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.

12 Steps to Position Your Practice with Philanthropy
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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: $1,895
  • Three-course package: $3,800
REDUCED PRICING FOR NONPROFIT PROFESSIONALS
  • Individual course: $1,350
  • 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 Philanthropic Impact in the 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:

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.

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

Experience

Three years of full-time relevant business experience is required for the CAP® program. The three-year period must be within the five years preceding the date of the award. Relevant experience may include working in a nonprofit organization, serving on a nonprofit board, or volunteering.  An undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited educational institution qualifies as one year of business experience. Part-time qualifying business experience is credited toward the three-year requirement on an hourly basis, with 2,000 hours representing the equivalent of one-year full-time experience. The following activities meet the required business experience qualifications included in the certification process.

       Insurance and health care

  • Field underwriting and management, including sales and service activities, supervision and management of persons involved in sales or services, or staff support of persons in these activities.
  • Company management and operations in positions involving substantial responsibility.

       Financial services and employee benefits

  • Client service and related management, including direct contact with clients, supervision and management of persons involved directly in the process of providing financial services or employee benefits, or staff support of persons in these activities.
  • Financial institution management and operations in positions involving substantial responsibility.

       Other

  • University or college teaching of subjects related to the Huebner School curriculum on a full-time basis at an accredited institution of higher education.
  • Government regulatory service in a responsible administrative, supervisory, or operational capacity.
  • Activities directly or indirectly related to the protection, accumulation, conservation, or distribution of the economic value of human life; these include the work of actuaries, attorneys, CPAs, investment advisers, real estate investment advisers, stockbrokers, trust officers, or persons in other similar occupations.
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

Blunt-Nickel Professor in Philanthropy

READ BIO >

Philanthropic- and Legacy-Planning Resources

Insight
Family Philanthropic Journey: The Road Not Taken
12 Steps to Position Your Practice with Philanthropy
Download
12 Steps to Position Your Practice with Philanthropy
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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