How CAP^® Study Groups Are Fueling Philanthropic Communities

For many designations available at The College, the most apparent benefits are conferred upon the advisor who earns the designation. Higher earnings, rates of referral, and increased trust by clients are prominent among these benefits. One could also determine a high level of benefit is received by the advisor’s clients. They receive a greater level of expertise, and as such should achieve improved outcomes. However, some advisors are aiming for another goal: improving their entire community.

The Founding of CAP^® Study Groups

One such advisor, Mark Weber, CLU®, ChFC®, CAP®, MSFS, serves as a philanthropic consultant with Legacy Spectrum Advisor. Based out of Omaha, Nebraska, Weber sought to “make Omaha more generous.” With help from the Omaha Community Foundation, Weber founded one of the first CAP® study groups in 2012. According to Weber, the idea was derived from Todd Healy, MSW®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®, CAP®, who founded the first CAP® study group in Dallas, Texas, just one year earlier. Weber stated  the original intent of the study group was to form a group of CAP® participants that could help each other maintain accountability as they worked to stick with the program.

However, this organization turned into something much more than the “study group” name would imply. Weber’s study group offered CAP® participants opportunities for additional learning outside the CAP® curriculum. This included guest speakers who would serve as supplements to the learning materials, social events that allowed for networking with other local advisors in the field, and meetings with major philanthropists. All of these activities, along with actual meetings to review the CAP® course materials, created a group of advisors committed to the cause of philanthropy in Omaha. In fact, many of these advisors continue to participate in study groups past the point of earning their CAP® designation.

Weber’s study group resulted in several tangible benefits as well; not just for its members, but for the Omaha community. According to Weber, his study group boasts a 100% graduation rate from the CAP® program. Weber also shared that participants in the CAP® study group program refer three funds on average to the Omaha Community Foundation. In comparison, non-CAP® advisors average only one referral. Weber also stated that in 2023, the average size of an account opened with the Omaha Community Foundation by a CAP® advisor is about seven times larger than the average of a non-CAP® advisor.

To further measure the impact of the CAP® study group on the Omaha community, the study group conducted its own survey among 80 attorneys, accountants, and wealth managers that had completed the program. Weber stated, “They were asked to isolate those client situations where their involvement may have favorably disposed their client to make a charitable gift, and then, on a no-name basis, indicate the approximate dollar amount of the gift and whether it is a current gift, beneficiary designation, (or) bequest by will … Their responses indicated the total amount of gifts, current and anticipated, exceeded $9 billion. It was the first quantitative evidence we had that we were truly making a difference in our community.”

Making a Difference on the Community

Aside from this quantitative proof, Weber pointed out several aspects of the philanthropic community forming in Omaha he believes serve as qualitative proof of the CAP® study group’s impact. Weber stated, “For years, people could have multiple advisors who never met with each other.” However, with the popularity of the CAP® study group, Omaha’s philanthropic scene has benefited from an uptick in advisor collaboration. By networking and studying together, philanthropic advisors in the community have come to know one another, share effective strategies with each other, and work together to help clients reach their financial goals. Thanks to these results present in his own community, Weber has expressed the belief that “The CAP® Program has the potential to have a national impact on charitable giving seen in cities throughout the country.”

CAP^® Communities in Florida

To Weber’s point, other CAP® study groups have sprung up across the country. One such group emerged in Central Florida after its founder, Kimberlee Riley, CAP®, heard about Weber’s study group and was inspired to make a similar difference in her own philanthropic community.

Citing a desire to be part of a team that supports the aspirations of donors, Riley developed the group to aid in the professional development of philanthropic advisors in the area. Requiring donor-facing advisors in her organization to take part in the program, Riley’s study group provides participants with opportunities such as guest speakers and networking opportunities known as “NightCAPs.”

Riley has also used her CAP® study group to bring together multiple disciplines so they can share their unique perspectives with one another. When discussing the benefits of the program, Riley stated, “It enhances the opportunity for the student to get the experience they might not during self-study, and those relationships are there for life.”

“It enhances the opportunity for the student to get the experience they might not during self-study, and those relationships are there for life.”

Building Better Relationships

By combining the perspectives of professionals from across the field of philanthropy, specifically those of nonprofit, financial, and legal professionals, Riley believes the members of her CAP® study group are able to develop a stronger understanding of their clients and their goals, ultimately building stronger client relationships and empowering them to approach their clients’ situations using a greater number of methods. As Riley states, the marriage of these perspectives “is so focused on values and making sure you’re guiding your clients based on those values.” By considering each of these unique viewpoints when working with clients, Riley believes study group participants not only build better relationships with clients, but also with their families. As such, Riley’s study group has made a large difference of its own to the Central Florida philanthropic community.

By coming together, Riley believes her study group has made a significant emphasis on the team element of being a philanthropic advisor. By increasing the number of philanthropic professionals bearing the CAP® designation in her region by over 60%¹, Riley has cultivated a community in which advisors can collaborate, share tips, and help each other meet their professional goals.

In both situations, CAP® study group members have come together to better their community, improving outcomes for their clients through collaborative learning and a deep commitment to their cause. As Weber stated, “In Omaha, when people say they’re a CAP®, that’s a badge of honor.” With the difference holders of the CAP® are making in their communities, it isn’t hard to see why.

More From The College:

• Learn About CAP®
• Learn about the American College Center for Philanthropy and Social Impact.