Spear’s Review

‘People don't always realise how difficult it is to give lots of money away well,’ Nicola Johnson tells Spear’s. 

Johnson is chief customer officer at Stewardship, a philanthropy advisory firm founded on Christian ethics. She has publicly called for greater use of vehicles such as donor advised funds, a wrapper for individual giving with less of an administrative burden than that of a trust or foundation, and which simplifies the process of supporting good causes.

‘It can be a very complex and personal journey,’ she says, noting that it is important for clients to develop a robust giving strategy early on. Thankfully, she adds, in recent years philanthropy has become part of families’ overall wealth planning, rather than a separate endeavour.

Read next: How the next generation of donors – and advisers – can shape the future of philanthropy

Adviser Profile

Nicola has led Stewardship’s major donor activities since 2010 and oversees £248 million in charitable funds each year, on behalf of more than 950 clients. Under her leadership, her team has previously won in the Wealth For Good and STEP’s Private Client Awards.

Together with her team, she seeks to serve generous philanthropists with expertise and authenticity, to enable them to release funds to the causes they are passionate about in the most effective way possible.

Nicola is on Stewardship’s senior executive team and is a trustee of TrustBridge Global. She is also a Philanthropy Impact member and a trained facilitator of Generous Giving’s ‘Journey of Generosity’ retreat.