A Trusted Arrow in the Quiver: How Charlie and Christie Harrison Connect Financial Planning With Giving Back

Charlie Harrison did not set out to become a financial advisor. Twenty years into a corporate career, he made the leap in 2014, drawn by a simple belief that stuck with him ever since.

"At the core of being a financial advisor, it's truly helping people achieve their dreams," he said.

That belief shapes every conversation at Sequoia Advisory Group in Roseville. Before Charlie and his wife, Christie, ever discuss numbers with a client, they talk about family, health and what fills a person's life. Money enters the conversation last, not first.

"We never conflate money with what's most important," Charlie said. "We talk about the why, and then we talk about the how. The how is the tool in the toolbox that helps all the rest thrive."

A Family Business, Built on Trust

Sequoia Advisory Group is the culmination of seven financial planning practices built over nearly 30 years, serving clients across 26 states who nearly all trace their roots to Placer County.

Christie spent 30 years in a high-stress corporate job before joining Charlie in the family business.

The transition did more than change her career. It allowed the couple to build a business that aligned with their shared values while creating more space for Christie to serve the community through volunteer leadership. She now serves on the boards of the Rotary Club of Roseville, the Rocklin Chamber of Commerce and the Sutter Roseville Medical Center Foundation.

"When Charlie was doing all these charitable events, I couldn't do any of it," she said. "After joining Sequoia, I could just take the time to go to an SPCA board meeting. It was very refreshing."

"Our niche is community," Charlie said.

Where Giving Enters the Conversation

Because Charlie starts every client relationship by talking about values instead of investments, philanthropy often becomes part of the conversation from the very beginning.

Rather than treating charitable giving as an afterthought, they see it as another way clients can live out what matters most to them.

When clients want to turn those values into a lasting charitable impact, Charlie often introduces them to Placer Community Foundation. Charlie serves on PCF's Professional Advisor Circle, which lets him connect clients directly with PCF staff when they want to give more strategically but are not sure where to start.

"If a client says, is there any way you can connect us with an organization that can help with our charitable strategies, I know I can reach out to Jessica Hubbard," Charlie said. "She would never say no. She's such a genuine, nice lady."

Charlie sees PCF as a trusted partner, just as he does the other relationships that help him serve his clients.

"PCF is a charitable partner that we have as an arrow in our quiver to help our clients fulfill their hopes and dreams," he said.

The same questions Charlie asks his clients are questions he and Christie have asked themselves: What matters most? How can we use our resources to support the community we call home? Those questions shaped the couple's decision to include Placer Community Foundation in their own trust.

Naming PCF in Their Own Trust

Charlie and Christie do not just recommend charitable planning to clients. They built it into their own estate plan, naming Placer Community Foundation among 10 nonprofit beneficiaries in their trust. The couple, who do not have children, chose most of the organizations for their ties to Placer County, alongside two national groups connected to the losses of Charlie's parents to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Their planned gift also makes Charlie and Christie members of PCF's Legacy Society, a community of donors who have chosen to carry their charitable values into the future.

"I think that's most important: we trust PCF," Charlie said.

Why They Do Not Wait

A bequest is not the whole story. Charlie and Christie sponsor events year-round across Placer County, including the Placer Breast Cancer Foundation, the Placer SPCA and Rotary Club events.

"Giving when you're dead is one thing," Charlie said. "We like to give while we live, too."

Both credit their families for that instinct. Charlie's father, a former Army general and longtime Rotarian, taught him not to wait for others to give first. Christie's introduction to service came as a teenager, delivering flowers at the Dallas hospital where her mother worked as director of volunteers.

"That's how I started getting into it," Christie said. "It was really refreshing to get back into it as an adult and be able to serve on boards."

PCF hopes Charlie's story encourages other financial advisors, attorneys and CPAs to raise charitable giving with their own clients.

"What if every single advisor just asked, do you make any charitable contributions? Is that something that fulfills you?" Charlie said. "If the conversation ends and the client says not right now, fine. At least you asked. You never know unless you ask."

For Charlie and Christie, that question is not a sales tactic. It reflects the way they approach financial planning, philanthropy and life in the community they love to call home.

"We just wouldn't want to live anywhere else," Christie said.