CAP®

Philip Cubeta

Get the knowledge and skills you need to help clients realize their highest aspirations for self, family, and society. With CAP®, you can use your insight into philanthropic planning to allow clients to do well while still doing good.

Program at a Glance

Tuition

$3,995 (special nonprofit pricing available)

Timing

Complete in 12 months or less

Format

100% online, self-study

Learning Outcomes
  • Applying the best tax strategies, tools, and techniques for charitable giving
  • Understanding client or donor goals for self, family, and/or society
  • Advising wealthy families on important financial matters, including business exit planning, estate planning, and legacy planning
  • Handling gift -planning for nonprofits and high-capacity donors
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What is the CAP® Designation?

The Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation provides fundraisers and advisors with a common body of knowledge and a shared credential, enabling them to collaborate effectively with clients on legacy planning. The cross-disciplinary curriculum spans and synthesizes the arts and sciences of philanthropic planning, including taxation, finance, fundraising, purposeful planning, family dynamics, psychology, and strategic philanthropy. With the CAP® designation, you’ll be able to integrate charitable planning with the donor or client’s overall estate and business plan and help them achieve a positive impact for themselves, heirs and their community, positioning you as a trusted advisor and partner.

 

 

Why Choose CAP?

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90% of financial advisors agree philanthropic conversations are important to have with clients

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Reduced tuition for nonprofit professionals looking to expand their skill set

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Graduate-level courses offer credit toward other Master’s degree programs

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Aging population and increasing importance of philanthropy ensures wide call for specialized giving advice

Program Details

Educational Requirements

There are no prerequisite courses required before you can begin the CAP® program, but three years full-time, relevant business experience ARE required to use the designation.

To receive the CAP® designation, you must:

  1. Successfully complete the three required courses
  2. Agree to comply with The American College Code of Ethics and Procedures

Participation in the annual Professional Recertification Program (PRP) is required to maintain the designation.  For more information, see our Continuing Education (CE) FAQ and PRP pages.

CAP® designees in good standing also have access to The College's new philanthropic consumer education program, A Spectrum of Legacies. This free, 8-module philanthropic program includes short instructional videos, with learning reinforced through case studies, worksheets, and other resources. You can go through the course yourself and share it with your clients and prospects. They will finish the program educated and empowered to work with a knowledgeable philanthropic advisor like you!

Tuition & Fees

  • Individual course: $1,975
  • Three-course package: $3,995
REDUCED PRICING FOR NONPROFIT PROFESSIONALS
  • Individual course: $1,495
  • Three-course package: $3,295
  • Nonprofit pricing available at enrollment.

Tuition covers all course fees, required study materials, access to convenient online learning tools, your examination, and other fees. Course materials include:

  • Recorded lectures, with inset videos
  • Self-tests
  • Digital readings and textbooks

Throughout your time in the program, you will have online access to The College’s expert faculty. Each of the three courses concludes with a two-hour exam, administered at more than 4,000 exam centers around the country.

Annual participation in the Professional Recertification Program (PRP).

CAP® Curriculum

GS 839 Planning for Impact in Context of Family Wealth

The focus of this course is on wealth in families and wealthy families in community with others. By the end of this course, the fundraiser and advisor should have the knowledge needed to elicit client or donor goals for self, family and society and to convene a team to achieve those goals now, later, at death or beyond death, through a financial plan, business exit plan, estate plan, or gift plan.

GS 849 Charitable Giving Strategies

The focus of this course is on charitable tax strategies, tools, and techniques. By the end of this course, students will have the knowledge needed to open a client-specific or donor-specific conversation about the features and benefits of appropriate charitable tools. The student will then be able to convene a planning team, or in simpler cases, close for the gift.

GS 859 Gift Planning in a Nonprofit Context

The focus of this course is on gift planning for nonprofits. By the end of this course, students should have the knowledge needed to apply the concepts and processes introduced in GS 839 and GS 849 to develop six to eight figure gifts for a specific nonprofit from its highest capacity donors.

Program Faculty

Timothy Belber, Adjunct Professor of Estate Planning
Timothy Belber

Adjunct Professor of Estate Planning

Charles E. Drimal Estate Planning Professorship

READ BIO >
Jennifer Lehman headshot
Jennifer Lehman

Program Director, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® 

Assistant Professor of Philanthropy within the Academics Department

READ BIO >
FAQs

Normally students spend approximately 45 to 60 hours per course for each of the three courses in the CAP® program, each containing 14 weeks worth of material. In total, plan to spend between 135 to 180 hours over 12 months to prepare for the CAP® exam.

Upon enrolling in each CAP® course, students are given a four-month window to complete the course, plus the remainder of the month in which they enrolled. There is no deadline on how long you have to complete all three courses.

Tuition includes all fees, your final exam, and course materials. For a complete listing, view the Tuition & Fees section.

There are no prerequisites required to take CAP® courses; you may begin at any time. However, in order to be awarded the designation, you must have at least three years of experience in financial planning or a related profession. For more information, view our Designation Requirements page.

To enroll in the CAP® program, contact an admissions advisor at 888-263-7265 or enroll online.

The CE credit value of CAP® courses depends upon your individual state. For more information, see our CE Credit Listing page or check your state’s guidelines.

Testing is continuing under approved conditions at Pearson VUE testing centers. View our COVID FAQ page for the latest updates on exam scheduling, testing windows, and processes.

The College’s annual fee for the Professional Recertification Program (PRP) is $125 for client-facing advisors and $50 for non-client-facing professionals, and covers all your designations earned from The American College of Financial Services. The recertification fee is paid in advance during the last quarter of the recertification year, by December 31, and will cover the following calendar year. Payment can be made through your online account with The College.

For more information, see our Professional Recertification page.

A Spectrum of Legacies is a free, eight-module consumer philanthropic education program developed by Mark Weber, CAP®. Students learn online from short instructional videos, with learning reinforced through case studies, worksheets, and other resources. As a CAP® designee in good standing, you will have access to a version that highlights the value of your knowledge and why clients and prospects should work with a philanthropic advisor committed to life-long learning.

Non-designees can access the mass-market version here.
CAP® designees can access a version in their student portal that highlights the value of an advanced, knowledge philanthropic advisor.

Philanthropic- and Legacy-Planning Resources

Insights
Family Philanthropic Journey: The Road Not Taken
12 Steps to Position Your Practice with Philanthropy
Insights
How Advisors Can Help Clients Through Life Transitions
Boomer Business Owners White Paper Resource thumb
Insights
A Family's Philanthropic Journey
CAP On-Demand Webcast
Blog
HOW TO BECOME A PHILANTHROPIC BUSINESS LEADER FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

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