Advisor Spotlight
The Community Foundation is here to help professional advisors better serve their clients with charitable goals. The Foundation can develop plans that fit clients’ financial needs and philanthropic passions. In this section, we like to shine a spotlight on advisors who have partnered with their clients and the Community Foundation to strengthen our region through philanthropy.
Victoria “Vicki” L. Kleehammer
Partner at EFPR Advisory, LLC
Involved with the Community Foundation since 2018
How Vicki’s work fuels the power of community:
Some professional moments stick with you. For CPA Vicki Kleehammer, one of those moments came last year when an attorney colleague referred her to a client navigating the grief and uncertainty that followed a family member’s passing. “He was passionate about honoring his loved one,” Vicki recalls. “But he didn’t know how to begin. He just needed someone to say, ‘We’ll figure this out together.’”
Helping a Family’s Legacy Take Root
Vicki listened closely — not just for numbers or deductions, but for the heartbeat beneath her clients’ questions. What she heard was a desire to create something lasting and purposeful. She connected him with the Community Foundation, and through that simple introduction, the pieces clicked into place: a memorial fund was established in his family member’s honor, awarding scholarships to students for years to come.
Shortly after, Vicki received a thank-you email she says she’ll never forget. “It reminded me that sometimes it’s not about the tax strategy,” she says. “It’s about what the client needs in that moment — clarity, compassion, and a path toward meaning.”
That philosophy is at the center of Vicki’s work. She is the kind of advisor who asks about parents, kids, school pickups, and life goals. She does this not to fill time, but to understand the full human being behind the tax return. “I want clients to feel seen and supported,” Vicki says. “When you understand their story, you can guide them toward choices that actually feel right.”
Evolving Charitable Involvement
Vicki serves on both the Professional Advisor Liaison Committee at the Community Foundation and the board of the Estate Planning Council, where she currently serves as President. In recent years, becoming a parent to two young girls has expanded her understanding of community. In addition to planning events that bring together professional associations to network and raise money for a good cause, Vicki also volunteers in a kindergarten classroom.
“Volunteering reminds me what collaboration really looks like,” says Vicki. “I’ve made professional connections that will last a lifetime – and friendships, too.” That collaborative instinct is exactly what made her client’s memorial fund possible. It took a village: an attorney who referred thoughtfully, a CPA who listened deeply, and a community foundation ready to transform a client’s grief into purpose.
Closing Thoughts
It’s a powerful reminder that philanthropy isn’t something extra. It’s a tool that can bring heart and clarity to some of a client’s most difficult life transitions. And for advisors like Vicki, it’s also an invitation: “When we widen the circle, and when we lead with humanity, we become part of the legacy our clients are building.”
Published December 2025