How Financial Advisors Build Consumer Trust by Giving Back

Consumer trust is central to the relationship between financial advisors and the people they serve. For Matthew Dicken, founder and CEO of Strategic Wealth Designers, building that trust includes how a firm contributes to its community.

Dicken points to consistent charitable involvement as one way businesses can demonstrate their values beyond the services they provide. His approach emphasizes sustained participation, employee involvement, and communication that keeps the charitable organization’s work at the center.

“When a business actively and consistently engages in charitable activities, consumers come to see it as more than just an entity seeking to make a profit,” Dicken says. “It builds a reputation as a business that contributes to the well-being of the community. Genuine philanthropic efforts, not just those engaged in as a form of reputational management after an embarrassing issue, can definitely make it easier to build trust with consumers.”

Dicken, an entrepreneur and investor, founded Strategic Wealth Designers, a multistate financial planning firm that works with individuals and families preparing for retirement. Through SWD Cares, the firm supports charitable initiatives and partners with organizations in the communities it serves.

His perspective connects with a broader discussion about how consumers perceive corporate giving: The way a business participates can matter alongside the size of its contribution.

Consistency Gives Community Involvement Meaning

For Dicken, philanthropy is most effective as an ongoing part of a company’s culture. An occasional donation can support a worthwhile cause, but sustained involvement gives communities more opportunities to see a business follow through on its commitments.

“A one-and-done approach will do very little to build trust,” Dicken says. “Active engagement in an ongoing way shows your commitment to a cause. A long-term commitment shows you’re intentional and strategic about giving back, which positions you as the type of company today’s consumers want to do business with.”

That approach places emphasis on relationships developed over time. For financial advisory firms, it also provides a way for employees to participate in community life outside their professional interactions with clients.

Giving Back Beyond the Checkbook

Financial contributions are one component of corporate philanthropy. Employees can also contribute time, professional skills, and hands-on assistance through workplace volunteer programs.

Dicken encourages businesses to consider what their teams can offer an organization beyond funding. A company’s communications staff, for example, may be able to help a nonprofit explain its mission or raise awareness of a local initiative.

“Writing a check is transactional, but sending a team is relational,” Dicken says. “When you identify the organizations that are making a difference in your community and partner with them, such as by using your media team’s skills to promote their charitable causes, for example, you engage in philanthropy that creates positive change for both the community and your organization.”

According to Dicken, Strategic Wealth Designers gives employees unlimited volunteer hours, making participation part of the firm’s approach to community involvement.

“We give our employees meaningful opportunities to join in on company-sponsored events that include local and nationwide initiatives,” Dicken explains. “As they give their time, energy, and passion to causes that matter most to them, they strengthen communities and experience a shared sense of purpose. The impact of programs focused on human capital, whether it’s building a home with Habitat for Humanity or raising awareness for cancer research through the Real Men Wear Pink campaign, goes far beyond what financial capital can do.”

His examples illustrate the range of contributions employees can make, from physical work on a housing project to communications support for a fundraising campaign.

Keep the Cause at the Center of Communication

Communicating charitable involvement presents another consideration: how to inform the public without allowing company promotion to overshadow the cause.

Dicken advises businesses to focus on the organization receiving support and the work it is doing. Sharing a nonprofit’s account of a partnership, he says, can give audiences a perspective beyond the company’s own announcement.

“Shouting it from the mountaintop every time you have an opportunity isn’t the optimal way for companies to promote their charitable activities,” Dicken says. “If you want to build trust, you should strive to make your promotion a byproduct of what you’re communicating, not the headline. The best approach is to have the charitable organization you’re supporting be the one to make the statement. As you share their communication, you get a third-party endorsement that does much more to build consumer trust than you could ever do with an announcement of your own.”

The distinction is relevant to businesses navigating consumer skepticism. Community involvement gives companies something concrete to discuss, but the credibility of that message depends on the work behind it.

For Dicken, the approach begins with making philanthropy a regular practice: supporting organizations over time, giving employees opportunities to participate, and letting the community’s needs guide the effort. Consumer trust, in that view, develops through repeated actions that people can observe.

Disclaimer: Past performance is not indicative of future results. This material is for informational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice or a recommendation of any security or strategy. Investments and strategies discussed may not be suitable for all investors. Information from third-party sources is believed reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness and should not be relied upon as the sole basis for an investment decision. Strategic Wealth Investment Group, LLC is not responsible for the content of linked third-party websites. Opinions are those of the author as of the date written and are subject to change without notice. For more information about Strategic Wealth Investment Group, LLC, including its Form ADV brochures, visit https://adviserinfo.sec.gov and search for the firm.

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