The Force of Financial Advisors Behind Community Change with Nicole Morgan

Nicole Morgan: Thanks, Julia. I appreciate the chance to join you today.

Julia Smollen: So to start off, can you share your career journey in business development and how it led to your new role now?

Nicole Morgan: Absolutely. I, it's hard to believe this, but I began my career in business development and nonprofit fundraising now, goodness, almost 20 years ago, and have been really fortunate to primarily work in the nonprofit sector.

I worked across health and human services organizations, community [00:01:00] development organizations, and more recently served as the vice president of development for an organization called Back on My Feet, which empowered people experiencing homelessness and fighting addiction to achieve economic independence through fitness and community.

This organization was really fortunate to have benefited, um, from a grant from Invest in Others. And in learning more about the mission, I recognize, you know, the incredible potential for financial advisors to give back to their communities and really the difference that they can make within organizations.

When Invest in Others went in search of a chief development officer, I saw an organization that is poised for tremendous growth that already has a deeply committed community of supporters [00:02:00] who want to raise greater awareness for this mission. And that is the type of work that gets me excited every single day.

And I feel really honored to be a part of it.

Julia Smollen: It's great to hear how passionate you are. And, um, for our listeners who may not be familiar with Invest in Others, could you explain the foundation's mission and how it aligns with the financial services industry specifically?

Nicole Morgan: Invest in Others mission is really to amplify, celebrate, and inspire the charitable work of the financial services community.

So what does that mean in practice? We want to highlight financial advisors who are giving of their time, their talent, and their treasures to nonprofit organizations across this country. We want to inspire others to you know, create a call to action for even more financial advisors to get involved in [00:03:00] nonprofit work across the country, because that is the type of work that is making real change in communities for individuals every single day.

Right now with Invest in Others, we are so proud to say that the advisors that we are working with are impacting the lives of nearly 500, 000 individuals through their charitable work every single year. And we know that we can continue to grow that impact together.

Julia Smollen: And Invest in Others recently released a strategic plan for 2025 to 27.

What are the primary goals of this plan and what strategies will you be focusing on to achieve these objectives?

Nicole Morgan: You know, the strategic plan is really the first for this organization and it is going to help set a pathway forward to, to grow resources that will help us [00:04:00] to accomplish this really important mission in growing resources, we will be able to provide even more grants to the nonprofit sector that is aligned with the work of the financial advisors that we partner with.

It will help us to celebrate even more of those advisors and thus create a greater call to action. And ultimately, we want to grow engagement, you know, it is important that we create that that call to action, that catalyst for financial advisors to see the impact that they can have on their communities.

And, you know, they may not realize that they're uniquely positioned with talents that can make a great impact on the nonprofit sector. And so by growing that engagement, we recognize that we can, we can help address some of the greatest [00:05:00] issues and challenges facing communities today.

Julia Smollen: And as we head into the charitable giving season coming up, uh, what trends in philanthropy are you noticing that financial advisors and investors should be aware of?

Nicole Morgan: Sure. You know, as we head into this charitable giving season, it is really important that financial advisors are helping their clients to understand all the mechanisms and levers that they can pull within their own portfolios to benefit the causes that they care most about. You know, we are seeing more and more donors that are giving through donor advised funds that are recognizing that they, you know, can, um, set aside those funds thoughtfully year over year and have a greater impact in their communities or in specific organizations that they are most passionate about.

But also, as we begin, um, [00:06:00] wealth planning and looking to this, great transfer of wealth that we are anticipating in the generation to come. Um, and how that can positively impact nonprofit organizations and communities across the country. Those advisors have a very important role to play in educating their clients at various levels, uh, to make sure that they are making the most of the resources that they have and maximizing their impact for generations to come.

Julia Smollen: What advice do you have for financial advisors who want to deepen their philanthropic efforts, either through Invest in Others or, you know, other charitable initiatives?

Nicole Morgan: Nonprofit advisors are very uniquely positioned to help the nonprofit sector in a variety of ways. You know, I believe the [00:07:00] stat is that 92 percent of nonprofit organizations have a budget of under 1 million annually.

And what that means is that those nonprofit organizations are often comprised of small, um, but very dedicated staff that are, um, trying to move the mission of those organizations forward. They may not be as, um, aware of all of the different aspects of their financials, but they are, are deeply aware and passionate about the work that they are doing, they are experts in that area, but they really need the talent of financial professionals to come in to help guide them to also help potentially open them up to, um, pathways that donors can make within their organization and ultimately grow [00:08:00] their impact and, and, and the good work that they are doing.

So, you know, financial advisors, hopefully we'll see that, that with focus time and talent that they can absolutely create positive change that this world needs, not only right now, but for many years to come. By making their independent contributions also to organizations like Invest in Others and others in their community, they are helping us to improve the lives of individuals. They are helping us to improve communities and ultimately in a very broad sense, truly make this world a better place for all.

Julia Smollen: So in your new position, do you have anything you're hoping to achieve or any goals for the future of the company?

Nicole Morgan: In this position, I really see the opportunity to expand and strengthen this network of philanthropic leaders within the industry. The opportunity to grow and amplify the community of financial advisors who are already making such a profound difference is one that I am excited to take on. And my goal is to further strengthen this community, inspiring even more advisors to get involved.

I feel really fortunate to be surrounded by a board of directors that are truly world class professionals that are helping to guide and strengthen the work of Invest in Others, and [00:11:00] I hope that we can continue to grow our, our volunteer base uh, through this work and continue to grow contributions that are having profound impact on communities across the country.

Julia Smollen: Thank you so much for joining us, Nicole. It's inspiring to see someone so passionate about their work and we wish you the best of luck.

Nicole Morgan: Thank you, Julia. I appreciate you.

Julia Smollen: To learn more about Invest in Others, please visit investinothers.org. Please follow us for timely updates on X, LinkedIn and Facebook all @ Advisorpedia. For everyone at Advisorpedia and the Power Your Advice podcast team. This is Julia Smollen.