Welcome to our 33rd Annual Northern California Planned Giving Conference held on April 30, 2026, from 8:00 am - 5:30 pm at The Westin San Francisco Airport, Millbrae, CA. This conference focuses on an overarching theme, "The Future of Philanthropy: Human Values in a Digital Age."
For more than 30 years, Northern California Planned Giving Council has provided top quality educational and networking opportunities at our annual planned giving conference. We hope you will join us as we explore innovative ways to make an impact into the future!
For more than 30 years, Northern California Planned Giving Council has provided top quality educational and networking opportunities at our annual planned giving conference. We hope you will join us as we explore innovative ways to make an impact into the future!
Conference Schedule
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2026, • 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM • Westin San Francisco Airport, Millbrae.
Schedule is subject to change. To be eligible for CFREs or MCLEs, attendees must attend the entire education session.
Questions? Call our office at 626-773-8030.
Schedule is subject to change. To be eligible for CFREs or MCLEs, attendees must attend the entire education session.
Questions? Call our office at 626-773-8030.
REGISTRATION: 8:30 - 9:30 AM
MORNING KEYNOTE: 9:30 - 10:30 AM
Future Proof Fundraising
By:
Nicola Lawrence, MSc, MA, MSFP, PgC, CAP®, CFRE
Chair of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners
This presentation examines how philanthropy must evolve to remain sustainable amid the Great Wealth Transfer and the rise of millennial donors. It challenges outdated assumptions about planned giving by highlighting high donor intent, digital disruption in estate planning, and the opportunity to engage younger families and values-driven donors earlier through accessible, technology-enabled strategies. The presentation outlines a modern, ethical, and relationship-centered approach to legacy giving—positioning it not as deferred revenue, but as an acquisition and conversion strategy that strengthens opportunities in both current engagement and long-term impact.
By:
Nicola Lawrence, MSc, MA, MSFP, PgC, CAP®, CFRE
Chair of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners
This presentation examines how philanthropy must evolve to remain sustainable amid the Great Wealth Transfer and the rise of millennial donors. It challenges outdated assumptions about planned giving by highlighting high donor intent, digital disruption in estate planning, and the opportunity to engage younger families and values-driven donors earlier through accessible, technology-enabled strategies. The presentation outlines a modern, ethical, and relationship-centered approach to legacy giving—positioning it not as deferred revenue, but as an acquisition and conversion strategy that strengthens opportunities in both current engagement and long-term impact.
SESSION 1: 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM
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FUNDAMENTALS
Storytelling in Philanthropy By: Amanda Weitman, CAP® Wealth Advisor, Marin/San Francisco Bay Area, Wells Fargo The Private Bank Description: In this course, Amanda will cover: • Introductions to storytelling • Why tell stories? • Discovering core values • Societal benefits of your organization • Find stories you want to share Attendees will take away tips on what stories to share, how to craft stories, when to share and where to share them. |
CULTIVATION & MARKETING
Creative Gift Planning for Impact and Intent By: Ngan Le Raskin, JD Director of Gift Planning, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health Description: Sometimes, a proposed life income gift plan hits a roadblock: the donor is too young, the asset is too complex, or the timeline doesn't fit your organization's gift acceptance policy. But that doesn't mean the conversation has to end. Uncovering donor objectives through engaging with donors and their advisors, crafting gift structures that pass legal muster, and illustrating tailored outcomes can help secure a gift that would have otherwise been a "no." In this session, we will dive into real-world scenarios that demonstrate how to turn a difficult situation into a win-win for both the donor's personal, financial, and philanthropic goals and your organization's mission. Learning objectives:
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TECHNICAL
When, Why, How to Leave Retirement Accounts to Charity By: Bryan Douglas Kirk, JD Development Legal Counsel, Stanford University Description: To come |
SPECIAL TOPICS
Communicating with Donors and Soliciting Contributions Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 By: David Sacarelos Principal, Baker Tilly Description: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (Public Law 119 - 21) introduces sweeping changes to the federal tax code, including expanded deductions, new income-tax provisions, and adjustments that directly affect charitable giving behavior. For nonprofit fund developers, these changes create both opportunities and challenges in donor communication, stewardship, and solicitation strategy. This presentation equips fund developers with the knowledge and messaging frameworks needed to engage donors confidently in the post-Act landscape. Participants will learn how to translate the Act's tax provisions—such as the charitable deduction for non-itemizers, 0.5% AGI floor on itemized deductions, 35% deduction cap for top-bracket donors, and the 1% floor on corporate deductions—into clear, donor friendly language that highlights the continued value and impact of charitable contributions. Learning Objectives:
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LUNCHEON KEYNOTE: 12:00 - 1:30 PM
By:
Andrew Fussner, Esq.
Vice President of Estate Settlement for the American Heart Association
By:
Andrew Fussner, Esq.
