CEO of wealth tech platform shares vision of a simpler approach to charity, and how wealth managers can play a part
After leaving behind an early career in corporate finance, John Bromley had the opportunity to make a quick switch into the field as the son of a pioneering authority in charity law.
He gained a thorough understanding of the difficulties facing the nonprofit sector as a result, as well as a vision for how much more straightforward it might be.
“Life teaches me that everyone can be a donor, but maybe two or three out of 100 will need to actually create a charity for themselves to carry out their charitable activities,” Bromley said in an interview with Wealth Professional.
Bromley had firsthand experience with the challenges, costs, and benefits of organizing and establishing a private foundation to assist people in managing their charitable giving. He also saw the value of having one's own tool specifically for managing charitable giving.
He was aware that for many donors looking to make a difference with their money, giving to established charities wasn't the best option.
Currently, he serves as the CEO of Charitable Impact, a tech company he founded to make it simpler for individuals and businesses to participate in and manage their charitable giving.
“With Charitable Impact, anyone can create a donor-advised fund, which is like a bank account for charitable giving, for free and in just a few minutes,” Bromley said.
Canadians can donate publicly traded securities to charity and the government won't tax the capital gains on those assets owing to a change to the Income Tax Act enacted in the 2000s.
Accordingly, publicly traded securities that have increased in value are the most tax-efficient investment to donate in Canada, and wealth managers have a crucial role to play in this.
Wealth managers could direct significant investment assets to the advantage of whatever charitable cause their clients want to focus on giving to because their books of business may include hundreds of families.
“Our platform enables them to manage those donated assets, at least until the clients decide where they want to donate their assets, and that’s usually something that happens over time,” Bromley said.
To read John Bromley’s full interview with Wealth Professional, presented in an interactive digital content format, click here.
