By: Jay Kt
Financial and philanthropic decisions are far more intertwined than they often appear. A charitable donation, for example, is not just an act of generosity. It can reduce taxes in a given year, lower the size of an estate, and influence how wealth is passed from one generation to the next.
Yet the professionals guiding these decisions are not always working together. Investment managers focus on growing portfolios, attorneys concentrate on legal structure or estate planning, and philanthropic advisors focus on giving strategies.
Each works independently, with their own timelines, processes, and priorities. As a result, decisions that affect one another are not always considered together, making it challenging to see a person’s full financial situation.
For individuals, families, founders, advisors, and charitable organizations, that disconnect can create confusion, inefficiency, and missed opportunities, not because the advice is flawed, but because it is not coordinated.
3W Philanthropic Ventures was created to meet that challenge. The firm focuses on bringing financial, legal, and philanthropic planning into a unified strategy so decisions are made with all relevant factors in mind.
“3W Philanthropic Ventures was created to bring clarity, coordination, and confidence to decisions that are often more complex than they need to be,” said cofounder Dan Bolsen.
“Our mission is to simplify that complexity by providing access to the right infrastructure, expertise, and relationships so clients can move forward with greater alignment and purpose,” Bolsen added.
When those conversations are connected, decisions become more intentional, with each choice reinforcing the next.
Building With Purpose
3W Philanthropic Ventures is still in its early stages, so much of its effort has gone into building the firm itself before trying to scale it. From the outset, the team chose not to follow a traditional advisory model, where legal, financial, and philanthropic guidance are handled separately.
“We made a deliberate decision not to create just another advisory business,” Bolsen explained.
That decision led to a slower, more intentional start. Rather than rushing to grow, the team invested time in defining who they are, what they stand for, and how they want to serve their clients.
“A defining moment was the point at which that vision became tangible, when our leadership aligned around a shared purpose, brand, and service model that reflected both expertise and empathy,” he added.
This process included refining the firm’s positioning, clarifying its values, and building the relationships necessary to support work that spans wealth planning, charitable strategy, governance, and long-term decision-making.
Designed Around Each Client
The firm’s day-to-day work is guided by four core values: trust, clarity, stewardship, and service.
Trust is essential because of the nature of the decisions involved. Clients are often discussing long-term plans, family priorities, and significant financial resources. Those conversations require consistency, discretion, and an understanding that the stakes are not only technical but personal.
“We believe trust is earned through genuine care for the people we serve,” Bolsen shared.
Clarity is equally important. Much of the firm’s work sits at the intersection of complexity and consequence, where a single decision may involve tax strategy, legal planning, charitable intent, and family dynamics at the same time.
Clients are not expected to navigate each area on their own, but they do need to understand how their choices connect. The role of the firm is to simplify what is complex, communicate it in a way that is easy to follow, and help clients see both the full picture and the details that matter.
“Clients should not have to speak the language of legal, financial, or philanthropic planning to make thoughtful decisions,” Bolsen explained. “We believe good advising should make people feel more confident, not more intimidated.”
Stewardship shapes how 3W approaches philanthropy. Giving is not treated as a separate activity, but as part of a broader responsibility to manage resources in a way that aligns with long-term goals and values.
Whether working with individuals, families, or organizations, the focus is on building strategies that support thoughtful, sustained impact over time.
Service brings these ideas into practice. Each engagement is designed to feel tailored and responsive rather than transactional. Engagements are also grounded in solutions and supported by a team with more than 100 years of combined experience across wealth, legal, and philanthropic advisory work.
“Together, these values guide how we make decisions, how we build relationships, and how we define success,” Bolsen said.
3W was created to do more than offer advice. It helps people make deliberate, thoughtful decisions, whether they’re building a family legacy, improving their giving strategy, or leading an organization through a period of change.
A Different Kind of Advisory Model
What makes 3W Philanthropic Ventures unique is not just the breadth of expertise it brings together, but how that expertise is used. Many firms start with a fixed process and apply it to every client, but 3W does the opposite.
“We do not start with a one-size-fits-all framework,” Bolsen explained.
In many traditional setups, legal planning, investment oversight, and philanthropy are handled separately, with each advisor focused on their own area. That can work well on its own, but it often creates gaps when those areas overlap.
For most clients, that overlap is where the biggest decisions actually happen.
At the center of the model is what 3W calls infrastructure.
“We think about infrastructure as more than forms and systems,” Bolsen said. “We think of it as the foundation that allows generosity to be carried out clearly, effectively, and sustainably over time.”
This includes charitable structures, governance frameworks, and, importantly, the alignment of advisors working toward a shared understanding of the client’s goals.
“That multidisciplinary, integrated perspective is what sets us apart,” Bolsen added. “We are built to bring clarity across complex decisions and help clients move from good intentions to well-supported and well-understood action.”
The Future of Philanthropy
Philanthropy today is more closely tied to overall financial and long-term planning than it used to be. Instead of being something handled after major financial decisions, it is now often part of the same conversation around wealth, family priorities, and the future.
That shift is changing how people give.
In the past, philanthropy was often more transactional. A donor might make a gift, open a donor-advised fund, set up a private foundation, or support a nonprofit they cared about. Each of those decisions was usually made on its own.
Now, those same decisions are being weighed alongside estate planning, tax strategy, family dynamics, and long-term financial goals. The question is no longer just what to give, but how to give in a way that is intentional, coordinated, and enduring.
3W Philanthropic Ventures works at the intersection of these conversations, helping clients connect the legal, financial, and philanthropic pieces that have traditionally been handled separately. That kind of alignment is becoming increasingly important as these areas continue to overlap.
Looking ahead, strong philanthropic outcomes will depend less on individual acts of generosity and more on coordination, education, and having the right structures in place around decision-makers.
“That is where 3W is intentionally positioned,” Bolsen said. “We help clients build the connective tissue that allows philanthropy to be more strategic, more resilient, and more responsive to complexity. Our team believes that is what will define the future of the field.”
