I hope this message finds you well. For many years we have looked forward to our client appreciation events, much like family reunions, to regroup with longtime friends and make a few new friends. We have seen our families grow and mature - new births, graduations, weddings, retirements and even the passing of dear friends were the topics of discussion and reflection. The wonderful experiences from past client appreciation events will remain prominent in all our memories for years to come.
At the same time, these wonderful memories are in stark contrast to the realities of the ongoing hardships caused by the pandemic; the least fortunate amongst us experiencing a disproportional impact. This significant contrast has inspired us to think of new ways to show appreciation and gratitude for our good fortune. We began to reflect on our core values and purpose of helping clients live with meaning, and asked ourselves if the situation at hand is presenting us with an opportunity to expand our definition of family? Is now the time to respond to the needs painfully expressed by so many within our own neighborhoods? The more we reflected on the disparity, the answers to our questions became resoundingly clear – yes, now is the time to act. It is who we are and what we must do.
Financial Independence Charitable Fund
The pandemic will eventually pass; however, the needs of our community will exist long after most of us have moved beyond it and, quite frankly, there were so many less fortunate people before the pandemic began. After a great deal of reflection on all we have learned about ourselves, our communities and those in need during this past year, we made a difficult yet important choice to use the funds normally directed toward client appreciation events to create and maintain the Financial Independence Charitable Fund (FI Charitable Fund). We will contribute to the FI Charitable Fund each year on behalf of all our clients. Although, bittersweet for all of us, we hope you will understand this cause and agree it’s a purposeful direction.
We are establishing the FI Charitable Fund in partnership with the Rhode Island Foundation. Its focus will be to address the needs of children, including birth to 3 years of age development, childcare, preschool education, abuse treatment and prevention, and food security. At a time when there seems to be so much dividing our country, I think we can all agree on the importance of taking care of our children. We will most certainly miss our client appreciation events and that special time together outside of the office. At the same time, we are proud to expand our family by joining such a generous and well-established group of donors focused on addressing the needs of our community and children. In future communications we will provide additional information on the FI Charitable Fund’s objectives, beneficiaries and positive outcomes. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this new endeavor.
In Closing
All of us at Financial Independence are grateful for the opportunity to serve your needs and help you live your BEST Life. We are mindful of how our life experiences are richer and more meaningful because of the relationships we have built together. And, we look forward to continuing our journey of building financial plans and investment strategies designed to achieve your goals.
Thank you,
