Program Overview

The Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) program is a year-long series of courses that teach professional advisors how to best help clients discover the legacies they will leave their families and community. The program provides professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to help clients reach their charitable giving objectives while also helping them meet their estate planning and wealth management goals. By integrating the professions of law, accounting, financial services, and planned giving, the Omaha Community Foundation promotes an inter-disciplinary approach to most effectively achieve their client’s goals.

The CAP® program involves passing three graduate level courses and meeting in 15 class sessions. The American College in King of Prussia, PA, is the nation’s leading educator of professionals in the insurance and financial services industry, providing remote learning throughout the country. Over 2,500 individuals have been awarded the CAP® designation since its inception in 2003.

The Omaha CAP® Study Group Program was founded and led by Mark A. Weber and is administered by the Omaha Community Foundation.

Course Descriptions

CAP® is made up of three separate courses that span roughly eight months with a one-month break between the three. Each course has a mandatory exam that you must score at 70% or higher to move on to the next course.

GS839: Planning for Philanthropic Impact in the Context of Family Wealth. In this course you learn how clients and donors can use financial planning, estate planning, and gift planning to advance their personal financial goals for self and family, while also having a positive impact on their community.

GS849: Charitable Giving Strategies. In this course you learn how to explain and place the most common charitable strategies-both one by one and within an overall plan to achieve donor goals for self, family, and community.

GS859: Gift Planning in a Nonprofit Context. This course focuses on what nonprofits call “planned giving.” The course is designed to help board leaders, advisors, and nonprofits collaborate to create, count, and steward significant gifts.

Continuing Education

Attendance is taken at every class and all three exams can be completed online or in-person at a nationally recognized professional testing center. The Omaha CAP® Study Group Program has been approved for continuing education credit in past years and may be approved for credit in future years.

Facilitator Biographies

Mark Weber, JD, MSFS, CLU, CHFC, CAP®
Legacy Spectrum Advisor LLC
Mark A. Weber is the President of Legacy Spectrum Advisor LLC. After a distinguished career as a financial advisor, Mark is now an author, educator, and public speaker. Mark introduced the idea of the CAP® Study Group Program to Omaha in 2012 and is the primary facilitator of the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy classes.

Katie Vogel, JD
Director of Donor Services, Omaha Community Foundation
Katie Vogel is the Director of Donor Services at the Omaha Community Foundation, where she works closely with Foundation donors and their advisors to facilitate efficient and impactful charitable giving. Before joining the Foundation, Katie practiced law as an estate planning attorney for over ten years. Katie currently assists in facilitating the Omaha CAP® program.