PLANADVISER - March/April 2021 - 40

advisers giving back
The CCF's Big Day-and Year
Firm generates $4.8 million in charitable contributions
REGULARLY on PLANADVISER.com, we
present the profile of an adviser or advisory
practice involved in philanthropic efforts.
Besides to highlight the works that plan
advisers do, and to attract a new generation,
we hope these stories will inspire
those still unsure about what role corporate
responsibility or philanthropy should play
at their firm. Below is one such profile-find
more at PLANADVISER.com/AGB.
A
ccording to Tiffany Larew, an
employee relations manager
with CAPTRUST in Raleigh,
North Carolina, the CAPTRUST
Community Foundation (CCF) did not
miss a beat when the coronavirus
pandemic first hit the U.S. early last
year. At the time, Larew was serving a
term as president of the CCF.
She says the fact that the organization
had in place a strong infrastructure
allowed it to get moving quickly
to help address the challenges the
pandemic raised. The CCF board, and
the CAPTRUST staff, also had peace
of mind knowing that the firm's leadership
had assured them the business
would be stable and that they should
stay focused on serving clients and on
giving back to the community.
The strategy worked. The CCF
raised almost $5 million, of which it
donated a record $1 million, to benefit
211 nonprofits, over that difficult year.
As explained by Philip D'Unger, the
CCF's 2021 president and a senior team
leader for wealth planning, 2020's highlight
was the Giving Thanks campaign,
which culminated in Giving Tuesday,
on December 1. The campaign saw the
CCF distribute $10,000 to each of 45
charities across the country.
" This $450,000 in contributions
was made possible by CAPTRUST
employees raising [that] $4.8 million, "
D'Unger explains.
" Each CAPTRUST
office was given the opportunity to
choose a nonprofit in its community
Tiffany Larew and Philip D'Unger
to receive this $10,000, with the only
requirement being that the organization
help to provide food, shelter or
other basic needs for families. "
For context, between its founding
in 2007 and the end of 2019, the CCF
had given roughly $1.6 million in total
grants. Today, it has multiple millions
left in the coffers that can be strategically
invested and distributed in a
meaningful way, D'Unger says.
Larew recalls how the first COVID19-related
campaign, undertaken early
last spring, quickly generated about
$150,000.
" That was a big accomplishment,
but later in the year, when we saw no
[immediate] end for the pandemic, the
giving really accelerated, " she notes.
Asked to name a charity that a
branch donated to and whose story
stayed with her, Larew cites an organization
in Akron, Ohio, called FullyEquipped.
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit partners
with underfunded local schools to
equip kids for school, sports and life.
" They had a youth come in who
was not expected or budgeted for, " she
recalls. " He really likes to play basketball,
but the organization was worried
that it wouldn't be able to provide shoes
and other sporting goods for him-
just basic needs of food, clothing and
shelter. However, the $10,000 grant
allowed them to provide basketball
shoes for him, in addition to assisting
others. It shows how $10,000 can make
a big impact on an organization like
that, to really brighten up a boy's life. "
D'Unger says it is also important to
recognize that " everything we do from
a foundation perspective is a partnership.
When you work with the CCF, the
firm sends both people and money. We
have a volunteer aspect to everything
we do. " -John Manganaro
ARE YOU AN ADVISER who gives back to the local, regional or global community?
If so, we'd like to hear about it for our Advisers Giving Back program. If you have, or
know of, such a story, please email editors@issmediasolutions.com.
40 | planadviser.com March-April 2021 Art by Lars Leetaru
http://www.PLANADVISER.com http://www.PLANADVISER.com/AGB http://www.planadviser.com
PLANADVISER - March/April 2021

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