Osaic Foundation
Newsletter
- Group Volunteerism: Three questions
with Michael J. Fischer, Founder, Client 1st Financial - Share your ideas on a Foundation program committee
- 2026 Local Community Grant Program open March 1-31
- Invest in Others Industry Awards competition closes March 20
- Upcoming Volunteer Calendar of Events
- Osaic Volunteers in Action: A Recap
- Previous issues: Osaic Foundation Newsletter archive
Three questions with Michael J. Fischer, Founder, President & CEO, Client 1st Financial
Michael J. Fischer, CLU©, ChFC©, CASL©, AIF©, has spent 38 years in the financial services industry, building a career rooted in service, trust, and long-term impact.
Michael notes, “Volunteering has strengthened our culture by giving us opportunities to support nonprofits that serve people during their most difficult moments.”
On Thursday, April 9, Michael will lead a group volunteer service project at New Bethany, a nonprofit housing and social services provider based in Bethlehem, PA, located 90 minutes north of Philadelphia in the Lehigh Valley. All of Team Osaic in the region are welcome to participate. For more information, email osaicfoundation@osaic.com . View a brief video invite from Michael and Eric Nikles, Partner and Wealth Advisor at Keystone Financial: Client 1st Financial Volunteer Event.
Michael (center) presents a grant from his firm to New Bethany leaders Chris Cassidy, Planning Director and Marc Rittle, Executive Director.
Early in my career, my focus was retirement planning for public school employees throughout Pennsylvania. Helping educators prepare for their futures gave me a deep appreciation for the responsibility that comes with guiding people through important financial decisions.
In 2011, I founded Client 1st Financial in Fogelsburg, PA, and at that time shifted my practice toward legacy planning—helping clients think beyond retirement and consider how their values, assets, and generosity can positively affect future generations. This commitment to legacy inspired the creation of the Client 1st Foundation Fund in 2012. Since its inception, I have personally invested over $500,000 into the fund, which has awarded more than $65,700 in grants to organizations making a difference in our community.
In 2018, my work expanded into addressing food insecurity and helping individuals in need, which led to my involvement with New Bethany in Bethlehem, Pa. That partnership has been especially meaningful. In 2025 alone, New Bethany provided over 40,000 hot meals and distributed more than 150,000 pounds of food to 3,200 individuals in the local community. I previously served as President of the Board and remain actively involved today.
I’ve been affiliated with Keystone Financial Management since 1988. My partnership with this Enterprise has been tremendous in all aspects of my practice. Having Osaic as my broker/dealer has also been extremely beneficial to my firm. Their support, guidance, and expansive product offerings have opened many new opportunities that allow me to continue to grow.
Giving back is a team effort at Client 1st Financial. In December 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, our firm organized a food drive for New Bethany. Clients, friends, and associates came together to donate non-perishable food items such as canned goods, pasta, and cereal. More than 135 individuals participated, and we were able to deliver the donations the week before Christmas—an especially meaningful time for families in need.
Over the past four years, a member of our staff has also participated in New Bethany’s annual Luminaria Night, held on the second weekend in December. This event involves selling kits containing candles, sand, and paper bags that line neighborhood streets, creating a magical and unifying community experience. Our staff member has served as a block captain, coordinating sales and distribution within her neighborhood. In 2025, Luminaria Night raised over $120,000 for New Bethany.
Additionally, in 2025, Client 1st Financial provided more than $35,000 in financial support to New Bethany through the Pennsylvania Neighborhood Assistance Program, funds that were directed toward the organization’s rental assistance programs.
We are fortunate to have a successful firm and, more importantly, a staff that genuinely cares about its neighbors and community. Volunteering has strengthened our culture by giving us opportunities to support nonprofits that serve people during their most difficult moments.
Our commitment to service reinforces what we believe matters most: people first. Our firm’s motto is to always put our clients and our community first, and that belief is reflected in everything we do—including our name, Client 1st Financial. Giving back isn’t just something we do; it’s part of who we are.
Share your ideas, network with others by joining a Foundation program committee
Osaic financial professionals, staff and home office employees are welcome to join one of the Foundation’s 10 program committees. This is a wonderful opportunity to network, build relationships and ensure an outstanding outcome for our participants and designated charities!
Regional volunteers are needed in your area to share ideas on logistics and execution. Review the list below and to learn more or offer your help, drop a quick email indicating your interest to: osaicfoundation@osaic.com. See additional details below in our “Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities” section.
