The Directory of Philanthropy Advisors
The Directory of Philanthropy Advisors lists organisations and individuals offering philanthropy advice in the UK, Europe and across the globe. Each listing features details of services offered and the fees charged, if any. Philanthropy UK in no way endorses advisors listed and provides the listing for information only.
Search the listing by selecting from the drop down menus.
Advisors, you can add your details to the directory by clicking the button on the right hand side of this page and filling in the simple online form.
For definition of terms used click here.
The philanthropy services listed may be offered in-house, via a partner, or the advisor may offer only advice on the service but not the service.
Active Philanthropy (Germany)
International advisors
Active Philanthropy aims to be a one-stop-shop for all questions donors have on their way to becoming an active and effective philanthropist and to help them develop a tailor-made strategy for giving back.
Our aim is to encourage an engaged, active approach to
philanthropy throughout Europe because we are convinced that donors can create an impact not just by contributing financial resources but also with their professional experience, time and contacts.
Active Philanthropy works with multi-generational families with an entrepreneurial background and philanthropic tradition.Services especially tailored to the next generation help to pass on family values and traditions and to involve the next generation in philanthropy very early, thus fostering inter-generational exchange and understanding within a family.
Mechanisms
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Charity recommendations
Monitoring and evaluation
Cross-border giving advice/structures
Corporate philanthropy
We have a clear focus on families and individuals from
entrepreneurial/business owning families. We are independent from any bank, asset management company or similar organisation.
Building on interactive, innovative learning experiences, our
approach focuses on learning from peers, in the field, and on
showing that giving can be fun and personally enriching.
Profit
Written materials/resources are free of charge or at a low symbolic charge. For workshops and expeditions participants pay direct costs or according to the model ‘pay whatever you think it has been worth to you’.
Individual advice is charged on a per-project basis.
Monbijouplatz 2
10178 Berlin
Germany
+49 (0)30 240 88 24 0
Adessy Associates
International advisors
Our mission:
* To work with wealthy individuals and companies who want to give money and make a meaningful difference in society.
* To help our Clients decide who and how to give and then deliver initiatives on their behalf.
* To engage and support our Clients as we explore together the possibilities and pioneer new ways of making the world a better place.
* To focus on addressing root causes of problems, rather than simply alleviating symptoms.
Donor advised funds
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Charity recommendations
Monitoring and evaluation
Cross-border giving advice/structures
Corporate philanthropy
Bespoke philanthropy in a straightforward and simple way: uniting people, a desire to change things for the better, a brilliant idea and the ability and expertise to implement it with great success.
Profit
Costed on a project basis.
Leesa Muirhead
12 Keyes Road
London
NW2 3XA
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 20 3601 5461
+44 (0) 7901 510 701
Alison Hope - Hope Philanthropic
Independent advisors
We provide bespoke philanthropy consultancy for donors who are ready to ‘make a difference’. Our aim is to support you to develop a flexible but structured giving programme which reflects your personality and interests, involving the people close to you.
We will help you to:
•have confidence that your money is being used effectively
•understand the sector/area you want to support, its complexities, nuances and the forces at play whether it be government policy and funding, or new developments
•find excellent charities, social enterprises and others who can really achieve results
• have a direct relationship with the charity leadership and frontline staff, if you wish
•think through your level of giving
•make your donations tax-efficient
•decide the profile and involvement you would like as a donor.
Mechanisms
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Charity recommendations
Monitoring and evaluation
Cross-border giving advice/structures
Corporate philanthropy
Alison Hope leads Hope Philanthropic and its network of advisors. Her 20 years of
not-for-profit experience, first in-house and then as a fundraising management consultant, board advisor and volunteer, has taken her into over 40 organisations. These range from prestigious national organisations to small local grass roots charities and start-up initiatives. Her knowledge of causes and projects is wide ranging including cancer research, youth street crime, youth clubs, learning and physical disabilities, community development, local and national and international heritage, fine art, music and educational outreach. Hope Philanthropic has a network of advisors who have worked both at the front-line and in a management consultancy capacity across the UK ‘third sector’, in international emergency and non-emergency development.
Profit
A clear proposal and costs can be provided.
Alison Hope
Unit 28, The Coach House
2 Upper York Street
Bristol
BS2 8QN
0117 924 4951
07966 015956
Asian Foundation for Philanthropy (AFP)
Specialist advisors
Asian Foundation for Philanthropy is very much a grassroots organisation, working with a number of partners in India. We believe in inspiring social change and our approach to philanthropy advice is based on our three E’s – educate, engage and enable.
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Charity recommendations
Corporate philanthropy
Asian Foundation for Philanthropy was founded by Bala Thakrar, who spent 20 years in setting up grassroots projects. Grassroots communities should be “enabled” to identify local solutions for local issues. Philanthropic activities are only a means to an end.
Non-Profit
Based on individual request.
