Financial Advisor Success Podcast – Ep 461: Helping Clients Live Intentionally And Generously With Charitable Giving Events (That Also Drive New Growth)

Host: Michael Kitces
Guest: Zac Larson, Co-Founder, Intention Financial Partners
Date: October 28, 2025
Length: ~89 minutes

Episode Overview

Main Theme:
Michael Kitces welcomes Zac Larson, co-founder of Intention Financial Partners, to explore how embedding intentional living and generosity, especially through charitable giving events and related processes, can not only enrich clients’ lives but also drive firm growth and deepen client engagement. The episode covers how Intention Financial’s culture and values permeate client relationships, hiring, service delivery, and even business development, focusing on the firm’s unique approach to tracking impact and organizing community-based giving events.

Key Discussion Points, Insights & Notable Quotes

1. Firm Overview & Origins

• Firm Structure: Hybrid, based in Naperville, IL; 16 people; $550 million AUM ($800 million under advisement); ~895 client households (“engaged partnerships”).
• Founding Values: Clients described the team as “intentional” and “generous”; these became the core of the firm's identity.
• Mission: Empower people to live intentionally, focusing on purpose and impact, not just wealth accumulation.
• Core Values: Live intentionally, find solutions, be real, grow purposefully, live generously.
• Unique Success Metric: Measures and celebrates “engaged partnerships” (clients deeply involved in exploring their money’s purpose and impact), not just AUM or revenue.

“Our name...comes from two words that our clients used...intentional and generous. If that's how people perceive us, we want to find more clients like that.” —Zac, 05:21

2. Firm Growth, Revenue, and Fee Structure

• Team & Revenue: 16 members, ~$6.2M annual revenue, three revenue streams by design:
  • 75% AUM fees
  • ~10% planning fees
  • 15% “solutions” (insurance, annuities, etc.)
• Strategic Resilience: Diversified revenue to avoid market dependence.
• Planning Fees: Ongoing annual fees (not one-time plans); attract hard-working people without high minimums.
  • Intentional partnership: starts at $1,500/year
  • Innovative & visionary levels: $2,400 and $3,600+, based on complexity and services needed.
  • Adjustments as AUM increases (discounts, eventual elimination of planning fee at higher AUM levels).
  • Flexible billing through AdvicePay (annual/monthly).

“We're not interested in one time plans. We're interested in a partnership that says, let's help you be intentional with your money, generous with it, impactful year over year.” —Zac, 15:09

• Ongoing Service Model:
  • Structured semi-annual engagements:
    • Early-year: goal simulation, asset allocation, confidence for intentional spending/saving/giving.
    • Later-year: tax/lifetime income optimization, technical planning.
  • “Thoughtful and accountable” process—advisors ensure follow-up and completion (“system to help them be accountable”).

3. The “Pod” Team Model

• Pod Structure: Each engaged client is supported by:
  • Lead advisor
  • Planning coordinator (paraplanner/associate, often on CFP track)
  • Service coordinator (handles administrative tasks—some outsourcing for capacity)
• Planning coordinators: Some become advisors, others grow in planning/ops roles.
• Team transitions: Handle changing planning coordinators by focusing on personal contact, personal touches, and reliable follow-through.
• Capacity: Each pod can serve >100 clients, but ideal is “Project 100”—working towards best-practice levels as firm adds new advisors.
• Compensation philosophy: Above-average support for intentional work-life balance (e.g., sabbaticals), hiring ahead of growth.

“Our service coordinator is...administrative tasks that have to get done...the planning coordinator is more of a para planner, associate advisor kind of role.” —Michael, 27:47

4. Values and Culture: The Foundation for Firm Operation

• Values in Practice: Used in all hiring, firing, promotions, client and team interactions.
• Values:
  • Live intentionally (“time for what matters most”)
  • Find solutions (“explore options with optimism”)
  • Be real (“building trust and candid conversations”)
  • Grow purposefully (“we’re not done yet—keep evolving”)
  • Live generously (“invest your life in others, not just money”)
• “Anti-values”: Teams call out behaviors contrary to values in reviews and meetings to reinforce the culture.

“Busy is not an excuse. That's one of our values.” —Zac, 36:40

5. Embedding Generosity in the Client Experience

• Origin Story: Zac’s personal family lessons about giving (seeing parents’ regular giving, quarter-based allowance splits) shaped his approach—generosity as a habit, not just a tax tactic.
• Going Deeper in Meetings: Move beyond efficiency/tax strategies by building conversations around the “why” behind money and giving.
  • Ask: “Who are the people and places that are important to you?”
  • “Tell me more; be curious.” Avoid yes/no, open up discussions.

“We try to ask why...How would you feel if you gave more?...Oftentimes people would love to give more, but they don’t have the confidence.” —Zac, 48:24

• Building Confidence: Showing clients (through planning projections) that they can “afford” greater generosity—building confidence, increasing joy and deeper engagement.
• Impact Stories:
  • Example: Clients quadrupled giving after QCD education, increasing joy and loyalty.
  • Major estate gifts (e.g., $8M to local nonprofits after intentional conversation and planning).

