CFPs Providing Pro Bono Services Set to Increase by 10%, CFP Board Says
“Expanding access to competent and ethical financial planners is a top strategic priority for CFP Board,” said CEO Kevin Keller,
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards said Tuesday that it’s well on its way to reaching its goal of increasing the number of CFPs providing pro bono financial planning by 10% this year, thanks to its partnership with the Foundation for Financial Planning.
FFP is the nation’s leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity solely dedicated to the delivery of pro bono financial planning.
“Expanding access to competent and ethical financial planners is a top strategic priority for CFP Board,” Kevin Keller, CFP Board CEO, said in a statement. “Through our partnership with FFP, CFP Board has committed to raising awareness of pro bono opportunities among CFP professionals, encouraging them to volunteer and coordinating closely with FFP to connect them with pro bono engagements.”
Maureen Thompson, vice president of public policy at CFP Board, added in a separate email to ThinkAdvisor that through its relationships with nonprofit organizations across the country, FFP “identifies opportunities for CFP professionals to engage in pro bono financial planning and then brings those opportunities to CFP Board.”
In February, CFP Board said that it hired a full-time pro bono manager who, in collaboration with FFP, “works to engage more CFPs in pro bono service, including through the promotion of FFP’s national programs for people with cancer and at-risk seniors.”
The pro bono manager also helps drive CFP professionals to ProBonoPlannerMatch.org, FFP’s volunteer matching platform, “where CFP professionals can browse and sign up for a range of pro bono opportunities posted by nonprofits around the country,” the groups said.
FFP also offers complementary Errors & Omissions liability insurance coverage to all CFPs who volunteer through the ProBonoPlannerMatch.org platform.
Jon Dauphiné, FFP’s CEO, added in the statement that FFP “works every day to educate nonprofits across the country about the incredible value CFP professionals can bring to their underserved constituents, providing resources on how nonprofits can integrate CFP professional volunteers into their programs. We’re excited to work with CFP Board to grow these efforts until every CFP professional is aware of the powerful impact they can make through pro bono service.”