Chris Gabriel: Aligning the Personal and Professional

Finding ways to rally potential donors around Children’s is a critical component of Chris’ role on Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Legacy Advisor Leadership Council. The Children’s Legacy Advisors group unites professionals across disciplines to promote collaboration, education and leadership in legacy and personal giving for themselves and their clients. Chris, a Vice President of Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch, believes that including discussions of legacy and philanthropy in estate planning is an important part of advising clients. He became involved in the group because he agreed that bringing community leaders together and giving them a unique educational experience, while also supporting charitable interests, was good for advisors and their clients alike.

He explains, “From a personal standpoint, I realized a number of years back that there were four areas of priority in my life: my spiritual life, my family and friends, my professional work and my community service. I wanted to be as intentional as I could about aligning those four pillars together.” So when the opportunity came along to be involved in this organization, Chris was eager to participate. The group not only supports the worthwhile effort of professional growth, but even more so, it shares the incredible benefits that Children’s provides to the community and the individual children and families that are served.

“Sometimes, when people ask me, ‘Why Children’s,’” says Chris, “I tell them a story about a group of blind men that comes upon an elephant. Each blind man reaches out to touch it in hopes of figuring out what the elephant is. One touches the tail and explains that, “It’s like a whip.” Another touches the ear and says, “Oh it’s like a palm leaf.” Yet another feels its leg and says, “It’s like a tree.” All these men are all experiencing the elephant. But without stepping away and viewing it as a whole, they don’t fully understand its complexity—and it’s potential.”

“Children’s is like that in a way,” he continues. “You have this massive institution that serves people all over Atlanta, the state, the country and even the world. But then it’s also a place that has an emotional impact for patients, a place of personal healing. And again, it’s a large employer and research institution.” His point is that certain donors may find the scope and breadth of Children’s intimidating, who might see it as an institution where one’s money might not have an impact. But he says, “You look at effectiveness and productivity of assets, and you connect people to the individual stories, and there develops a compelling message that’s easy to articulate.”

As Legacy Circle members, Chris and his wife, Courtney, have designated Children’s as a beneficiary of an IRA for unrestricted purposes. This generous gift will allow Children’s to use these funds where they’re most needed. “As a parent, the emotional connection to the work done here is very real. So that’s easy to relate to. But I’ve also been inspired by the Foundation’s ability to create this kind of group. That’s something that I think Children’s should get a lot of credit for—being a leader in the realm of generosity. That’s a special role. And while I think it will benefit Children’s, I definitely know it’s benefitting all the people involved in this group.”