From High Notes to High Impact - Part 2

How I Became the First Client of the Strategic Generosity Blueprint

When I last left you, I had come to a realization: my business as a financial planner needed to evolve. If I truly wanted to make a difference, serve my clients with integrity, and stand out in the financial planning world, I needed to go beyond simply helping people build wealth – I needed to help them do something meaningful with it.

But where to start?

Frankly, it was time to put my money – literally – where my mouth was.

Taking Stock of My Own Generosity

The first step for anyone looking to move from successful to generous is recognizing the generosity already present in their life. Like many of my clients, I was already donating to charities, volunteering my time, and supporting causes that held deep personal significance. But what I lacked – what many of us lack – was strategy.

That’s where the “Strategic” in Strategic Generosity comes in. A big heart is wonderful, but when paired with a big brain? That’s when big impact happens.

So, I took a step back and assessed my current approach to giving:

1. Deep Connections in the Arts & Culture Community – I had strong ties with major arts organizations in the Greater Toronto Area… but less awareness of smaller grassroots groups making specialized, high-impact change.
2. Reactive Donations – My giving was largely impulsive: attending a fundraiser, supporting a friend’s charity walk, or responding to immediate needs. Generosity was not a structured part of my financial plan, it just kind of… happened. Which means it also didn’t happen with any kind of consistency.
3. Inefficient Donation Methods – Every donation I made was cash from my bank account – an approach that, while generous, was one of the least tax-efficient ways to give.
4. Human Capital as a Resource – I had already been volunteering and serving on boards, but I wasn’t considering how to strategically leverage my time and expertise.

In other words, I was already doing a lot – but not necessarily doing it well.

The Turning Point: Selling Part of My Business

In 2023, I took a hard look at my growing practice. I knew my focus on Strategic Generosity wouldn’t resonate or be relevant with every client. Many of these clients agreed, and I agreed in turn to help them find a new advisory team that would be better aligned to their needs.

By the end of that process, I sold about 30% of my business and found myself holding a significant cheque. My first instinct was to reinvest it in my business, but at the same time, another major life event forced me to re-evaluate my financial plan.

A Personal Shift: Redefining My Legacy

The year previous my fiancée and I parted ways. As anyone who has gone through this knows, there are not just emotional hurdles but logistical and financial ones as well. For me, one key question I had been needing to grapple with (and kicking the proverbial can down the road (yes, even financial planners are human, we ALL procrastinate on some important things)): what happens to my estate now?

Without no wishes to ever have children, and with significant life insurance coverage, I realized that my estate was worth well into seven figures. But what was the plan? Throw the world’s greatest funeral? No, I wanted to help my community, but a fear in my mind had me worried: what if some of these charities I love so much today don’t exist in 100 years?

I realized needed a vehicle to shepherd my legacy—something flexible enough to evolve over time while still ensuring long-term impact. A private foundation? Too complicated. A simple will donation? Too rigid, and besides, I didn’t want to have to be constantly updating my will (and paying my lawyer billable hours) to do so. That’s when a friend, Aneil Gokhale , introduced me to the Toronto Foundation and the concept of a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF).

A Donor-Advised What?

“Adam,” he said, “Do you really want to wait until you’re dead to start giving?” ...No. I didn't.

I know, you probably haven’t ever heard of a DAF before – I hadn’t either. Even as a financial professional, the DAF is kind of the best-kept secret in philanthropy (even though there was about $8.5B in DAFs in 2021). A DAF functions like a private foundation without the administrative headaches. No board of directors, no annual filings, and yet, a structured, tax-efficient way to give over time. I could set up my DAF, invest my assets to grow, and let the proceeds fund causes I cared about both during my lifetime and long after I’m gone.

Perfect! So, I can change my will to leave my estate, and change my life insurance to fund the DAF, and the Toronto Foundation would set that up after my death. I was all ready to sign the paperwork and call my lawyer.

That’s when Aneil stopped me in my tracks with one simple question: “Adam,” he said, “Do you really want to wait until you’re dead to start giving?”

…No. I didn’t.

But I couldn’t start today, right? That’s crazy. I have a business I’m still growing, and full-fledged Philanthropy (the one that starts with that capital-P) is definitely for people who have “made it”…

…right?