Local Community Grant Program application period open March 1-31
Applications are being accepted March 1-31 for the Local Community Grant Program. This annual program is exclusively for all Osaic Financial Professionals, their support staff, and home office employees who volunteer in their community. No direct applications from charities are accepted. Grants will range from $350 to $10,000.
The grant consideration process is based largely on the Osaic volunteer’s frequency of participation (hours each month), number of years involved, and personal hands-on role at an eligible 501(c)(3) charity.
Applications are especially welcome for a group volunteer effort at a charity, such as a team approach by an office or site.
Grant applications are reviewed in the April timeframe by regional committees; their recommendations are subsequently submitted to the Osaic Foundation Board of Directors for final review and approval. Grants are disbursed in late May/June.
Applicant Resources: How to Apply
- Worksheet (PDF) to prepare your application: Grant Application Worksheet
- Official online 2026 Local Community Grant Application
- Summary of previous recipients, listed by region and state
Industry Awards competition closes March 20
The Osaic Foundation is a proud sponsor of the Invest in Others (IIO) Charitable Foundation Industry Awards, which annually recognizes the charitable work of financial advisors. Those chosen receive grants from $2,000 to $100,000 across several categories. Dozens of Osaic advisors have earned recognition and grant awards from IIO over the past 10 years.
Nominations are evaluated based on an advisor’s leadership, dedication, contribution, inspiration and impact on a nonprofit and the community it serves. Three finalists will be selected in each of the five categories with one recipient being chosen for each award.
NOTE: This award program is entirely separate from the Osaic Foundation Local Community Grant Program, and advisor applicants compete for the awards against their peers from across the industry. The application process is also very different and done in two stages. For more details, visit Invest in Others Industry Awards.
Volunteer opportunities to elevate your impact
Learn more about these wonderful opportunities to network, build relationships and ensure an outstanding outcome for our participants and designated charities! To learn more or offer your help on any of the areas below, follow the links for each or drop a quick email indicating your interest to: osaicfoundation@osaic.com.
Scottsdale hosts desert cycling charity challenge
The third annual Scottsdale cycling challenge Jan. 31 presented by the Osaic Foundation raised $50,000 to provide "moments that matter" to adaptive athletes, veterans, advisors and others traveling from across the country to participate. The event, formally known as the World TEAM Challenge: Valley of the Sun, was co-chaired by Osaic executives Erinn Ford, Co-Head of Osaic Independent Channel, and Kristen Kimmell, EVP, Business Development.
Fifty riders — including 19 adaptive athletes — pedaled five hours covering 50 miles from the Scottsdale headquarters of Osaic through the Sonoran desert north to Cave Creek, Arizona. Osaic’s Head of Field Supervision Brett Baker, a US Army veteran, was interviewed on Phoenix TV prior to the event as to the impact rides like this have on veterans: KXNV-TV15 (ABC) Newsclip.
A similar but longer ride (120 miles over two days) is scheduled for May 15-17 from Arlington, VA, to the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pa. Learn more here: Face of America Cycling Challenge.
From left, Scottsdale Home Office Volunteers Melissa Taylor and Jonathan Belair join Foundation President & CEO Stacy O’Keeffe, local Advisor Todd Desberg of Phoenix, and Honorary Ride Co-Chairs Erinn Ford and Kristen Kimmell at a pre-ride reception.
Volunteers unload rental bikes used by some riders before dawn in front of the Scottsdale Osaic Headquarters.
An adaptive athlete gets an assist from another rider as the group pedals through the desert on their 50 mile journey.
Scottsdale Home Office volunteers gather with riders at a rest stop. From left, Anna Bodine (Foundation Treasurer), Stacy Rath, Teri Love, Advisor Todd Desberg, Honorary Co-Chairs Erinn Ford and Kristen Kimmell, Jonathan Belair, Mary Gordon (Board member), Stacy O’Keeffe (Board President & CEO), Brett Baker, FP Client Services Associate Kimberly Collins, Osaic Supplier Conrad Metzger, Patrick Brennan (Foundation Executive Director), and Melissa Taylor.
Jon Brideau (far right), president and CEO of World Team Sports, instructs the 50 riders on route safety during one of the rest stops. “This event is about far more than the miles,” he said. “It’s about inclusion, perseverance, and the power of bringing people of all abilities together.”