6. Measuring and Publicizing Impact

• Annual “Impact Report”:
  • Tracks all facilitated charitable gifts—DAFs, QCDs, increased giving due to planning guidance (but not routine, externally-directed gifts).
  • 2024: Over $2M facilitated through DAFs, QCDs, plus ~$300K from giving events (see next section).
  • Also tracks and celebrates clients’ “joy” purchases (e.g., retirement travel, gifts to family) as part of annual planning.
  • Published as a video/slide-deck (see “Impact and Scale 2024 Reflections”), posted publicly.

“We started tracking the gifts that we facilitate...Last year, we facilitated over $2 million of client gifts through donor advised funds and QCDs.” —Zac, 58:43

7. Charitable Giving Events & Community Engagement

• Large-scale, local events: Host annual gatherings uniting clients, local nonprofits, and community donors.
  • Example: “Casino for a Cause”—nonprofit expo, matching gifts, interactive (casino games with charity-directed winnings), raffles, community networking.
  • Invite clients, nonprofits (who bring their key donors and board), and local community—low pressure, demonstrates firm values in practice.
  • Result: Significant money raised ($150K goal for 2024), increases firm’s visibility and attracts like-minded prospects.
• Other Events: Charity bike rides (e.g., “Solstice Century”), group experiences for clients and friends to challenge themselves physically and philanthropically.
• ROI: While hard to quantify, these events drive engagement, client loyalty, and referral growth. Clients are proud to be associated and bring their networks.

“Our client base gets to engage with organizations doing cool things...pre-retirement and retirement clients...find organizations they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I love your mission. I’m going to volunteer.’” —Zac, 66:37

8. The Unexpected Results and Lessons Learned

• Employee and client purpose matters: Meaningful work and values alignment attract both talent and clients.
• Personal touches: Switching from email to phone calls and referencing life details build loyalty.
• Confidence and Intentionality: The real job is less about “saving more” and more about helping clients either free up money for generosity or experience the outcomes of using their money purposefully, whether in travel, family, or giving.
• Let go and attract: Don’t chase reluctant clients—focus on those who resonate with the firm’s ethos.
• Transparency and humility: The firm doesn't have everything figured out; open reflection, learning from failures.

“People care more about purpose than a lot of other things…They want to have meaningful work.” —Zac, 77:00

9. Zac’s Definition of Success

• Personal: Living intentionally, having time for family, being an engaged parent and grandparent, and aligning giving with wealth growth.
• Aspirational goal: Lifetime giving exceeds net worth, while still growing both!

“I want to be a dad who’s engaged...How do we, instead of always raising our lifestyle as we make more, grow the impact of what we’re doing?” —Zac, 87:20

Key Timestamps

• [00:27] – Introduction of Zac and Intentional Financial Partners
• [05:21] – Values and naming of the firm
• [09:33] – “Engaged partnerships” vs. ‘clients’
• [13:07] – Revenue structure: AUM, planning fees, “solutions”
• [17:03] – Planning fee structure, use of AdvicePay
• [20:35] – Service model/calendar throughout the year
• [25:25] – System for client accountability
• [27:26] – Explanation of the “pod” (advisor+planning+service coordinator) model
• [35:42] – Core values and their integration into hiring/reviews
• [41:48] – Personal origin story of generosity and how it influenced the firm’s direction
• [48:03] – Approach to generosity conversations with clients (“why” questions)
• [54:20] – Impact of deeper conversations: case studies
• [57:02] – Tracking impact for the annual report
• [61:22] – Publicizing the impact report and using it for business development
• [65:40] – Details of charitable events and their dual (community/client-building) purpose
• [67:42] – ROI of events for firm growth and client engagement
• [74:44] – Unforeseen lessons and ongoing surprises
• [78:20] – Challenges and low points on the journey
• [85:20] – Advice for new advisors: find and serve your purpose
• [87:20] – Zac’s personal definition of success

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “Generosity is about a lifestyle, it’s about a joy, it’s about impact. And that’s what clients get excited about.” —Zac, 04:39
• “We call it engaged partnerships...a client or a couple who says, ‘We want to partner with Intention to explore the purpose of our money…’” —Zac, 06:39
• “We want to be a firm that can help hardworking people that maybe don’t have a certain minimum…provide great partnership, great advice, and a great process.” —Zac, 13:31
• “[Our practices] are much less about telling people to save more money. It’s about showing them the trajectory they're on, and letting them make an intentional choice.” —Zac, 74:44
• “I want to live intentionally and generously. I want our lifetime cumulative giving be higher than our net worth…” —Zac, 87:20

Final Reflections

Zac Larson and his team at Intention Financial Partners demonstrate how a focus on purposeful living and systematic generosity can transform both the quality of client relationships and the direction of a growing advisory business. By going beyond technical planning and making generosity part of the firm’s client experience—tracking facilitated giving, organizing impactful local events, and celebrating joy-driven uses of money—they attract engaged, values-aligned clients and build deep loyalty and community reputation. The philosophy is woven through hiring, operations, events, and even business development, revealing that advisory success can be measured in much more than just assets or revenue.

Resource Highlight:

• See Intention Financial’s “Impact and Scale 2024 Reflections” Report: [details in the episode show notes at Kitces.com/461]