For those of you who have been regular followers of mine, you probably recognize this internal voice of mine. Because it wasn’t mine, it was my Scarcity Mindset coming back out to say hi.

Say hi and limit me, that is.

So, after recognizing my Scarcity Mindset, addressing it, crunching some numbers to reassure myself, and trusting in my planning and abundance, I made a very scarcy decision. I decided I would use a part of the proceeds from my business sale to establish The Malcolm Family Foundation, a DAF dedicated to supporting arts organizations in the GTA that serve marginalized communities.

And just like that, the first part of my Strategic Generosity Blueprint took shape.

Mapping My Impact

See, the best part about being a financial planner is that you get to unabashedly be the worlds biggest nerd about anything to do with numbers, and we have many tools and calculators that help bring those numbers to life. So. Many. Calculators. One of the best tools I’ve come across is PhilanthPro Solutions . Think of it like a financial planning tool that shows the future of your legacy by mapping out DAFs and Foundations.

Working in conjunction with my personal financial plan, I used PhilanthPro to create a strategic plan for the Malcolm Family Foundation. What I wanted to see was this:

If I decide to commit $X,XXX annually (indexed for inflation ??), granting 5% of the balance along the way, and designate the equivalent of $1M in todays dollars from my life insurance… what will be the impact?

Y’all, when I tell you this blew my mind, I would be understating it.

These are the results:

• In 10 years, I’d have granted out multi-five figures.
• In 15 years, I’d have six figures in reserve capital.
• Over my lifetime, I’d have granted out over half a million dollars with the same still invested in reserve capital.
• And once the life insurance was added, if the Foundation paid out all its remaining capital over 20 years after my passing, the total gifts to my community would be...

Over $7,000,000.

All that was achievable right now? This really shouldn’t have floored me like it did… but that was when I realized something: I was so surprised because even I had never taken the time to incorporate my generosity into my plan. The big numbers make sense as well when I broke it down, because the investment aspect of the DAF makes such a big difference. In the same way that I’d never get to retirement by saving in a chequeing account… I’d never get to my generosity goals by giving from my chequeing account.

The Full Blueprint: Strategic Generosity in Action

With the Malcolm Family Foundation in place, I started refining other aspects of my Strategic Generosity approach:

1. Financial Capital – My donations are now structured and strategic. While I’ll still give ad-hoc from my chequebook, my major contributions will go through my DAF, securities donations, or planned giving strategies. I’d use the power of the market to gift, and grow, my community capital.
2. Human & Social Capital – I reconsidered the boards I serve on, focusing not on Treasurer roles where I already had skills (and, frankly, was not passionate to look at even more numbers outside of work) but on donor development and planned giving education. I also set a goal to inspire others, using my network and platform to spread the message of Strategic Generosity and within my practice set a goal of creating $100M of future impact for my clients in 2025.
3. Impact Investing – I examined where my wealth was invested and shifted toward ESG and impact investments, prioritizing carbon neutrality and sustainability, companies with strong labour-rights records, and good corporate governance.

The Takeaway: A Big Heart + A Big Brain = Big Impact

And that, my friends, is how I became the first client of the Strategic Generosity Blueprint. It was long, messy, and full of learning curves, but it needed to be—so that your journey can be faster and more focused.

What I learned along the way can be summed up in one sentence:

If you have a big heart and a big brain, you can make a BIG impact.

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Hey, I'm Adam. I help business leaders balance their business, wealth, and legacy while making an impact in arts, culture, and their community. If you found this post insightful, follow me—I post at 9:00 AM Tues and Thurs. Feel free to share with others who might benefit. If you have questions about impactful giving, drop me a DM.

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Disclaimer: Trademarks, including IG Wealth Management, are owned by IGM Financial Inc. and licensed to its subsidiary corporations.?This is a general source of information only. It is not intended to provide personalized tax, legal or investment advice, and is not intended as a solicitation to purchase securities. Adam Malcolm is solely responsible for its content. For more information on this topic or any other financial matter, please contact an IG Wealth Management Advisor.?Insurance products and services distributed through I.G. Insurance Services Inc. Insurance license sponsored by The Canada Life Assurance Company.

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