Bala Thakrar
Asian Foundation for Philanthropy
Development House
56-64 Leonard Street
London EC2A 4LT
United Kingdom
+44 (0)207 065 0791
Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF)
Specialist advisors
Alongside our work with established trusts and foundations, ACF encourages the development of philanthropy and charitable giving through its Philanthropy UK project. ACF provides a framework in which charitable funders can work together, learn from each other’s experience, explore matters of common concern and achieve good practice in grantmaking.
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Association of Charitable Foundations is the leading membership association for UK’s charitable and independent funders and the gateway to a wealth of expertise in funding charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Over 300 trusts and foundations have joined ACF, ranging in size from small and local grant makers to some of the world’s largest foundations. Member benefits include: networking opportunities on a range of funding issues, representation at a policy level with key government and sector decision makers, a protected space for charitable funders to discuss the issues that concern them and the highly-acclaimed quarterly publication Trust & Foundation News.
Non-Profit
Advice on charitable giving and setting up a trust or foundation is given free of charge. Membership of ACF is open to any UK organisation :which is an endowed foundation or
ACF (Association of Charitable Foundations)
Central House
14 Upper Woburn Place
London WC1H 0AE
020 7255 4499
Barclays Wealth
Wealth Advisors
Barclays Wealth Client Philanthropy Service is tailored to meet each client’s needs with the client’s banker very much part of the process.
Where to start, how much to give, what to choose, and how to achieve the right results are just some of questions we ask ourselves. It can be difficult to find the answers given the range of information available and how it is presented.
So, wherever a client is on their journey we can help think through the issues, set goals, access specialist third party advisors if necessary and guide to a fulfilling outcome.
We can help with the following as well as provide access to our third party advisors for specialist work:
Identifying the right structure
Guidance on the right giving vehicle
Access to in-house charitable trust assistance service
Introduction to specialist 3rd party advisors if required
Achieving the desired effect
Deciding extent and profile of involvement
How to build a charity ‘portfolio’ and ensure your giving is effective
Introduction to specialist 3rd party advisors if required
Involving the family
How to engage and involve the family
Creating a inter-generational legacy or a ‘giving while living’ plan
Introduction to specialist 3rd party advisors if required
Developing your vision
Inspirational talks from other donors
Tailor made seminars/workshops
Access to specialist research
Advise on giving mechanisms including cross-border
Access to in house charitable trust assistance service
Bespoke donor education (including family and early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Mechanisms
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Cross-border giving advice/structures
Our philanthropy service plays an integral part of our private bank by engaging, educating and supporting clients – and their families – in their personal giving journey. Our in-house advisor has 22 years’ experience in the philanthropic field on both the voluntary sector and the giving side as well as currently sitting on the boards of three private foundations.
Profit
No fee is charged and all outsourced service fees are arranged between client and advisor.
Emma Turner
Client Philanthropy
Barclays Wealth Private Bank
1 Churchill Place | Canary Wharf | London E14 5HP
+44 20 3134 2000
Bates Wells & Braithwaite
Solicitors
Bates Wells & Braithwaite is a specialist and personally committed firm of solicitors providing a full range of services in
relation to charities and social enterprises. We provide expert advice on the establishment of public benefit organisations and project vehicles and the terms of donations, funding agreements and collaborations. We are especially involved in the development of social enterprise and were founders of the idea of the Community Interest Company, which allows for community benefit equity investment. We advise in the context of relevant tax issues and the international dimension and are generally deeply engaged with the public benefit sector.
Mechanisms
Donor advised funds
Tax advice
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Monitoring and evaluation
Cross-border giving advice/structures
Corporate philanthropy
We are lawyers who have actively chosen to work and enjoy working as specialists for public benefit clients. We recruit very able, committed and loyal solicitors on that basis. We have 30 specialist charity and social enterprise lawyers and the same number again providing particular legal services (employment, property, intellectual property etc) to the same clients. We have clients across the full spectrum of public benefit activity and have a particular focus on innovative projects (for example, Charity Bank, The Fairtrade Foundation and the Eden Project), service providing social enterprise and the delivery of public services.
Profit
The charges for legal work depend very much on the particular issues. We charge by reference to statutory factors, including the most tangible – time engaged. Each solicitor has a scale of hourly rates for this purpose that are lower for public benefit and for smaller clients. We provide estimates of cost at the outset of and ongoing information during each matter. We can agree particular ways of charging to suit the client and are well used to the necessity of working within constrained budgets.
29 Lower Brook Street,
Ipswich,
Suffolk IP4 1AQ
01473 219282
Charities Aid Foundation
Specialist advisors
Charities Aid Foundation works internationally with donors to meet their aspirations and work with non-profits to develop their capacity to work with donors. We have extensive knowledge of both donors and charities and are unique in this respect. Through our years of experience and our international network of offices we are able to develop philanthropy on a global scale. For example we were the first to work with emerging market donors in Russia and last year we ran ‘Foundation Schools’ to develop philanthropic giving in Brazil and Russia.
