Barrett Ross Advisors works with boards, trustees, and philanthropic institutions on governance questions and complex financial matters that call for experienced, independent judgment.

The firm operates in three areas in the philanthropic space. First, we advise boards on financial discipline, audit controls, and program efficacy evaluation. Second, we provide independent assessments to major donors, family offices, and counsel on philanthropic and estate planning matters, with a particular focus on bequests and planned gifts. Third, we advise boards and major donors on the ongoing preservation of original donor intent and institutional mandates. Where organizational behavior drifts materially from original donor intent, Barrett Ross Advisors convenes sensitive board-level conversations to bring clarity and restore alignment.

The practice is led by Dr. Elliot A. Fishman, who is a graduate of Duke University and the Wharton School of Business. His background includes decades of graduate-level teaching at major universities, service on multiple nonprofit and corporate boards, management of a private equity office on Wall Street, and the founding of an investment banking boutique called Astrina, which focused on fairness opinions and transaction-related analysis. Over time, that work shifted naturally toward board advisory and philanthropic matters, with an emphasis on governance and legacy impact.

Barrett Ross Advisors brings Wall Street-level expertise in tax analysis, trust structuring, and the valuation of private equity holdings, illiquid securities, and family limited partnership interests. In each engagement, the firm addresses donor intent, program efficacy, and fiduciary responsibility in an integrated manner.

Download Dr. Fishman’s white paper on fiduciary responsibility in philanthropic governance here.

Engagements are selective, senior-led, and bespoke to the specific circumstances of the institution involved. The firm does not operate on a volume basis, nor does it accept transactional mandates. Work is generally undertaken on a referral basis.