Advisory firm tapping a philanthropic force with support for India

Wayne McDaniel doesn’t recall exactly when or how he started feeling philanthropic toward some of India’s poorest citizens, but he has never wavered on his commitment to helping make their lives better.

“I think almost everybody can do more than they think they can do, and we all have more potential than we realize,” said the co-founder and chief financial officer of McDaniel Knutson Financial Partners in Lawrence, Kans.”When you’ve been blessed in life, a great question to ask yourself is, are you making more money to increase your standard of living or increase your standard of giving?”

In addition to the more obvious benefits of reaching out to help people in need, the focus on philanthropy at McDaniel Knutson has helped create an ongoing culture of giving and outreach, which Mr. McDaniel said gives employees a common goal beyond just financial planning.

Mr. McDaniel has for more than 11 years led the advisory firm’s efforts to adopt impoverished villages in India, which includes paying for his employees to visit the country and witness the need.

“I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for India,” said Mr. McDaniel, who was chief executive of the firm in 2007 when he first decided to adopt a village.

After some initial research led him to India Gospel League, a Bible-centered missionary organization operated in India, Mr. McDaniel presented the idea to the half-dozen people who made up his advisory firm at that time.

The idea, which follows a model established by IGL, was for the advisory firm to commit $60,000 over five years to help the local residents work to address their needs related to infant mortality rates, education, housing, nutrition and basic finances.

“The objective is that at the end of five years, the various programs initiated are self-sustaining,” Mr. McDaniel said. “I told the staff we’d take everyone over there who wants to go. And just about everyone has made a trip to India, and we’re now on our third village.”

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Founded in 1986, McDaniel Knutson Financial Partners currently has 13 employees and $250 million under management.

Mr. McDaniel, 62, entered semi-retirement mode three years ago, and is largely focused on clients’ charitable investing. He said the firm’s future philanthropic efforts might not involve India, “but we’ve made giving part of our DNA here.”

In addition to donating 5% of the firm’s gross revenues every year to charitable causes, Mr. McDaniel said the firm spends between $10,000 and $15,000 every time it takes a group of employees to visit India.

Unlike some mission trips and charitable campaigns, IGL is focused on developing sustainable programs that lead to independence. Therefore, Mr. McDaniel said the trips are less about digging wells and building houses than it is about giving the employees a first-hand look at the needs and how the donations are helping.

During a recent trip to India, Mr. McDaniel said employees helped distribute food to people living in a leprosy colony.

“IGL’s philosophy is not to give anything away; it’s mainly about helping people help themselves,” he said. “Our trips there are to help build that relationship with the people of that village, so they know who we are and we know who they are.”

Asked to gauge the return on the advisory firm’s investment in India, Mr. McDaniel points to Kanavaipudur, a village of 6,000 in the southern tip of India that had an average per capita income equal to $1 a day.

“When we first adopted the village, I had a client from India who doubted it would be self-sustaining in five years, and they said it would take at least 10 years,” Mr. McDaniel said. “After five years, I was expecting IGL to ask us to sign up for another five years, but it was on target to be self-sustaining.”

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At the end of the five-year commitment of donating $12,000 per year, the per capita income of Kanavaipudur was still low, but had doubled to $2.

The village’s infant mortality rate over the five-year period dropped by more than 50%, and the suicide rate dropped from weekly to once every two years.

At the start of the campaign, only 300 of the village’s 1,300 school-age children were attending school, but at the end of five years, 1,000 children were attending school in the village.

“There was hope in the whole community,” Mr. McDaniel said. “Anyone can do this. You just have to ask yourself what touches your soul and breaks your heart and think of ways you might be able to make a difference.”

Mr. McDaniel recommends firms seeking to support philanthropic efforts work with an indigenous organization, “because they’re the ones that know what they need,” Mr. McDaniel said. “Otherwise it’s just rich white folks coming in and telling people what to do.”

Tipsheet:

• Research the organizations that are based locally and working in the areas where you want to make a difference.
• Go visit the people and talk to those they are working with to ensure the dollars are being properly allocated.
• Check out the financial situation of the organization coordinating and allocating the donations.

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