As a Wealth Advisor, Joseph Robinson, a Principal in Bernstein Private Wealth Management’s West Palm Beach office, brings together a team to best serve clients.
That way, his clients receive industry renowned counsel on taxes, legal issues or charitable giving, while he’ll focus on holistic planning and investments.
“I work with many families that have charitable intent, and while I certainly come to the table with some knowledge and expertise in helping them meet their philanthropic needs over time, it’s important for me to have the right partners who can further that,” he said. “Much the same way that I don’t provide tax or legal advice, I don’t provide sole philanthropic advice.”
Joseph Robinson, principal at Bernstein Private Wealth Management
To that end, he turns to Community Foundation as a partner to work with him and his clients. Robinson, who has worked with the foundation for years, serves on its Philanthropic Advisory Council.
The foundation’s expertise is important in guiding families’ giving in many facets. For example, Robinson said, working with a family with strong philanthropic needs locally while all their heirs live outside of Florida makes succession planning challenging.
The foundation’s team helped one of Robinson’s clients ensure that their goals would be met after they have passed away. It provided the family a vehicle to articulate their overarching giving goals and develop a plan.
Another legacy planning challenge that the foundation can address is when organizational changes result in a new focus for nonprofits. It helps families craft a giving policy that meets their goals but also has the flexibility to adjust if organizations or circumstances change, Robinson said.
For families supporting specific charitable causes—whether in the arts, education, environment, or another area—the foundation ensures that dollars support those areas, even if a nonprofit’s mission changes, it ceases to operate, or there’s a merger, Robinson said.
Knowing the community, understanding where the needs are, and aligning with families’ philanthropic goals allow the foundation to ensure those dollars go to the causes originally intended, he said.
This gives clients donating significant sums of money confidence that their charitable intent will live beyond any one individual.
In other instances, the foundation’s expertise benefits Robinson’s clients when families are unfamiliar with the local charitable landscape.
“When working with families that are looking to meet a philanthropic need locally but don’t know enough about how to deploy those dollars, the Community Foundation is a vast wealth of knowledge in that area,” he said.
While every family may not need the Community Foundation, professional advisors benefit from knowing that this resource is available to them and their clients, he said.
Legal code: BPWM-678385-2025-01-29
