Professional Advisor Q&A with Justin Gullekson, CFP®
August is National Make-A-Will Month, a reminder that planning for the future involves more than legal documents; it’s an opportunity to think about the legacy you want to leave.
While wills and estate plans often focus on passing assets to loved ones, they can also reflect the causes and communities that have shaped your life. Charitable planning is one way to align your financial decisions with your personal values, creating an impact that extends well beyond your lifetime.
To explore why these conversations matter, we asked Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa Board Member Justin Gullekson, CFP®, a financial advisor with Edward Jones who lives and works in Winneshiek County, to share his perspective on charitable planning, philanthropy, and the role these discussions play in helping clients achieve their long-term goals.
Q: Tell us a little about your practice and the clients you serve.
Justin: Financial questions don’t come with one-size-fits-all answers. I bring deep insight and passion for helping people with real-life decisions that matter most. The best financial advice starts with listening and seeing the world from the client's point of view.
Most of my work focuses on retirement, creating a steady income and managing investments.
For those facing more personal transitions, I provide steady, step-by-step guidance. These situations can be both emotional and complex, and I work to make the process clear and manageable.
During big life changes, my help can include:
• Handling an inheritance
• Making financial decisions after losing a spouse
• Working through the process of selling land or a family farm
I hope my guidance is as compassionate as it is comprehensive.
While I have clients all around Iowa and the US, most live in the Driftless Region of northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota.
Q: Why is it important to talk with clients about their charitable wishes, not just their financial or estate plans?
Justin: A good financial advisor wants to help people by getting to know the whole person. Charitable wishes and philanthropic philosophy flow from a person's deepest beliefs.
It is important to bring together financial and estate plans with charitable wishes, if for no other reason than the tax code encourages us to do so. How wonderful to live in a society that encourages people to be generous! There are so many ways to generously share our abundance, and most clients don't know the half of it. Of course, I work closely with my client's CPA and estate attorney to help ensure strategies are aligned to their goals.
The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa can be a centerpoint for all the various charitable strategies, along with a good financial advisor.
Obviously, the details of how to properly undertake these strategies are very important; clients tell me they appreciate how I simplify complex information to make clear, informed decisions.
Q: Have you found that discussing charitable goals helps you better understand what's most important to your clients?
Justin: Yes – these conversations about generosity and abundance provide a broader context for philanthropic intention. We bond quite deeply when consistently discussing the bigger picture of life.
As a practical matter, I help people accomplish what is important to them, such as: spending time with friends and family, traveling, living comfortably, being generous, enjoying hobbies, interests, and activities, or volunteering.
Q: Why do you believe charitable planning is an important part of a well-rounded financial or estate plan?
Justin: Not all clients have a clearly constructed philosophy of philanthropy. Many see no connection between their personal financial affairs and the broader common good of society. Yet, the tax code tells a different story. In many situations, someone with little interest in charitable planning can come to see its confluence with a well-rounded financial or estate plan.
As a Certified Financial Planner® professional (CFP®), I have an expanded knowledge base surrounding estate considerations, investments, tax-sensitive strategies, and insurance planning. All which flow into and connect with charitable planning.
Q: What do you think clients gain from having a thoughtful charitable giving strategy beyond the financial benefits?
Justin: A thoughtful approach to philanthropy and charitable giving enables a person to integrate their beliefs with their financial scenario. For some, there is a wholeness that is expressed in their forward-thinking plans, and this can be good for the deepest core of a person.
Why do you choose to work with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa?
Justin: I was asked to join the Foundation’s board, which gets at a deeper reality… if we don’t ask others to share their philosophy for philanthropy with us, then they may miss out, and we as advisors certainly will.
The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa is professionally and efficiently run, inspiring trust and confidence. I enjoy the staff, as well as the volunteers in so many communities. They are great people.
Q: How does CFNEIA make your job easier when clients are interested in charitable giving?
Justin: The Foundation's staff are a tremendous resource for anyone working with philanthropy and charitable giving. They provide professional education. They answer questions. They support advisors.
The Foundation broadly communicates about its work. That, too, is helpful by heightening awareness among the public about the impact of generous philanthropy.
Q: What do you enjoy most about helping your clients?
Justin: I received a thank-you note recently, expressing their gratitude for our work together. It was a lovely moment, reading their words. I keep all the thank-you notes in a special place, pulling them out from time-to-time. It's gratifying to receive a heartfelt word of thanks from someone – whether it's written or spoken.
As Justin shares, charitable planning isn't a separate conversation from financial or estate planning—it's often an important part of it. By considering your philanthropic goals alongside your financial objectives, you can create a plan that reflects what matters most to you while making a lasting impact on the causes and communities you care about.
The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa is proud to partner with professional advisors to help individuals and families explore charitable giving strategies that align with their goals. Whether your plans include supporting your hometown, a favorite nonprofit, or future generations, thoughtful planning today can create meaningful impact for years to come.
Edward Jones Financial Advisor Justin Gullekson, CFP® is a board member of the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. This is not a testimonial of the services provided by Edward Jones Financial Advisor Justin Gullekson. Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.
