the donor doesn't see things your way. Nor does it position you to help donors identify and address the deeper questions that arise on their path to truly meaningful giving, giving that not only maximizes social impact, but also brings personal fulfillment and even joy.
Advising at its most influential and impactful is actually about guiding conversations and helping others develop insight. And getting better at this is easier than you might think.
BECAUSE...
There are only so many key types of conversations that philanthropy advisors have with their donors.
Here's the great news--the path to elevating your impact, and your influence as an advisor (not to mention your abundance and autonomy) is closer than it seems. That's because so much of what goes on in the interactions between you and your donor are variations on a relatively small number of recurring topics and issues. There's the vision and values conversation. There's the proposing and enrolling conversation. There's the what and who to fund conversation. There's the measurement and evaluation conversation. There's the power, perspective and proximity conversation. The thoughtful adjustments and exits conversation. So much of what we do with donors ends up being variations on these and a handful of other themes.
Mapping and practicing these essential conversations is an incredible accelerant for influential advising.
As a Certified Meaningful Giving Guide you learn to map out the most important of these key conversations, spot the recurring sticking points and opportunities, customize them for your specific context and then practice them with partners in a safe and confidential setting. This is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to get better where the rubber really hits the road in your advising relationships.
When you approach your advising through the lens of key conversations you quickly begin to see that there are distinct patterns, not only in the form of these conversations, but also in the way that you and your donors are habitually showing up in these moments. Mapping these patterns creates opportunities for understanding, and for improvement. That's why the certification program grounds the key conversations practice sessions in three foundational modules covering decision-making psychology, how donors relate to their wealth and 5 simple tools for communicating more effectively in high stakes conversations.
In Addition To The Certification Curriculum, Advisors Accelerator Includes Many Optional Extras and Practical Resources Tailored For The Day To Day Work Advisors Actually Do
Recognizing that sometimes all of us working as advisors do indeed need to get get up to speed quickly on areas outside of our immediate expertise and experience, we surround the Certified Meaningful Giving Guide curriculum with all kinds of extras and optional resources that you can draw on as needed in your daily work
- Fireside chats with subject area experts on hot topics ranging from climate, and homelessness, to collaborative giving and philanthropy infrastructure.
- Monthly seminars for solopreneurs and small firms on business mechanics on operations, covering everything from pricing and profitability to marketing and business development
- A special series covering 7 Pillars of Personal Development for those interested in dialing in their own growth and support systems
- A wide range of videos, worksheets and other practical resources on topics such as understanding the ins and outs of 7 different structural forms through which donors can carry out their giving, or how to conduct a landscape analysis or portfolio review with your donor.
- An AI-powered chat interface that draws on the entire curriculum
- Many of these optional extra sessions are delivered live on zoom to allow for questions, conversation and workshopping challenges together. Recordings are also accessible on your own time and schedule through an online learning portal.
Advisors Accelerator Program Details
Meaningful Giving Guide Certification Seminars: May 13-15 in FL & Nov 12-13 in NYC
Interactive peer learning community with live programming monthly February-November
Online learning portal & resource library available on your own time and schedule
Monthly business strategy & operations workshop for solopreneurs and small firms
FAQ
