Helpful Links

There are lots of places to look on the Web for helpful material on planned giving and major gifts.

Some of these links are to fundraising organizations; others are to sources of education in the techniques of planned giving and major gifts, as well as estate and financial planning; still others are to vendors; and finally, to other consultants in specific areas of interest to those seeking services in these areas.

National Committee on Planned Giving

The premier organization serving the planned giving community. Membership in NCPG is a must for anyone serious about planned giving.

Planned Giving Council of Rhode Island

Association of Fundraising Professionals

AFP is the organization for all fundraisers, providing important networking and educational opportunities. If you're a fundraiser, this is an organization you need to join.

Association of Fundraising Professionals -- Rhode Island Chapter

The American College

The Solomon S. Huebner School of the American College provides coursework leading to the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). These designations provide an extraordinary amount of information about all aspects of estate and financial planning.

College of Financial Planning

The College of Financial Planning provides coursework leading to the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. This designation is an extremely valuable source of technical information for the planned giving specialist.

BIPSTER

Bipster is software that helps non-profits track and collect bequests left to them. Using the software speeds up collection of bequests and helps charities provide better stewardship of bequests. (NOTE: I represent BIPSTER).

PG Calc

PG Calc is one of the '"BIG TWO" software programs for charitable gift calculations. They provide software for both the Windows and the Mac platforms.

Crescendo Software

Crescendo is the other of the "BIG TWO" planned giving gift calculation software companies.

Chronicle of Philanthropy

The newspaper of the fundraising profession. Must reading for anyone serious about professional fundraising.

Charity Channel

Charity Channel is an extraordinary resource for the non-profit community. There are discussion groups (list serves), eNewsletters, a directory of consultants, resource guides, book reviews, streaming interviews with newsmakers.

Planned Giving Design Center

This site contains a wealth of planned giving information. When I need detailed information about a technical issue (e.g., gifts of S Corp stock; gifts of stock options), this is where I go. It's free, but you do have to sign up.

Nonprofit Web Site Design

Altrue is a great resource for nonprofits who would like a new website. This site is developed using Altrue.

American Council on Gift Annuities

This organization provides an extremely valuable service to the non-profit community: keeping gift annuities a powerful tool for both charities and their donors. If your organization is doing gift annuities, it's a "must join."

IRS Tax Statistics

This site has statistics developed by the IRS from income and estate tax filings.