NCPG Becomes the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning

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December 18, 2008

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.) On January 1, 2009, the National Committee on Planned Giving will become the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning. The new name reflects a broader mission and constituency for an organization that has been serving the charitable planning community since 1988.

“Most people think of NCPG as a professional association, like the Association of Fundraising Professionals or the American Bar Association,” says Tanya Howe Johnson, president and CEO. “In reality, the organization was founded as a mission-based, 501(c)(3) public charity, whose purpose is to bring together all of the partners in the gift planning process in order to create better gifts. Bringing knowledge to the people who facilitate that planning will always be an important way to achieve our mission, but there are many other things we can and should be doing. The philanthropic community needs a strong voice acknowledging that the most meaningful philanthropy happens when donors and their advisors know all the options available to them, and take a creative approach that integrates current and future gifts.”

“Many have traditionally thought of ‘planned gifts’ as gifts that were deferred until some time in the future—usually until the donor’s death. They were for donors who couldn’t afford a current gift. Or they were just for the very wealthy, or the very elderly. Above all, planned gifts have been thought of as complicated—something only specialists could understand,” says Russ Howes, chair of the NCPG Board of Directors and vice president at the University of Wisconsin Foundation.

“In the last few years, we’ve found that the majority of NCPG members—including fundraisers and financial and legal advisors—spend less than a quarter of their professional lives working with vehicles that are traditionally considered ‘planned’ gifts. They’re working with donors and clients on all the gifts that contribute to a meaningful philanthropic legacy. A lot of non-specialists need to know the fundamentals of integrated philanthropic planning. And a lot of very sophisticated practitioners need a broad perspective that includes all types of charitable strategies. Broadening that traditional perspective, and working with all the players in the planning process, is what the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning is all about.”      

Current NCPG members will become members of the Partnership on January 1, 2009.

The Partnership will also be working with other organizations in the philanthropic and financial communities, including professional associations, research centers, education providers and advocacy groups, to strengthen the base of information, legislation and technique that supports meaningful philanthropic planning.

The Partnership has launched a web site at www.pppnet.org to provide more information about its mission and strategic objectives, and to allow current and prospective partners to participate in prioritizing new programs and services. For more information, contact president and CEO Tanya Howe Johnson at (317) 269-6274, or e-mail her at thjohnson@ncpg.org  (After Jan. 5: thjohnson@pppnet.org).