August 13, 2022
CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Announces First Endowed Scholarship Honoring First Black CFP® Professional, LeCount R. Davis, CFP®
CFP Board Center for Financial Planning (“Center”) announced the creation of its first endowed scholarship program honoring the first Black CFP® professional, LeCount R. Davis, CFP®.
Created to support the next generation of diverse CFP® professionals, the LeCount R. Davis, CFP® Scholarship program will assist qualified Black or African American students and professionals who are committed to attaining CFP® certification and to the practice of financial planning.
An advisor for more than 50 years, LeCount Davis is the first Black person to earn the certified financial planner™ designation, becoming a CFP® professional in 1978, according to a press release. He had already established his own consulting firm in 1970, specializing in tax planning, small business management, financial planning, financial management and investment consulting. During his long career, Davis’s client portfolio included national organizations, international labor unions, pension funds, individuals, small businesses, religious organizations, investment clubs and other entities.
In 2001, Davis founded the Association of African American Financial Advisors, whose mission is to expand the community of successful Black financial professionals. To further inspire and prepare the next generation of financial planners, he published his autobiography in 2020: “One Step Back – Two Steps Forward: The Dance of My Ultimate Plan.” The LeCount R. Davis, CFP® Scholarship program is yet another step forward in helping Davis fulfill his lifelong mission of diversifying the financial planning profession.
The scholarship will award up to $5,000 per student seeking to complete an undergraduate-level or a certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program, based on demonstrated merit and financial need. Upon completing the required education coursework, scholarship recipients will be eligible to take the CFP® exam and pursue the next steps to attain CFP® certification.
“Everyone can benefit from financial planning,” said CFP Board CEO, Kevin R. Keller, CAE.
“If we’re going to serve the entire country, we need to look more like the clients that CFP® professionals serve. This scholarship in honor of LeCount Davis, CFP® supports both his mission and ours — creating a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession.”
“I’ve enjoyed a rewarding career as a financial planner since achieving CFP® certification, and I believe financial planning is the solution to many of the socioeconomic problems in our community,” said Davis.
“It all starts with the knowledge of finance, and this scholarship will help students and young professionals see that you don’t have to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth to make it in this world.”
Further information about the LeCount R. Davis, CFP® Scholarship is available at CFP.net/Scholarships. Individuals and firms interested in supporting the endowed scholarship should contact Institutional Giving Officer, Dan Limbago, at dlimbago@cfpboard.org or 202-864-5250.