NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIQ, Inc., maker of Meridian-IQ and AdviceIQ, announced today its contribution of Meridian-IQ, the directory suite of financial advisors, to the Foundation for Financial Planning. The Foundation for Financial Planning will use Meridian-IQ at no cost to support its mission of helping people take control of their financial lives by connecting the financial planning community with those not traditionally served by the marketplace, including low-income families, high school students, military personnel and victims of disasters. The Foundation supports a wide range of projects across the U.S. that offer free financial advice to non-profit groups serving people in need, and Meridian-IQ will help the Foundation share its mission and message with a larger network of financial planning and services professionals.
“We believe strongly in the mission of the Foundation to empower underserved people to direct their financial futures. The mission and the work of the Foundation are particularly important in today’s challenging economic times when many people are struggling with a range of financial issues, including managing spending, reducing debt, the sudden loss of the family’s wage-earner, funding retirement and college, as well as teaching children to be financially responsible,” said Nicholas W. Stuller, President & CEO of AIQ, Inc. “As an employee-owned firm and a leader in the financial services industry, we embrace this opportunity to help improve the financial lives of those in need and further support the advisor community with their charitable efforts.”
“We are very grateful to have the support of such an outstanding company that serves the financial services industry and public at large,” said James A. Peniston, executive director of the Foundation for Financial Planning. “Meridian-IQ will be pivotal in helping us expand the reach of our message among industry professionals.”
One recent example of the Foundation’s work is the grant it provided to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) to initiate Family Finance Nights. Hosted at a number of Clubs around the nation, Family Finance Nights bring parents/guardians and young people together for presentations by financial planners/advisors and one-on-one pro bono advice sessions.
The Foundation has awarded 140 grants for more than $4.6 MM to non-profit organizations across the nation and helped over 7,500 financial planners/advisors support 126,000 underserved individuals. In addition, it has helped 50,000 former military personnel with financial planning upon returning from service in Afghanistan and Iraq.
To make a pledge to the Foundation for Financial Planning, call (770) 938-1110, or visit www.foundation-finplan.org.
About the Foundation for Financial Planning
The Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help people take control of their financial lives by connecting the financial planning community with people in need. Governed by a volunteer board of financial planning and industry leaders, the Foundation has awarded 140 grants totaling more than $4.6 million to non-profit organizations reaching those generally not served by the market. Through funding grants that are scalable, a number of support materials have been developed to assist financial planners and advisors in their pro bono work within their communities.
About AIQ, Inc.
AIQ, Inc. is the maker of the popular Meridian-IQ, www.meridian-iq.com directory suite of financial advisors in use by 340 major mutual fund companies, broker-dealers, insurance carriers and software providers for sales, marketing and research purposes. AIQ, Inc.’s newest product, AdviceIQ, www.adviceiq.com is an online directory of trusted financial advisors and a publisher of syndicated editorial content designed for consumers who want to better understand and leverage the services of a financial advisor.