With a name like Charity Hope, a lifelong inclination to give back might be nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy, jokes Financial Advisor Charity Hope Hegel. Charity weaves a passion for community into her career each day, and credits her sense of civic spirit to the many people who have supported her throughout her life.

“It takes a village to raise families, so giving back and supporting the community is beneficial to everyone involved,” said Charity.

Although community impact has always been important to her, Charity did not envision it having a place in her profession. Her undergraduate business degree from Gonzaga University set her on track to obtain a CPA designation with PricewaterhouseCoopers, in public audit and assurance. This ultimately brought her to her position as VP of Finance with Litehouse, Inc., headquartered in Sandpoint, Idaho. She had no intention of changing careers until her mother was diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer.

While taking time away from work to care for her mom, she discovered a financial advising opportunity at Edward Jones, offering more flexibility and fewer travel obligations than her previous corporate job. As a Financial Advisor, and with support from Innovia Foundation, she’s now able to actively benefit the community through her work by guiding clients toward charitable giving opportunities.

Charity was introduced to Innovia while serving on the board of Community Resource EnVision Center and was impressed with its impact. Since then, she’s worked on fostering a relationship with the foundation, integrating it into her role as an Advisor. “Innovia takes on the lion’s share of the work to help us professional advisors accomplish charitable giving strategies with our clients,” said Charity.

Charity encourages charitable giving by presenting it as a helpful wealth management tool offering tax advantages. She listens closely to her clients’ values and finds that most do have a desire to contribute to local charities and strengthen their community.

Several clients with no living heirs have even chosen to leave all their wealth to a handful of nonprofits—an incredible act of generosity that has left a lasting impression on Charity.

“I think it’s wonderful when people choose to give back to the community that they lived and ultimately died in,” said Charity. “The more we can give back to our community, the happier and healthier we all are.”