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Pro Bono & Community Outreach

FPA of Puget Sound Members & Pro Bono Opportunities

Are you interested in providing pro bono services? Our association is striving to connect interested FPA members with organizations in need of assistance. If you are interested in providing services, please take the time to update your FPA of Puget Sound profile and select the "Available for Pro Bono Work" checkbox to be added to our Pro Bono Planner Directory. Once you have opted in for pro bono work, use our Local Planner Search and select "Available for Pro Bono Work".

If you are interested in a list of current FPA of Puget Sound pro bono opportunities, they can reach out to our PR & Marketing Director, Sabrina Breda, CFP® and she would be happy to connect you with some of our active opportunities.

If you are looking for a financial planner who provides pro bono services.
Check out our Local Planner Search.

Local Planner Search

Benefits of Providing Pro Bono Services

By opening up your company for pro bono services you help individuals and families who are striving to build assets and improve their lives. By sharing our professional expertise you are strengthen ties with your community. You also:
  • Give vulnerable members of our communities a helping hand
  • Gain more professional experience 
  • Strengthen your company's visibility
  • Have the chance to report hours to the CFP® Board
  • Become a leader and inspiration for others in the industry

Community Outreach

Participate in FPA's community outreach. Listed below are current opportunities FPA offers for a financial planner to volunteer their time and expertise. Please read more to learn about helping cancer patients and military veterans with their financial needs.

Current Opportunities:

Financial Planning Association, The Foundation for Financial Planning & CENTS


As cancer costs have skyrocketed, physicians have begun to treat the severe financial distress associated with a cancer diagnosis as a new health problem, coining the term “financial toxicity.” The Financial Planning Association, the Foundation for Financial Planning, and the nonprofit CENTS are teaming up to respond to this problem.

By committing to volunteer your financial planning assistance you will help ensure patients and their caregivers/families are prepared to manage their spending and maintain a healthy financial situation during cancer treatment and beyond. 

The Commitment

We have tailored our program to fit into your busy schedule. We are asking you:

  • To take on three cancer patients or their caregivers a year
  • Meet with the patient/caregiver up to three times over the course of a year

 

Your Role

This is a volunteer opportunity. You do not have to be an expert on everything, nor do you have to implement the plan. You can help a patient/caregiver:

  • Create and/or examine their budget and balance sheets
  • Troubleshoot/anticipate financial challenges 
  • Organize their finances, track/cut expenses, and manage debt
  • Contemplate credit decisions and new uses of their assets
  • Examine life and disability insurance questions
  • Refer them to appropriate resources/assistance (that we will provide to you)

Training

To prepare you for the program, there are two short online trainings:

  • Training 1 (50 mins) is FPA’s boot camp for helping low-moderate income clients that you do not need to take again if you have completed it previously. You can earn one hour of CFP® credit for this training. The training can be found online: portal.kaplanfinancial.com/partner/FFP-ProBono
  • Training 2 (45 mins) is the Cancer E-Learning Module. This training includes an overview of the Financial Planning for Cancer Program as well as helpful notes for when working with cancer patients/caregivers. You can earn one hour of CFP® credit for this training. 

For more information please email [email protected] or call 206-267-7017. 


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FPA of Puget Sound & the Seattle Times

 

The Seattle Times is looking for a financial planner/advisor who would like to work on a pro-bono financial plan with a participant chosen by the Seattle Times.

Several meetings may be required and the planner will be asked to provide a written plan and recommendations to both the participant and Jenny Cunningham, the Seattle Times columnist.

The article will appear in the Seattle Times with the planner's photo in the print version. Details on the participant are listed below. The potential planner will need to complete the financial plan a month in advance.

The Seattle Times is looking for a planner that is preferably fee-only or fee-based. Also, the planner should have held the CFP® designation for at least 3 years and have no disciplinary actions against them. Seattle Times would also prefer planners who do financial plans on a regular basis. Additionally, you must be a current member of the FPA.

Please email Sabrina Breda at [email protected] if you would like to volunteer and send her your answers to the questionnaires below:

*If you have previously sent a questionnaire for a volunteer opportunity, please update your information and send in a new questionnaire as the Seattle Times needs your most up-to-date information.

Questionnaire:

  • Are you fee-based or fee-only?
  • If fee-based, what percentage of your income comes from fees?
  • How long have you had your CFP designation?
  • Have you had any disciplinary actions by SEC, NASD, state agencies, insurance commissioner's office or any other organizations?
  • How many have full financial plans have you completed in the last 12 months?
  • Would you be completing the plan or will an assistant or back-office complete the plan?
  • Do you have time in the next 6 weeks to complete a financial plan for the article?
  • If you are affiliated with a broker/dealer, which broker/dealer are you affiliated with?
  • Will your broker/dealer allow your name and article to be published without having the phrase "Securities provided by (name of your broker/dealer)" included in the article?
  • Again, are you certain that your broker-dealer is okay with this rule and have you checked this out with them before submitting a request to participate?
  • Have you requested to participate in one of these Seattle Times articles before?
  • Have you worked on an article with the Seattle Times before? If so, when?
  • Are you a member of the FPA? 
  • If so, how many years?
  • Have you volunteered for the Junior Achievement program, Seattle Times hotline, or Financial Planning Week events? If so, when?

Important Note: Seattle Times will not publish this phrase and will not provide any contact information about the planner or their broker/dealer firm. Seattle Times will also not allow you to review the article before publication, which is quite typical of media. No exceptions to this. We have had issues with this with a few planners who wanted to review the article after they had completed a plan (and right before publication).  Please be very aware of this rule so as not to jeopardize this program. Please do not request to do this if you are not comfortable with this setup. Email Sabrina with your questionnaire now.

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