by Eddie Thompson | Oct 23, 2024 | Charitable Estate Planning, Development Management, Donor Communications
State and federal tax laws regarding estate and gift planning are pretty straightforward—at least on the surface, but the efficacy of their applications differ between cases. For example, testamentary charitable lead trusts are a good option for some donors, but just...
by Eddie Thompson | Mar 11, 2024 | Charitable Estate Planning, Development Management, Donor Communications
Grant Whitney joined Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts & Sciences and served there for over 20 years, leading the university’s largest planned gift recognition effort—responsible for enrolling more than 1,000 alumni and friends as new members of the John...
by Laura Hansen Dean | Jan 29, 2024 | Charitable Estate Planning, Donor Communications
A note from Eddie: I am privileged to have known Laura Hansen Dean for almost 40 years and consider her one of the best gift planners around. Even if you don’t know Laura personally, you have likely heard her speak or read something she wrote. She currently serves...
by Eddie Thompson | Apr 4, 2023 | Charitable Estate Planning, Donor Communications
In his #1 New York Times Bestseller, Tell to Win, award-winning movie producer Peter Gruber explains how dozens of presentations succeeded or failed based on connecting the right story with his presentation. Whenever he relied on facts, charts, and PowerPoint...
by Eddie Thompson | Jun 13, 2022 | Charitable Estate Planning, Donor Communications
Tevye, the blacksmith in Fiddler on the Roof, dreamed about being a wealthy man. “Oh, Lord, you made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, it’s no shame to be poor, But it’s no great honor either! So, what would have been so terrible if I had...
by Eddie Thompson | Apr 19, 2022 | Charitable Estate Planning
In last month’s post, I dived into the economic factors that have contributed to the highest annual inflation rate in the last 40 years. Inflation is caused by a number of outside factors, many of which hinder the Federal Reserve’s ability to combat...