Professional Advisors Network

Connecting professional advisors with lasting local impact, for the good of Te Tauihu.

A lifetime of work often leads to a simple question – what's the best way to leave a legacy?

Clients build businesses, assets, and family wealth over time. Many begin to think about how that success might contribute to the communities that shaped them.

As a trusted advisor, you’re often part of that conversation.

The Professional Advisors Network connects you with practical tools, local insight, and philanthropic expertise to support structured charitable giving. We help translate philanthropic intent into lasting community impact across Te Tauihu.

Across the region, advisors are already supporting these conversations as part of long-term planning with their clients.

You know your clients. We know Te Tauihu. Together we make generosity last.
These conversations don’t need to be complex, often, they begin with a simple question.
Email Chelsea

Charitable giving is often part of broader planning conversations.

When approached well, these discussions are thoughtful, personal, and genuinely rewarding.

They create space to connect financial decisions with what matters most to your clients, their values, their community, and what they want to leave behind.

For many clients, this thinking comes into focus during key moments, including:

• Estate planning
• Sale of a business or significant asset
• Retirement
• Inheritance
• Major life events

“Are there any charitable or community needs you would like to consider?”

A simple prompt can make a difference

Research shows that clients are significantly more likely to consider charitable giving when their advisor raises it as part of the conversation.

• 71% of high-net-worth individuals agree that discussing philanthropy with their advisor is important.
• 78% of advisors believe discussing charitable giving is good for their business.
• Research suggests 3 times as many people will leave a gift if their advisor suggests it’s something other people do.
• Twice as many people are likely to leave a gift in their will if it is presented as an option.

(US Trust & Philanthropic Initiative 2018 | UK 2016 Legacy Giving and Behavioural Insights)

For many advisors, these discussions also strengthen client relationships and support more meaningful long-term planning.

We work alongside you to support your client relationship.

How we support Professional Advisors

  • Practical tools and resources to support client conversations
  • Consultation on charitable and financial goals
  • Advice on non-cash gifts, including property and share
  • A short information session for your team

Why Top of the South Community Foundation for your clients

  • Access to independent, local philanthropic expertise
  • Help your clients make a meaningful difference in the region they call home
  • Maximum tax benefits, donations may qualify for a 33.3% tax credit
  • Deep local knowledge of causes and community needs across Te Tauihu
  • Professional investment management and robust governance
  • Easy and efficient administration — we handle the complexity

How your client can give

  • Named Endowment Fund — a permanent fund in your client’s name, directed to the causes they choose
  • Giving to an established fund — any amount directed to an existing TSCF fund, no minimum



How advisors engage

The Professional Advisors Network is designed to fit alongside the way you already work.

Advisors typically engage in simple, practical ways — accessing resources, introducing TSCF when philanthropy arises in client conversations, and participating in occasional briefings or events.

You can engage at a level that suits your practice.

When these conversations are approached well, the impact is both practical and lasting.

Download the Guide to Meaningful Client Conversations

Trusted by advisors. Proven through local impact.

Across Te Tauihu, we see the impact of structured giving every day — in the organisations supported, the communities strengthened, and the advisors helping guide those conversations.

Community impact

TSCF funding supports a wide range of organisations across the region, from youth development and community services to environmental restoration and the arts.

Over the past 12 months more than 60 organisations have been supported across Nelson and Tasman, with over $550,000 distributed to local initiatives, reflecting both the depth of need and the strength of organisations delivering meaningful work in their communities.

One example is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nelson-Tasman, where TSCF contributed $8,000 to support mentors and young people.

This funding helps connect young people with mentors, supports those relationships over time to ensure safe, well-supported outcomes.

Through this work, rangatahi build confidence, resilience, and a stronger sense of direction over time.

Hero donors

“We’ve already set up our Named Endowment Fund and we know the money we leave through the Top of the South Community Foundation will have a ripple effect. It’s a wonderful thing, as we contemplate the end of our lives, to think about our resources being used far into the future.”
Paul & Cathy Nicholson
Donors

What advisors say

“As both a lawyer and a TSCF Trustee, I’ve seen this from both sides of the table. Clients who are ready to think about their legacy need someone they trust to open the door, and they need confidence that what’s on the other side is well governed and genuinely local. That’s exactly what TSCF offers.”
Anissa Bain
Advisor

Advisor resources

A practical set of tools to support different stages of the giving conversation, from first discussion through to formalising a client’s wishes.

Understanding how it works — [Helping Your Clients Make a Lasting Legacy]

Starting the conversation — [Meaningful Client Conversations]

Supporting materials — [Named Endowment Fund leaflet], [Will Information Pack], & [Dentons White Paper], [General TSCF Information Brochure]

Stay connected

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Start the conversation

A short conversation is often the best place to start
Email Chelsea Routhan, CEO
Phone Chelsea 027 205 3111

You know your clients. We know Te Tauihu.
Together we make generosity last.

© Top of the South Community Foundation 2026
Photos from Nelsontasman.nzOnly Marlborough and Unsplash.
Made with ♥️ by Avoca in Nelson, New Zealand

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