Mechanisms
Donor advised funds
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Charity recommendations
Monitoring and evaluation
Cross-border giving advice/structures
Corporate philanthropy
We are an international non-profit organisation and registered UK charity with expertise in supporting charities and social enterprises. We do this by transforming the way donations are made and the way charitable funds are managed. We offer services that make it easy and attractive for donors to give no matter how much they have.
Non-Profit
How we charge depends on the nature of the relationship, for example it will depend on whether it is a commercial one, or built into a broader relationship, or related to CAF’s charitable mission. Some will be on a contract basis, others grants and others donor advised.
Head office
CAF (Charities Aid Foundation)
25 Kings Hill Avenue
Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent ME19 4TA
London office
CAF (Charities Aid Foundation)
St Andrew's House
18-20 St Andrew Street
London
EC4A 3AY
03000 123 000
Community Foundation Network
Specialist advisors
Community Foundations (CFs) offer professional and personalised philanthropic advice, strategic planning and grant portfolio development for clients. They offer in-depth knowledge of local communities; networking and education opportunities as well as opportunities to visit projects and learn about community issues. CFs provide a full grant making, monitoring and evaluation service. As CFs assess around 40-60,000 charities and community groups a year they are able to make specific charity recommendations based on clients’ interests. CFs offer clients an investment vehicle for endowed funds as well as immediate spend (flow-through) funds, and are able to accept a wide range of assets in a tax efficient way. They take on legal and fiscal responsibility for a client’s fund.
Mechanisms
Donor advised funds
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Charity recommendations
Monitoring and evaluation
Corporate philanthropy
Community Foundations are leading experts in revitalising local communities through effective charitable giving. CFs act as a vital link between donors and local needs by connecting those with money to dynamic local organisations whose ability to change lives for the better is only inhibited by a lack of money. A resultsorientated culture and local expertise ensures that money invested makes the lasting difference donors want and expect.
Non-Profit
For a full philanthropy service, the fees are 10-15% of grants made from the donors’ immediate spend (flow-through) fund and 1.5% of the value of the fund per annum for endowed funds.
Community Foundation Network
12 Angel Gate
320-326 City Road
London EC1V 2PT
+44 20 7713 9326
Coutts & Co
Wealth Advisors
Our advice is based on our experience of working with major donors and collaborating with specialist organisations. We facilitate one-to-one consultations to understand clients’ motivations and values, and strategy workshops to help them
develop a common vision. We research causes and identify the criteria for selecting charities. We can help donors establish guiding principles, goals, and a process for reaching a decision. We help select charities, review grant applications, conduct site visits, monitor impact of donations and meet other donors through the Coutts Forums for Philanthropy. Coutts is piloting two donor advised funds focussing on Microfinance and the Environment, where clients pool resources.
Mechanisms
Donor advised funds
Tax advice
Donor education (including early stage advice)
Donor networking opportunities
Charity recommendations
Monitoring and evaluation
Cross-border giving advice/structures
Corporate philanthropy
We have experience of working with a wide range of clients from around the UK and overseas, with different backgrounds,
supporting different causes in different ways. Key to our unique service is the depth of advice we provide and the breadth of our service. As a bank, we have a reputable track record of offering trusted advice, coupled with an innovative approach. This includes pioneering the offering of philanthropy services by a private bank in the UK in 2005.
Profit
Coutts does not charge for general one-off philanthropy advice. We only charge for bespoke advice if agreed with the client first. For private charitable trusts, fees charged depend on the size of the trust, time spent and responsibilities undertaken. For managing charity investments, the fees levied will depend on the nature and scope of the service required, the complexity and size of the mandate.
440 Strand
London
WC2R 0QS
44 (0) 20 7158 0789
Philanthropy advisors, you can also add your details to the directory. Click on the button on the right hand side of this page.
Explanation of service categories
Mechanisms: The provider will set up vehicles through which clients can give, such as charity accounts and charitable trusts, and will undertake the associated ongoing administration, such as registration with the regulator and reporting.
Donor advised fund: The provider has an established donor advised fund which allows clients to give in partnership with other donors to specific causes.
Tax advice: The provider offers specialist tax advice, planning and structuring services to optimise the tax efficiency of clients’ giving.
Donor education: The provider offers advice at various stages of the client’s philanthropic journey. This often includes early stage advice to identify clients’ motivations to give and may provide workshops through which a client can learn more about ways to give and specific charities and causes.
Donor networking: The provider offers networking events for clients such as forums and workshops or access to their networks.
Charity recommendations: The provider will undertake ‘due diligence’ work and research into specific charities and rate them against set criteria.
Monitoring and evaluation: The provider offers ongoing monitoring of donations and the impact they make, with regular feedback to the client
Cross-border giving: The provider has specialist knowledge, mechanisms or networks that allow them to offer clients the means to give efficiently and effectively across the globe.
Corporate philanthropy: The provider offers advice specifically targeted at companies to help them fulfil their CSR ambitions.
