CAP®
Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®
Best For
Professionals seeking a graduate-level education on how to best support their client’s philanthropic goals.
Timing
<12 Months
Format
Deliver your clients’ highest aspirations with our best-in-class philanthropic education program. Learn more below.
100% Virtual
Tuition
Starting at
$2,050/course
Three-course package available for $4,495
Request More Information
Provide us with your information and we will get back to you with additional details.
Experience Our Program
Delivering Clients’ Highest Aspirations
Join one of the program’s successful alums, Andrew Tudor, CFP®, CAP® for a video tour of the CAP® Program.
CAP® Program at a Glance
Admissions Requirements
There are no prerequisite courses required before you can begin the CAP® Program, but three years full-time, relevant business experience is 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.
Tuition & Scholarships
Program tuition can be paid on a per-course basis. Tuition covers all course fees, required study materials, access to convenient online learning tools, your examination, and other fees.
Individual course: $2,050
Three-course package: $4,495
Non-profit professionals are eligible for reduced tuition at the time of enrollment.
Individual course non-profit: $1,650
Three-course package non-profit: $3,695
Scholarship opportunities are available for those who qualify, learn more here.
What You'll Learn
The CAP® Program is a graduate-level program that provides the specialized knowledge and tools you need to help clients articulate and advance their highest aspirations for self, family, and society.
Your learning outcomes will equip you to:
- Apply the best tax strategies, tools, and techniques for philanthropic goals
- Understand client or donor goals for self, family members, and/or society
- Advise wealthy families and family offices on important financial matters, including business exit planning, estate planning, and legacy planning
- Handle gift planning for nonprofits and high-capacity donors or philanthropists
Course Delivery
The three-course CAP® Program is designed for working professionals and offered in an online, self-study format, so you can move at your own pace. 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.
Benefit from program features, including:
- Cross-disciplinary curriculum spanning all aspects of philanthropic planning
- Elite faculty of nationally-recognized academics and researchers
- Unique synthesis of philanthropic knowledge not available anywhere else
- Thriving and collaborative community of advisors and gift planners
Why Become a CAP®
20%
Higher growth in production than advisors with no designations.1
35%
Higher growth in number of clients than advisors with no designations.1
44%
Higher growth in client retention than advisors with no designations.1
The CAP® Is Right For You If:
Inside the CAP® Program
Courses to Complete
Three
Typical Completion Time
<12 Months
CAP 539 Planning for Impact in Context of Family Wealth
Focuses on how clients and donors can use financial planning, estate planning, and gift planning to advance their personal financial goals for self and family, while also having a positive impact on their community.
Upon completion of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Position yourself at the table where the client or donor’s big dollars are planned
- Emerge as the client or donor’s trusted advisor, integrating charitable planning with the donor or client’s overall estate and business planning
- Help donors and clients achieve positive impact for self, heirs, and community
CAP 549 Charitable Giving Strategies
Covers charitable tax strategies, tools, and techniques, and how to explain and implement them to achieve donor goals for self, family, and community.
After completion of this course you'll be able to:
- Explain the features and benefits of each individual charitable tool
- Compare and contrast the tools in light of a donor or client’s overall legacy plan for self, family, and society
- Identify reasons advisors and fundraisers often collide, and the ways they may work more effectively together
CAP 559 Gift Planning in a Nonprofit Context
Teaches advisors, board leaders, and nonprofits how to collaborate to create, count, and steward significant gifts.
After completion of this course you'll be able to:
- Identify the roles of the three sectors, how those roles are changing, and how the nonprofit sector is funded
- Discuss the role of the nonprofit board and how fundraising is structured and managed
- Explain how planned, major, and blended gifts are raised, invested and stewarded
- Understand what high capacity donors want
- Recognize how “personalized” or “donor-focused planning” complements the value-based planning that is taught in the other CAP® courses
I highly recommend the CAP® curriculum to every charitable planning and fundraising professional. It completely transformed the way that I look at philanthropy and wealth in general.
Leon Baburov, CAP®, CFP®, AEP®
Through the CAP® curriculum I learned technical gift planning, but more importantly, I learned how to listen to life stories and how to work with professional advisors, as a gift planner/fundraiser.
Betsy Ketelas, CAP®, CFRE
The CAP® program has added to my repertoire as an attorney, but more importantly, as a trusted advisor to individual, corporate, and nonprofit clients.
Philip M. Dicomo, ESQ, CAP®
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CONNECT WITH THE CAP® COMMUNITY
Community Groups for Shared Learning
The CAP® designation program brings together professionals from all areas of the philanthropic ecosystem, which is why shared learning can be an especially valuable part of the experience. If you wish to get involved, you’ll find local, national, and Advisors of Color Community groups—all to help learners build professional relationships and exchange ideas about applying CAP® designation program concepts in day-to-day work. Although Community groups are not part of the program requirements and are not tutorials, they may be a good option to enhance your learning experience. For further details, inquire with Admissions at 866-640-2210 or email below.
Learn From Leaders With True Expertise
Timothy Belber
JD, AEP®
Adjunct Professor of Estate Planning
Charles E. Drimal Estate Planning Professorship
Paul M. Caspersen
MS, CFP®, AEP®
Program Director, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®)
Managing Director, The American College Center for Philanthropy and Social Impact
Wallace Chair
Allison Quintanilla Plattsmier
CAP®, Ed.D., DBA
Adjunct Faculty, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) Program
Read Bio01 / 00
Timothy Belber
JD, AEP®
Adjunct Professor of Estate Planning
Charles E. Drimal Estate Planning Professorship
Paul M. Caspersen
MS, CFP®, AEP®
Program Director, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®)
Managing Director, The American College Center for Philanthropy and Social Impact
Wallace Chair
Allison Quintanilla Plattsmier
CAP®, Ed.D., DBA
Adjunct Faculty, Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) Program
Read BioFind Out More
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Read more about the CAP®
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Hear from former students and take a tour
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Explore the latest news and expertise from College faculty
CAP® FAQs
The Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) is a specialized financial planning designation offered by The American College of Financial Services. The CAP® certification focuses on delivering in-depth philanthropic planning knowledge to financial professionals to make them better charitable advisors and help them meet clients’ goals for self, family, and society. Through the CAP® certification, philanthropic advisors will learn about tax strategies and techniques, estate planning, legacy planning, and business exit planning, and more.
To become an educated charitable advisor through the CAP® certification, you must complete the three-course program, including all associated classwork and a final exam for each course. These on-demand online courses make earning this charitable giving certification easy on your busy schedule.
The Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation can be completed in 12 months or less and is considered a specialized financial planning designation for a philanthropic advisor. According to FUSE Research’s 2024 Designation Outcomes Study, charitable advisors with the CAP® certification 20% higher growth in production, 35% higher growth in their number of clients, and 44% higher growth in client retention over a three-year period than their peers with no designations.
In addition, the CAP® certification is a graduate-level program that charitable advisors can enroll in at reduced tuition. Philanthropic advisors in the program also have the opportunity to join study groups of fellow students, which have proven very popular and successful in assisting financial professionals seeking the CAP® certification.
Deliver Clients' Highest Aspirations
Earning your CAP® empowers you with specialized expertise to help clients identify philanthropic intent and maximize their legacy for lasting impact. Take the next step today.
1 FUSE Research Network. The American College of Financial Services Designation Outcomes Study. 2024. Based on reported three-year growth.