Last week, I attended the Washington Planned Giving Council Planned Giving Day conference at Seattle Pacific University as did our CEO Aggie Sweeney (see her blog post here). For someone like me who is just beginning to learn all the terms and options of planned giving vehicles, the information was surprisingly easy to digest.

The highlight for me was the lunch program when Elena Busto, third generation philanthropist co-presenting with Jan Jacobs, Development Director at PATH, shared the story of how her family practices thoughtful and intentional philanthropy. The eldest of 14 grandchildren, Ms. Busto, a member of the “Millennials,” and her cousins are given the opportunity each year to decide how to allocate gifts from the charitable fund established by their grandparents. Ms. Busto shared her story of learning to make good decisions when it comes to philanthropy and the creative methods used explain PATH’s mission to her five-year-old cousin. It was refreshing and heart-warming to hear her speak so eloquently and insightfully about multi-generational family values and her unique experience with philanthropy which began at a young age.

I also had the opportunity to attend the session led by PG Calc Incorporated’s Alison O’Carol “Bequests and Other Simple Estate Gifts.”  The session provided a simple and clear explanation of bequest fundamentals and the key elements of a successful bequest program. For more information and to find Ms. O’Carol’s PowerPoint Presentation and handouts, click here.

Filed under: Events, Major Gifts, Planned Giving by Kate Cox on November 3, 2009