{"id":844667,"date":"2026-09-11T23:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T23:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/844667\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T23:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T23:48:13","slug":"how-9-11-spurred-pro-bono-movement-in-financial-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/844667\/","title":{"rendered":"How 9\/11 Spurred Pro Bono Movement in Financial Advice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott Kahan, the president of the New York-based firm Financial Asset Management Corporation, recalled arriving in San Diego for the Financial Planning Association’s annual conference on Sept. 10, 2001. He awoke the following morning to watch in horror as the 9\/11 terrorist attacks unfolded thousands of miles away.<\/p>\n

Kahan grew up in Yonkers and went to college at Syracuse University before starting his practice in 1986, with offices in New York City and in Chappaqua, about 35 miles north of Manhattan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was stuck in San Diego for a few days there because I couldn\u2019t get home,\u201d he told Wealth Management, reminiscing that his two children were still young at the time. \u201cHere we are in San Diego, watching from the base, the planes shooting out on a beautiful sunny day because nobody knew what was going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kahan quickly realized many people would need financial assistance in the aftermath, and his work in the years that followed for victims\u2019 families helped them navigate complicated realities while instilling in him a passion for pro bono work that continues to this day.<\/p>\n

Related:25 Years Later, Kestra CIO Recalls How 9\/11 Shaped Her<\/a><\/p>\n

In the weeks after the attacks, Congress created the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund to financially compensate victims of the attacks and their families, in addition to other monies organized by private organizations and New York City.<\/p>\n

Families needed help navigating the compensation requirements, and Kahan saw attorneys and others charging large fees for assistance, which he found unethical. He helped organize pro bono work through the FPA in New York and Washington, D.C., working with Trial Lawyers Care, an attorneys\u2019 group established to provide pro bono services to victims\u2019 families.<\/p>\n

Kahan recalled the confusing paths victims\u2019 families needed to take to assert their right to compensation (and in determining how much one should receive); additionally, many 9\/11 victims died without wills, making estate planning difficult to navigate.<\/p>\n

Being from New York, Kahan said the work hit him personally; living in Chappaqua and traveling into the city, he remembered the daily reminder of the attacks in walls plastered with \u201cMissing\u201d photos of those who\u2019d been lost in the attacks. When dealing with victims\u2019 families, the emotional rawness could be bracing; Kahan recollected working with a woman with little financial background, who was now trying to understand what to do after her son had died in the attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unimaginable to some degree,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s unbelievable that it\u2019s 25 years ago, but yeah, it\u2019s unimaginable now, just thinking about it and watching it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related:7 Reasons Going Independent May Not Be Right for Every Advisor<\/a><\/p>\n

Other advisors were also taking action, according to a 2021 testimonial by Mark Johannessen<\/a> on the Foundation for Financial Planning website. Johannsen is a D.C.-based advisor who\u2019s worked with 9\/11 families. According to the site, he began crafting ideas for FPA pro bono planning during a nationally televised broadcast raising money for victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the large number of CFP professionals offering pro bono guidance today, it is hard to believe that prior to 9\/11, pro bono financial planning was merely an aspiration,\u201d he wrote. \u201cPro bono had been recognized as an important service provided by traditional professions but hadn\u2019t yet emerged for financial planning for several reasons, including a lack of public awareness of financial planning and trust in the financial services industry overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the FPA crafted a plan to help families, the newly established FFP pitched in to purchase full-page ads in both The New York Times and The Washington Post announcing the FPA\u2019s pro bono plans to assist 9\/11 victims and families.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn reflection, our profession\u2019s desire to help produced an unintentional outcome,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe pro bono program surrounding 9\/11 generated further legitimacy of the Financial Planning Profession in the eyes of the public, policy makers, and other public advocacy groups, and helped foster the tremendous growth and recognition that exists today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related:The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors Replay: Why So Many Successful Advisors Feel Stuck<\/a><\/p>\n

Kahan said that the challenges for victims and families have changed, with the greatest threat now being health issues for those in the area or who came to New Yorkers\u2019 aid after the attacks<\/p>\n

This year, the 9\/11 Memorial & Museum announced an additional moment of silence<\/a> would be added to annual commemoration ceremonies to honor those who have died from the health effects of the attack. It\u2019s estimated that 400,000 people were exposed to toxic air, physical injury and emotionally stressful conditions, and about 9,400 have died, according to ABC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The work Kahan accomplished in 2002 spurred his continued involvement in pro bono efforts; he\u2019s been on the FFP\u2019s board for about a decade (and has served as its chair). He\u2019s stayed involved with the FPA\u2019s pro bono chapter, and still participates in financial planning seminars focused on pro bono planning.<\/p>\n

But he also said financial planning\u2019s emphasis on pro bono work has shifted in the decades afterward, with the FFP providing support for people facing numerous difficult circumstances, from extended military deployments to domestic violence. Meanwhile, larger firms and corporations are joining the effort, with Kahan noting that recent studies indicate that younger professionals entering the industry want companies to offer pro bono opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a young profession,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd pro bono has to be a part of it, without a doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Kahan, the president of the New York-based firm Financial Asset Management Corporation, recalled arriving in San Diego…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":844668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,147,530],"class_list":["post-844667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=844667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}