CAP®
Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®
Best For
Professionals seeking a graduate-level education on how to best support their client’s philanthropic goals.
Timing
<12 Months
Format
Deliver your clients’ highest aspirations with our best-in-class philanthropic education program. Learn more below.
100% Virtual
Tuition
Starting at
$2,050/course
Three-course package available for $4,495
Request More Information
Provide us with your information and we will get back to you with additional details.
Experience Our Program
Delivering Clients’ Highest Aspirations
Join Program Director Jennifer Lehman, PhD, JD, CFP®, along with one of the program’s successful alums, Andrew Tudor, CFP®, CAP® for a video tour of the CAP® Program.
CAP® Program at a Glance
Admissions Requirements
There are no prerequisite courses required before you can begin the CAP® Program, but three years full-time, relevant business experience is required to use the designation.
To receive the CAP® designation, you must:
1. Successfully complete the three required courses
2. Agree to comply with The American College Code of Ethics and Procedures
Participation in the annual Professional Recertification Program (PRP) is required to maintain the designation.
Tuition & Scholarships
Program tuition can be paid on a per-course basis. Tuition covers all course fees, required study materials, access to convenient online learning tools, your examination, and other fees.
Individual course: $2,050
Three-course package: $4,495
Non-profit professionals are eligible for reduced tuition at the time of enrollment.
Individual course non-profit: $1,650
Three-course package non-profit: $3,695
Scholarship opportunities are available for those who qualify, learn more here.
What You'll Learn
The CAP® Program is a graduate-level program that provides the specialized knowledge and tools you need to help clients articulate and advance their highest aspirations for self, family, and society.
Your learning outcomes will equip you to:
- Apply the best tax strategies, tools, and techniques for philanthropic goals
- Understand client or donor goals for self, family members, and/or society
- Advise wealthy families and family offices on important financial matters, including business exit planning, estate planning, and legacy planning
- Handle gift planning for nonprofits and high-capacity donors or philanthropists
Course Delivery
The three-course CAP® Program is designed for working professionals and offered in an online, self-study format, so you can move at your own pace. Throughout your time in the program you will have online access to The College’s expert faculty. Each of the three courses concludes with a two-hour exam.
Benefit from program features, including:
- Cross-disciplinary curriculum spanning all aspects of philanthropic planning
- Elite faculty of nationally-recognized academics and researchers
- Unique synthesis of philanthropic knowledge not available anywhere else
- Thriving and collaborative community of advisors and gift planners
Why Become a CAP®
$499B
Was given by individuals to charity in 2022. Money in motion requires your expertise.1
90%+
Of America's wealthiest households make charitable gifts every year. They need your support.2
$234.1B
Was held in donor-advised funds in 2021, with $45.74 billion in grants being directed to qualified charities.3
The CAP® Is Right For You If:
Inside the CAP® Program
Courses to Complete
Three
Typical Completion Time
<12 Months
GS 839 Planning for Impact in Context of Family Wealth
Focuses on how clients and donors can use financial planning, estate planning, and gift planning to advance their personal financial goals for self and family, while also having a positive impact on their community.
Upon completion of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Position yourself at the table where the client or donor’s big dollars are planned
- Emerge as the client or donor’s trusted advisor, integrating charitable planning with the donor or client’s overall estate and business planning
- Help donors and clients achieve positive impact for self, heirs, and community
GS 849 Charitable Giving Strategies
Covers charitable tax strategies, tools, and techniques, and how to explain and implement them to achieve donor goals for self, family, and community.
After completion of this course you'll be able to:
- Explain the features and benefits of each individual charitable tool
- Compare and contrast the tools in light of a donor or client’s overall legacy plan for self, family, and society
- Identify reasons advisors and fundraisers often collide, and the ways they may work more effectively together
GS 859 Gift Planning in a Nonprofit Context
Teaches advisors, board leaders, and nonprofits how to collaborate to create, count, and steward significant gifts.
After completion of this course you'll be able to:
- Identify the roles of the three sectors, how those roles are changing, and how the nonprofit sector is funded
- Discuss the role of the nonprofit board and how fundraising is structured and managed
- Explain how planned, major, and blended gifts are raised, invested and stewarded
- Understand what high capacity donors want
- Recognize how “personalized” or “donor-focused planning” complements the value-based planning that is taught in the other CAP® courses
I highly recommend the CAP® curriculum to every charitable planning and fundraising professional. It completely transformed the way that I look at philanthropy and wealth in general.
Leon Baburov, CAP®, CFP®, AEP®
Through the CAP® curriculum I learned technical gift planning, but more importantly, I learned how to listen to life stories and how to work with professional advisors, as a gift planner/fundraiser.
Betsy Ketelas, CAP®, CFRE
The CAP® program has added to my repertoire as an attorney, but more importantly, as a trusted advisor to individual, corporate, and nonprofit clients.
Philip M. Dicomo, ESQ, CAP®
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CONNECT WITH THE CAP® COMMUNITY
Study Groups for Shared Learning
The CAP® designation program brings together professionals from all areas of the philanthropic ecosystem, which is why shared learning can be an especially valuable part of the experience. If you wish to get involved, you’ll find local, national, and Advisors of Color study groups—all to help learners build professional relationships and exchange ideas about applying CAP® designation program concepts in day-to-day work. Although study groups are not part of the program requirements and are not tutorials, they may be a good option to enhance your learning experience. For further details, inquire with Admissions at 866-640-2210 or email below.
Learn From Leaders With True Expertise
Jennifer Lehman
PhD, JD, CFP®, CAP®
Program Director, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®
Assistant Professor of Philanthropy
William B. Wallace Chair in Philanthropy
Read Bio
Timothy Belber
JD, AEP®
Adjunct Professor of Estate Planning
Charles E. Drimal Estate Planning Professorship
Read Bio
Philip Cubeta
CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®, MSFS, CAP®
Professor of Practice in Philanthropy
Connect on LinkedIn
Read Bio
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Jennifer Lehman
PhD, JD, CFP®, CAP®
Program Director, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®
Assistant Professor of Philanthropy
William B. Wallace Chair in Philanthropy
Read Bio
Timothy Belber
JD, AEP®
Adjunct Professor of Estate Planning
Charles E. Drimal Estate Planning Professorship
Read Bio
Philip Cubeta
CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®, MSFS, CAP®
Professor of Practice in Philanthropy
Connect on LinkedIn
Read Bio
Find Out More
Download the Brochure
Read more about the CAP®
Access the Program Demo
Hear from former students and take a tour
View Philanthropic Insights
Explore the latest news and expertise from College faculty
Deliver Clients' Highest Aspirations
Earning your CAP® empowers you with specialized expertise to help clients identify philanthropic intent and maximize their legacy for lasting impact. Take the next step today.
1 Giving USA. Giving Infographic. 2022.
2 Generosity Across the Income and Wealth Distributions. May 2020.
3 National Philanthropic Trust. The 2022 DAF Report. 2022.