Vice President of Estate Settlement for the American Heart Association
SESSION 2: 1:45 - 3:00 PM
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FUNDAMENTALS
The Short Path from Bequest Intention to Major Gift By: Hal J. Abrams, JD, LLM Hal J. Abrams Planned Giving Consultant Description: Speaker will discuss ideas and approaches to learn of charitable estate intentions. Once the door is open to discuss estate intentions, speaker will discuss planned giving ideas and approaches to qualify, cultivate and solicit major gifts. The speaker will use interactive case studies and lead an open discussion on applying practical approaches to discuss (in person and through marketing) attract and engage estate donors and move them towards making major gifts. Learning Objective: Gain practical approaches for fundraisers (for in person discussions and through marketing) to both:
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CULTIVATION & MARKETING
Will-ing and Able: Case Study on Planned Giving Prospecting By: Jeanine Crider Director, Planned Giving, Peninsula Open Space Trust & Jennifer Miano Planned Giving Officer, Peninsula Open Space Trust Description: At a leaner shop without in-house prospect researchers or programmers/consultants writing code to identify identify dozens or hundreds of legacy suspects for you to engage and plant a legacy seed for the future? Consider this case study for planned giving prospecting that complements—not replaces—your organization’s existing legacy marketing, legacy matches and donor survey efforts. In this session, you’ll learn how POST’s Planned Giving Team has been trying a relatively low-lift and mostly many strategy to engage select loyal donors and uncover legacy inquiries or gifts that weren’t volunteered in other efforts over the years. You’ll hear how this experiment came to be, how donors were selected, how they were engaged & how frequently, how POST worked together with other front-line fundraisers on their team, how donors were evaluated for continuation in the experiment or not, and exciting initial results. Time will be allotted for the audience to reflect on this experiment in small groups seated next to them, share what they are trying at their organizations, and report back to the room so we can gather even more ideas to further strengthen philanthropy and our organizations in the long-term. This session will be particularly beneficial to fundraisers at organizations with many long-time, loyal donors in one or more significant geographic clusters. Learning Objectives:
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TECHNICAL
UPMIFA: Do We Have To? By: Karl Mill Attorney Mill Law Center Description: This presentation will talk through several case studies where charities may find themselves frustrated by the law of endowments and restricted funds (UPMIFA) and talk through strategies to manage risk and accomplish your goals. Examples will include:
Learning Objectives:
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SPECIAL TOPICS
Planned Giving and Beyond: Maximizing Noncash Donor Strategies By: Erica Doyle Vice President & Director, Bernstein’s Foundation and Institutional Advisory (FIA) & Christopher J. Clarkson, CFA Senior Vice President & National Director of Planning, Bernstein’s Foundation and Institutional Advisory Description: to come |
SESSION 3: 3:30 - 4:45 PM
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FUNDAMENTALS
Gift Annuities are More Versatile Than You May Think By: Bill Laskin Vice President, Consulting PG Calc Description: The charitable gift annuity is the bread and butter life income gift for many planned giving programs. It's easy to explain. It's easy to set up. A lifetime of fixed payments has strong appeal for many donors. That's all great, but the gift annuity is far more versatile than as just a source of fixed payments for life. In this session, we will explore some of the creative ways gift annuities can be employed to meet the goals of a donor who is looking for something other than fixed payments for life. In this session you will:
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CULTIVATION & MARKETING
Elevating the Client Experience with Charitable Planning: Understanding Donor Segmentation & DAFs By: Erinn Andrews Founder and CEO, GiveTeam President, National Board of Advisors in Philanthropy Description:
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TECHNICAL
Ethical Issues in Charitable Estate Settlement By: Andrew Fussner, Esq. Vice President, Estate Settlement for the American Heart Association Description: When a charity receives a testamentary gift from a deceased donor there are numerous instances where ethical issues may arise during the process of receiving and recognizing that gift. The speaker will outline various ethical roadblocks that a charity (or fiduciary/attorney) may encounter and will engage in a discussion with the attendees to obtain a better understanding of both the options available and the best and most ethical way to resolve such roadblocks. Learning Objectives:
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SPECIAL TOPICS
AI Powered Fundraising: How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Planned GIiving By: Brantley Boyett Co-Founder & President, Giving Docs Description: This session shows how AI is reshaping planned giving and how teams can adopt it thoughtfully to increase impact without losing the human touch. We’ll begin by mapping where AI helps (repetitive, pattern-based tasks) and where it doesn’t (values, mission-setting, and ethical donor decisions), and by demystifying predictive, generative, workflow, and agentic AI so fundraisers know which tools to apply to which problems. Practical use cases include donor identification and predictive prospecting, personalized multi-channel communication at scale, gift-vehicle optimization and donor-journey automation, and real-time dashboards that reduce time in spreadsheets and increase time with donors. The session includes a short demo on crafting a donor persona and market examples of tools fundraisers are using today. Ethics and implementation are front and center: we’ll address privacy and data security, bias and explainability, risks to the human relationship, and governance and workflow safeguards so organizations can move quickly—and responsibly. Participants will leave with a pragmatic checklist for spotting AI-appropriate problems, low-risk pilot projects, vendor selection criteria, and governance steps for responsible adoption. Learning Objectives:
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