Brett Baker of Osaic greets fellow U.S. Army veteran Col. Gregory Gadson (Ret). Both served in the Iraq War. Col. Gadson, a bilateral above-the-knee amputee from war injuries, is a board member of World Team Sports. He is now a motivational speaker and also appeared in the 2012 action movie Battleship: Battleship Film Clip.
Honorary Co-Chairs Kristen Kimmell and Erinn Ford welcome riders at the pre-ride reception at the Musical Instruments Museum in Scottsdale.
Osaic Foundation at the W Forum
A group of 35 high school students from Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, TN, were guests sponsored by the Osaic Foundation at the W Forum in Nashville Feb. 10. The students attended the General Session, heard from CEO Jamie Price (below center) and Chief Market Strategist Phil Blancato (below right), and spent time in business and financial workshop exercises with Osaic advisors and home office employees. The group participates in Virtual Enterprises (VE) business classes at their school. VE conducts similar classes nationwide and is a three-year major grant recipient of the Osaic Foundation. In a post-event survey they rated it 4.6/5 in value; Sample of comments: “It was really good, I learned some more things today that I did not know about,” “An amazing and kind team!”, “I loved every minute of it!”
Osaic Foundation President & CEO Stacy O’Keeffe meets with Claire Besant (center) of Osaic’s Business Development team and coordinator of this VE engagement at W Forum, and Jillian Berg, Chief of Staff for VE.
Jamie Price speaks with high school attendees at W Forum.
Phil Blancato speaks with high school students a W Forum.
Pictured left to right are members of the La Vista Employee Activity Committee: Laurie Bell, Patrick Farrell, Jessie Urban, Scott Brazda and Chris Magnussen. (All work in Advisor Support except Jessie who is Ops Training Manager.)
Pictured left to right above are Oakdale employees with a portion of the 150+ food items collected over the past month: Jess Westerberg, Sarah Canaday, Lee Underdahl, Erik Eveland and Cinthia Cervantes.
Winning Futures Leadership Conference
A record 15 members of Team Osaic, comprised of both advisors and home office members, volunteered Dec. 11 at the Winning Futures Leadership Conference, held at 30 Rock in New York City.
The annual event for young women in high school, was sponsored by Virtual Enterprises VE), a major grant recipient of the Foundation.
More than four dozen students enjoyed a career panel and time for small group Q&A interactions. Team Osaic members shared their wisdom on personal branding, professional presence, communication, and financial empowerment.
Above, Team Osaic gathers for a group photo during the VE event in New York City: From left to right: Brad Cooke, Kyle Pearson, Kate Scott, Susan Lum, Emily Fiabane, Jonathan Belair, Stacy O’Keeffe, Kat Melandez, Corey Brodsky, Nicole Wood, Kait Stanley and Patrick Passaretti.
Jonathan Belair (far left) and Cory Brodsky (far right) answer student career questions.
Kate Scott responds to career questions from students in a breakout
Patrick Passaretti listens to a student question in a breakout group.
La Vista Blood Drive
Osaic’s La Vista office hosted an American Red Cross Blood Drive Dec. 18. As the usual conference room was unavailable due to renovations, donors went outside to a bloodmobile in the parking lot.
The site has hosted 60 blood drives over the past 5+ years, collecting more than 2,300 units of blood from employees for use in critical operations and life-savings efforts at Omaha area health facilities. Employee Mark Hosek is tended to by ARC technicians during his time in the bloodmobile.
Food Pack event in Minnesota
A joint group volunteer “food pack” event was held Feb. 19 with the global charity Feed My Starving Children in Egan, MN (near Minneapolis). Team Osaic was comprised of four financial professionals and staff, joined by eight Oakdale office employees.
Their efforts were supported with a $2,000 grant from the Osaic Foundation to the charity. Participating MN firms were Casey Financial Services (Bloomington) and Financial Resources Investment Services (Rosemount). In their two-hour shift the team packed 83 boxes (17,928 meals) with a value of $5,199.12 and able to feed 49 children for a year. The team gathered for a happy hour afterwards to celebrate and network with each other.
Pictured here from left to right: Front: Theresa Anderson, Jeanne Preston, Martin Fosvick, Drew Peterson and Sam Scott. Back: Michelle Quirk, Matt Schoh, Denver Colgrove, Jake Stodolka, Erik Eveland and Chris Casey. Missing from photo: Rosemount President Steven Kreitz who was capturing the image.