CAP®

Philip Cubeta

Why you should consider the CAP®

The Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation gives you the power to make a difference in your career and in the world at large.

Focused on the best strategies for philanthropic planning, the three-course CAP® program will teach you the skills you need to advise clients on charitable giving or guide charitable organizations in their fundraising efforts. It’s an excellent addition to any financial or nonprofit career—and because The College has a mission of bettering society, you can take advantage of special, nonprofit pricing if you’re a nonprofit professional.

The world needs experts who can maximize the impact of philanthropy and make our communities better places to live for generations to come. Build your career by helping others ensure their legacy.

To support those who are dedicating their careers to nonprofit work, The College offers Nonprofit professionals a 22% tuition reduction on the CAP® program.

Who should consider CAP®

What You’ll Learn

The CAP® designation provides comprehensive education on the strategies of philanthropic planning. In addition to helping you master the financial details involved in different forms of gift giving, the program will help you enhance your interpersonal and active listening skills so you can better turn philanthropic aspirations into reality.

When you earn the CAP® designation, you’ll gain expertise in:

  • Applying the best tax strategies, tools, and techniques for charitable giving.
  • Understanding client or donor goals for self, family, and/or society and putting together holistic financial strategies that meet those goals in the most impactful way possible.
  • Advising wealthy families on important financial matters, including business exit planning, estate planning, and legacy planning.
  • Handling gift-planning for nonprofits, including developing six- to eight-figure gifts from high-capacity donors.
  • Serving Baby Boomers already over 70 and older adults who want to give back during retirement.
  • Using financial skills and philanthropic planning to make a positive difference in your community and the world.

Because the three CAP® courses are graduate-level, you can earn credit towards a Master of Science in Financial Services degree while pursuing the designation.

Who Should Take the CAP®

  • Experienced financial advisors seeking to enhance their careers while serving those whose ideals serve others.
  • Professionals who hold another designation, including the CLU®, ChFC®, CFP®, MSFS, AEP, JD, LLM, or CPA.
  • Nonprofit professionals seeking to gain financial skills that are highly applicable to gift planning and fundraising.
  • Professionals in community foundations and at single- or multi-issue charities.
  • Professionals in the legal, accounting, risk management, wealth management, estate planning, and other fields that deal with clients engaged in charitable giving.

Program Delivery

Designed for the working professional.

The CAP® is an online, self-study program, which allows you to move through the program at your own pace. Course materials include:

  • Recorded lectures, with inset videos
  • Self-tests
  • A sample exam
  • 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.

Tuition & Fees

  • Individual course: $1,850
  • Three-course package: $3,800
REDUCED PRICING FOR NONPROFIT PROFESSIONALS
  • Individual course: $1,300
  • Three-course package: $3,000
  • Nonprofit pricing available at enrollment.

Tuition includes all required study materials, access to convenient online learning tools, your examination, and shipping fees.

COURSES

Required CAP® courses:

  • GS 839 Planning for Impact in Context of Family Wealth
  • GS 849 Charitable Giving Strategies
  • GS 859 Gift Planning in a Nonprofit Context

View Course Details Below​

Details

Required CAP® Courses:

Planning for Impact in Context of Family Wealth (GS 839)
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.

Charitable Giving Strategies (GS 849)
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.

Gift Planning in a Nonprofit Context (GS 859)
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.

CAP® courses have been approved by The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University for credit in their graduate degree requirements.

To receive the CAP® designation, you must successfully complete all three courses, meet experience requirements and ethics standards, and agree to comply with The American College of Financial Services Code of Ethics and Procedures.

Learn More About Designation Requirements >

See the Student Resources and Policies page for comprehensive details on refund policies, learning policies, recertification information, and more.

Learn More >

Program Faculty

Professor Philip Cubeta
Philip Cubeta

Assistant Professor of Philanthropy

CAP® Program Director

Sallie B. and William B. Wallace Chair in Philanthropy

READ BIO >
Dien Yuen, Assistant Professor of Philanthropy
Dien Yuen

Assistant Professor of Philanthropy

READ BIO >

Philanthropic- and Legacy-Planning Resources

Blog
Philanthropy, Assets Under Management, and the Business-case for Investment Advisors
Blog
4 Steps for Prospecting Within the Philanthropic Community
Boomer Business Owners White Paper Resource thumb
White Paper
Boomer Business Owners in Transition: 50+ Questions to Inform a Philanthropic Conversation
CAP On-Demand Webcast
Blog
HOW TO BECOME A PHILANTHROPIC BUSINESS LEADER FOR YOUR COMMUNITY

Get Started With CAP®

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