Advisers pivotal to encouraging charitable donations

Perpetual's national manager of philanthropy and not-for-profit services, Caitriona Fay, said that as advisers work with their older clients on estate planning, there is a good opportunity to determine their "charitable intentions".

"There is clearly an immense opportunity for trusted advisers to positively influence the levels of charitable giving in Australia, but they must know how to raise the issue with clients," Ms Fay said.

"Helping clients to consider their philanthropic intentions can have significant advantages for advisers, by deepening their client relationships, allowing them to engage with the next generation, differentiating their service offering and increasing client referrals," she said.

Citing research by Include a Charity, a campaign to encourage people to leave a gift in their will, Perpetual said while 87 per cent of Australians support a charity during their lifetime, only 29 per cent of people say they would be willing to leave a gift in their will and only 7.5 per cent end up doing so.

In light of this, Ms Fay said advisers can ask some key questions as a means to first address the issue of charitable giving in their conversations around estate planning.

They can ask if there are any charities they currently support and whether they would like to include them in their will, she says.

They can also request information from charities on the best way people can leave donations and pass them on to their clients.