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Zenith Wealth Partners

Institutions

Redefining How We Unlock Wealth

Black Philanthropy Month gives us a moment to pause and name something that too often goes unspoken: Black communities have always been philanthropic. Long before “philanthropy” was a line item in an estate plan or a tax strategy, it was a mutual aid society, a church collection plate, a sorority scholarship fund, a neighbor covering another neighbor’s rent. Dr. Jacqueline Copeland-Carson helped formalize that recognition when she founded Black Philanthropy Month in 2011, and in the years since, it’s grown into a global celebration of Black giving in all its forms, individual, institutional, formal, informal, and everything in between.

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Financial Planning

Private Placements 101: What They Are and Who They’re For

A private placement is an investment sold outside the public markets, typically limited to accredited investors and less regulated and transparent than a public stock or fund. What makes them different is illiquidity, higher fees, less transparency, and concentration risk. Before saying yes to any deal, know how the person offering it is compensated, what the fees are, how it fits your overall portfolio, and what happens in a worst-case scenario.

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Institutions

Dear Board Chair, Does Your Endowment Advisor Believe in Your Mission?

You are a board chair at a nonprofit that has spent years building something real. The organization is doing important work. The staff is committed. The community it serves shows up because they trust you. And then there is the endowment. Around $12M, sitting with an advisor who sends a report every quarter, rarely calls unless you call first, and has never once asked about the organization, let alone showed up to an event. This letter is for you.

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Financial Planning

You Just Inherited Money. Here’s What to Do in the First 90 Days.

There’s no rush and no version of this you’re supposed to have figured out right away. The first 30 days are for getting oriented: identify what you inherited, locate the paperwork, and park any cash somewhere safe. From day 30 to 60, learn the rules that apply to what you received, whether that’s an inherited retirement account, an investment account, or real estate, ideally with a financial or tax professional. By day 60 to 90, you can start building a simple plan at your own pace, updating beneficiaries and deciding what role this money should play in your life. The only real deadline is getting inherited cash into a safe account; everything else can happen on your own timeline.

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Institutions

Board-Directed Endowment vs. Traditional Endowment: What’s the Difference, and Why It Matters

When your organization receives a significant gift, one of the first questions your board needs to answer isn’t “where do we invest it?” It’s “what kind of fund do we actually have?” The answer shapes every decision that follows: how you can spend the money, what restrictions apply, and who has the authority to change the rules.

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Institutions

Why Your OCIO Cannot Do Place-Based Investing

Your OCIO is very good at what it does. But you have been having a different conversation lately. About your city. About the neighborhoods your foundation has been funding for twenty years. About whether your capital, not just your grants, but the capital sitting in your endowment, could be doing something in those same zip codes.

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