Final Words: Building community

These past 18 months have seen the best advisors keen to connect with their communities and show clients they’re there for them on multiple levels.

A few years ago, Dermid O’Farrell of O’Farrel1 Financial in Kemptville, Ont. determined the overhead he was expending on rented quarters for his growing team could be better spent elsewhere. So he set out to acquire land and construct a stand-alone building with sufficient space for both present and future business operations.

Before they set pen to paper with an architect, O’Farrell, along with his wife and business partner Donna Lee, realized they could incorporate the building’s large public spaces, specifically the boardroom, into a plan to give back to the community that provides their livelihood. So, one month after the building opened in December, 2007, the firm began offering use of its boardroom free of charge to a variety of local organizations, including:

• Beth Donovan Hospice – Building Committee
• North Grenville Community Living
• North Grenville Accessible Transportation
• North Grenville Scout Group
• Salvation Army
• Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario
• Royal LePage Gale Real Estate
• Kemptville District Hospital Foundation
• Grenville Community Futures Development Corporation
• Tanya’s Networking Group
• North Grenville Old Timers
• Civitan Club
• Knights of Columbus
• Mountain and District Lion’s Club
• Friends of the North Grenville Public Library
• Ryan’s Well Foundation
• Kemptville Women’s Recreational Volleyball League, and
• Keltic Band Practice with Al MacEachern

In O’Farrell’s own words

“When we built our boardroom, we did it with volunteer groups in mind as well as ourselves. What we didn’t know was how many groups would actually use it. We were pleasantly surprised by that.”

“Clubs and groups complained they had to pay to use the municipal centre, so we provided a place that’s free. And the groups have been very respectful. Anybody who wants to use the board room, who isn’t using it for a profit, can do so.”

“Giving back is a very important function of who we are – to our clients, to our community, to everything. It’s more than just business. It’s how we were brought up.”

“We’re involved in many of these groups. We’ve donated funds to them over the years. So it was an easy thing to offer them. We know the hospice, and someone from Community Living, which provides education, activities and support for handicapped people, works here doing the cleaning three days a week. “

“I sit on the hospital foundation board, so when they want to use a boardroom for a PowerPoint presentation or something that involves a large-screen TV, they come here.”

“We’re active on the library board. We have a yard sale here in May and all proceeds go to the library. And we have barbeques here in the summer for eight to ten weeks and the funds go to a different benefactor.”

“Our most important client is our staff, because without them we can’t deal with our clients. And they were all on board with the idea of using the building for local groups.”

“Community service is engrained in who we hire. It’s your morals, your ethics, your values. It’s part of the hiring process, so they get it.”

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.