Creative Planning Cares
We make a positive impact in the communities we serve.
Every day, Creative Planning is helping clients achieve financial freedom. But there are many individuals and organizations within our communities that are underserved or don’t have access to the resources they need. For the last 20 years, our giving has been focused on those among us who need that support while they work through tough times or simply need a little assistance to give them a better chance at success.
Serving Under-resourced Communities Through Free Education
In spring 2021, Creative Planning and our leadership team opened Pathway Financial Education in the historic 18th & Vine area of Kansas City, Missouri.
The center offers free classes to small business owners, adults and youth, and many of Creative Planning's employees teach courses in financial planning, tax services, law, business management, and more.
Making a Positive Impact in Our Communities
In addition to the thousands of hours our local team dedicates to volunteering in their communities, Creative Planning has:
- Provided full-tuition scholarships and mentorship to underprivileged students
- Built a basic needs distribution center
- Provided 30 million meals to those who rely on the school system for food
Supporting What's Important to Our Clients
We're committed to supporting worthwhile causes across the country, particularly those that are close to our clients' hearts and help contribute toward a better life for those most in need. Every year, we give several hundred thousand dollars to charities across the country.
To request a grant for a nonprofit, please submit your proposal here.* Nonprofit organizations are eligible for grants every three years, provided the requests are initiated by our wealth management clients.
*Please note submissions are reviewed monthly versus weekly; thank you for your patience.
Recognized as a 2024 Charitable Champion
We’re proud to have been selected for a second year in a row for the Invest in Others Charitable Champions List, which recognizes advisory firms for giving back to their communities by promoting a culture of philanthropy amongst employees and financial advisors.
Invest in Others is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting and empowering financial advisors and firms that make a difference in the lives of others.
Our largest gifts have been made to the following organizations:
Pathway Financial Education was born after recognizing an unmet need in under-resourced communities: convenient access to comprehensive financial education and training. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, Pathway is a 501(c)3 organization that offers in-person and online financial education tailored to the needs of small business owners and individuals.
Feeding America is the recipient of our largest grant. We contributed $10 million to:
- Build food pantries in communities that were underserved (prior to our donation, people needed to take a bus to another city to get to a food pantry)
- Provide food to students that rely on the public school system for meals
- Provide 25 million meals to those in need in Kansas City, home to our headquarters
- Provide more than 35 million meals to those in need in underserved cities throughout America
We contributed $6 million to Trees for the Future. Our donation helps their mission of ending poverty and hunger by training farmers to regenerate their land.
Each year, we gather and package necessities to support Giving the Basics, a charity dedicated to providing the homeless, working poor and unemployed with basic hygiene products such as soap, detergent, toothpaste, etc. that can't be purchased with food stamps. Visit GivingTheBasics.org for more information.
Every year as part of our annual Thanksgiving project, our team delivers everything needed for a large family Thanksgiving meal to more than 700 families through Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas.
Many of Creative Planning’s associates are or have been involved with KC CAN!, a charity that benefits the well-being of Kansas City’s children. Visit KCCAN.org for more information.
Creative Planning conducts blood drives at our office with the help of the Community Blood Center and the American Red Cross. We welcome our clients to join us at a blood drive. Call 913-338-2727 for more information.
We're honored that Ingram’s magazine listed Creative Planning among its Corporate Champions for community involvement.
