Giving More than Money・Finding Your Purpose in Retirement

Your time and experience are valuable gifts. Consider making those gifts even more meaningful.

In my work with clients, many of our conversations revolve around building a great retirement. But what happens once you’ve actually reached that milestone? Several of my clients who are recently retired or considering an upcoming retirement are trying to figure out what this stage of life should actually look like. They’re trying to find what gives their days meaning after spending so much time building a career and/or raising a family.

Here’s the thing: you can only play so much golf, read so many books, and take so many bucket-list trips. So how can you make sure you really enjoy what you’ve spent so much time working towards? Rediscovering your purpose is an important and sometimes daunting consideration. One of the best ways we’ve seen our clients answer that call is by giving back to their community.

At Great Diamond Partners, we’re in a unique position to connect our clients to the causes and organizations that matter to them. As part of our deep community engagement, we encourage our team members to support causes that are meaningful to them through our employee-directed charitable budget. We also offer our employees the ability to give their time, supporting their volunteer efforts with the causes they care about most. Our experiences have taught us a lot about what’s needed by local and national organizations that operate in Maine. It’s our goal to use what we’ve learned to help make a difference in our community and better serve our clients.

The benefits of charitable giving

Yes, there are lots of great financial reasons to make charitable donations, including valuable tax breaks that can help you protect more of your wealth. And every charitable organization—no matter the size—can always use financial support to advance their cause.

But money isn’t all they need; these organizations often rely on the time and expertise of their supporters. We’re always on the lookout for how we can help. Last winter, our Executive Administrator Amanda was regularly volunteering at Maine Needs. As soon as they put out a call for cold-weather clothes for kids in need, Amanda coordinated a team effort to shop for hats, mittens, coats, and other winter clothes, bundling them up in packages for Maine Needs to deliver. By staying tuned into what our community needs, we were able to jump into action and pitch in quickly to help.

There are many ways you can donate your time that will work with your schedule. You might spend just a few hours visiting residents at an assisted living facility or being a mentor to young kids in your community. Or you may want to get even more involved by serving on an organization’s board.

The skills that you’ve gained throughout your career can also be a valuable gift, providing a nonprofit with much-needed support for its efforts. As an example, our Brand Manager Meg provides pro bono marketing support for the Institute for Family-Owned Business, a nonprofit strengthening local Maine businesses. Similarly, your life experience can help support an organization’s mission. For several years, I’ve worked with Camp Susan Curtis, which focuses on providing transformative camp experiences for kids in Maine who are facing economic hardship. Soccer is a passion of mine, and I’ve loved getting a chance to coach kids and serve as part of the camp’s sports leadership program. We are even finding ways to tap into my work experience by teaching basic financial skills like budgeting to camp counselors. Here’s what I’ve learned: Sharing some of what makes you happy can make a huge difference not just in your life, but also in the lives of the people you share with.

Writing a new chapter

As clients approach retirement, the prospect of having a wide-open schedule is incredibly appealing. Goodbye to the morning commute, hello to a leisurely cup of coffee. But for many retirees, the sudden change in daily routine can be jarring. Worse, research shows that the shift into retirement can have negative health consequences, such as cognitive decline and depression. That’s why it’s so important to make a plan for retirement that goes beyond saving and investing.

At Great Diamond Partners, our client-first approach means going beyond investment returns and account balances. We want to understand each client for who they are, including the values they care deeply about. We also want to find ways to help clients align their wealth with those values. Helping connect our clients with the organizations and causes they care about in their communities is a big step in this direction—and toward making our world a better place.

If getting out into the community is something that you think would help bring more purpose to your life, let’s talk. I’d love to help you find a great way to put that plan into motion, and to put your values into action. And maybe you know about a group that’s doing something amazing in our community and want to spread the word. We want to hear about that, too. The more we know, the more we can help bridge those connections between people who want to help with the organizations that need them most.

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Great Diamond Partners, LLC is registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Great Diamond Partners only transacts business in states where it is properly registered, or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements. SEC registration as an investment adviser does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by securities regulators nor does it indicate that the adviser has attained a particular level of skill or ability.

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