Philanthropy UK and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) have jointly created the Giving Advice website to support private client advisers of all types: private bankers, wealth managers, trust and estate lawyers, accountants, trust and family office managers, family and community foundations, financial planners and family business consultants. It aims to help them more effectively support their clients’ philanthropic aims by providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for resources and information for advisers.

It also aims to bust some of the myths that are hindering the development of the market, among them the myth that philanthropy is a taboo subject. ‘Some advisers remain reluctant to talk to their clients about the subject, as if it were too personal to be discussed,’ says Keith Johnston, head of philanthropy at STEP. ‘But as one adviser told me: “I talk to my clients about death, illegitimate children and the odd secret Ukrainian wife. Philanthropy is hardly a taboo.”’

Philanthropy UK offers free and impartial advice to aspiring philanthropists who want to give effectively. A comprehensive list of resources includes a philanthropy directory, a newsletter, a list of recent research on philanthropy and a list of the top ten major current trends. To help donors make sense of the growing supply of advice, it has created a database of advisory providers, the Quick guide to philanthropy advisors, which shows the services each firm offers, what they do and the fees they charge.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) is a membership body whose members include bankers, trustees, accountants and lawyers of all degrees and kinds who provide expert advice on how to comply with the often complex law and tax rules surrounding trusts, estates and inheritance. STEP has recently established a new group for advisers with an interest in developing their philanthropy skills and launched Philanthropy Advisor, a supplement to its STEP Journal.

For more information
http://www.philanthropyuk.org
For the Giving Advice website
http://www.philanthropyuk.org/Givingadviceaguideforphilanthropyadvisors
To view the Quick guide
http://www.philanthropyuk.org/Newsletter/Sep2009Issue38/Quickguidetophilanthropyadvisors