Many fund raisers seek relationships with estate planners and lawyers on the theory that those experts will influence wealthy clients to make charitable gifts.

However, research by Indiana University and Bank of America has found that, in recent years, wealthy donors have shifted preferences in terms of the experts they rely on for guidance in making gifts, said Tricia Ambler, a manager at WealthEngine, at a session today at the Association of Fundraising Professionals meeting. The Bethesda, Md., company provides online research tools to help charities identify potential donors.

While wealthy donors said that they relied on estate planners and lawyers for charitable advice in a 2006 study, she noted, a later study, in 2008, found them more likely to seek charitable advice from investment bankers, wealth managers, and other experts who help them build assets.

“If you have wealth managers among your donor base, you should cultivate them for their contacts” to wealthy potential donors, said Ms. Ambler. Those are the experts who’ve helped them create private foundations and donor-advised funds, she said.

But Russell N. James, a researcher at the University of Georgia’s Institute for Nonprofit Organizations, questioned whether donors will continue to rely on wealth managers for charitable advice as the economic crisis wears on.

Given how much wealth has been lost by investment managers, and the public outcry over irresponsible decisions by many investment firms, he said, donors will probably turn back to estate planners and lawyers, many of whom take a more conservative approach to money management.