Alison Henneberger on CAP: A Perspective Shift and a Stronger Network

(Feb. 12, 2025) Philanthropy is an essential part of financial planning, yet many advisors and clients hesitate to start the conversation. For Diversified Trust Senior Vice President Alison Henneberger, earning the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation gave her the self-assurance to bring up philanthropy more often and with greater impact.

The CAP designation equips advisors—such as financial advisors, estate planners, attorneys, and nonprofit leaders—with the expertise to help individuals, families, and organizations create meaningful charitable giving strategies. Since 2021, the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis has offered a CAP Study Group, a peer learning cohort where professionals collaborate to deepen their knowledge of philanthropic planning, focusing on the CAP curriculum.

“I broach the philanthropic topic more frequently, and with more passion,” she said. One key insight of the CAP coursework stood out to her: clients assume advisors will bring up philanthropy, while advisors assume clients will mention it if it matters to them “At the end of the day, philanthropic goals are an important part of your financial picture and worthy of discussing with your advisors.”

That realization reshaped how Alison engages with clients. CAP helped her move beyond the technical aspects of philanthropy, equipping her with the tools to have more meaningful conversations. “I would have been less likely to embark on this program had it not been for the Community Foundation offering the cohort and the group study,” she said. “The cohort approach embodies the essence of the CAP program, which is coordination among advisors to help a client achieve their charitable goals.”

The structured cohort model was critical to her experience. “It wasn’t just financial advisors, CPAs or attorneys. It was a mix of professionals in the community who work for various nonprofits, some of which I knew, some of which I didn’t,” she said. “Being able to talk with other people at the same time you’re processing the material, combined with practical application examples made the coursework so much more relatable.”

CAP shifted her perspective on philanthropy beyond her professional role. “It makes me think about philanthropy more, makes me want to do more—whether I’m giving more or being more intentional about time where I can.” As board chair of the Porter-Leath Books From Birth program and a trustee at her church, she now approaches nonprofit funding, major gifts, and sustainability with a more strategic mindset.

It also expanded her professional network in ways she didn’t expect. “I would not hesitate to reach out to anyone in the class now if I had a need or bounce a question off of them. It’s people that I would not have otherwise formed a strong relationship with, had it not been for the CAP cohort.”

For those considering pursuing a charitably focused professional designation, Alison offers clear advice. “I would highly recommend that they wait until there’s a cohort to participate in. The shared technical discussions and relationship building were incredibly valuable.

The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis will continue to offer philanthropic education programming for professional advisors, groups, and individuals.

For more information, email Jim Marconi or call him at (901) 722-0037.