|
|
| The Planner
September 2010 |
|
|
|
Luncheon Dates
Our regular luncheons are scheduled for the following dates...mark your calendar. We will continue to have these at The Three West Club,
3 West 51st Street.
September 15
October 20
November 17
December 15
January 19
February 16
March 16
April 13 |
|
|
Greetings!
The
sum mer has come-and gone. While we all
wait for more information on the future of the federal transfer tax and a real
economic recovery, it has been a good time to focus on our most loyal donors
and clients.
In my
case, many of these people did not venture out much during the repeated heat
waves, so they were relatively easy to reach and they welcomed the contact
between our spring and fall event seasons. Their continued loyalty to the mission of my organization has kept my
spirits up even on the worst of the recent dog days of summer--and some were
real dogs, at least here in Manhattan!
And, not coincidentally, the contacts led to
some new and augmented gifts. We had a
nice spurt of gift annuity activity in July, including one gift that has been
gestating for at least two years (and probably longer). The modest rise in ACGA-suggested rates
helped, but without fail, the gifts were really about the power of our
mission. I hope others who read this
have also had some summertime success stories they will share when we are
together again this fall.
Our
fall schedule is nearly complete and we will launch at least one new program
format. Starting in October, one or more
of our past Presidents will host periodic "masters" discussions in the 3 West
Club library before our luncheon program. We hope that this format will appeal to our most experienced members and
allow them to address topical issues of note. Related to this, we hope to re-launch a series of basic sessions before
lunch for those just starting out in the field or considering it as a career
option. Want to learn more? Then renew your membership now and check out
program announcements on the website.
Finally,
I am pleased to announce that we have six new board members. In alphabetical order they are (with current
professional affiliation): Dianne Armstrong (Planned Parenthood Federation of
America), Alan Berkowitz (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), James Dawson
(Rutgers University Foundation), Russell Hammond (Orange
County Community
College), Anetta Love (Sarah Lawrence
College), and Steven
Meyers (American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science). More information on each of them may be found
here and on the website-be sure to congratulate them when you see them this
fall at our events.
We
serve you, our members and friends, so please keep your comments, suggestions,
and inquiries coming to me at jbacon@nypl.org or
the PPGGNY office at info@ppggny.org. I
look forward to seeing you soon.
Best regards,
John M. Bacon, J.D.
PPGGNY President |
|
SEPTEMBER 15 LUNCHEON
Gift Planning in 2010 and Beyond: The Experts' View
PPGGNY Presidents Emeriti Gail Chesler, David Clough, Barbara Diehl, and Wally
Munro will offer their perspectives on the current state of gift planning, both
in terms of our daily fundraising work and as a profession. They will also
discuss the challenges posed by the unsettled economy and the still-unresolved
federal estate tax regimen. In 2011 and beyond, will we be treading water or
will there be new opportunities to expand our programs and professional reach?
Immediate past President Margaret Holman will moderate this lively panel, which
will include a question and answer period. Do not miss this opportunity to
learn from the panelists' vast knowledge and
experience! read more
NOTE: Luncheons are held at the 3-West Club, 3 West 51st Street, Manhattan. The Pre-registration fee is $60 for Members and $75 for Non-Members. On site registration is $75 for all.
Register NowAnnual Luncheon Registration: Membership has privileges...members can automatically pre-register and pre-pay for all 8 upcoming luncheons and save $50! If you are interested, contact the PPGGNY Office. |
|
MEMBERSHIP
Thanks to all of those who joined as "Early Birds this year--nearly 1/3 of our members have already joined for 2010-11, which we anticipate will be another fabulous year of PPGGNY lunches, programs and networking.
If you have not yet renewed your membership, the current individual membership fee is $325; additional members from the same organization may join at a discounted rate of $295. And, if you have never been a PPGGNY member, the Board approved an "Introductory Membership" for a fee of only $150. New members--who may be new to the field--can benefit from our educational programs and network with experienced colleagues in PPGGNY. We look forward to a great year for our members.
Click here to RENEW your membership.
NOTE for renewing members: You do not need to log in to renew your
membership, but you do need the email address we have on file. This is the same
email address shown in the Member Directory. To verify, login to Members Only;
User Name and Password reminders are at Login if
needed.
Click here to JOIN PPGGNY.
|
SPECIAL Offer for PPGGNY Members!
PPGGNY is pleased
to offer one of its members a complimentary registration to the
upcoming National Conference on Philanthropic Planning, a $795
Value! Here are the details: The 2010 Conference will take place October 13-15 at
the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, FL. PPGGNY members in good standing* may apply for one
free registration by completing and submitting the attached form
by September 10th. We will announce the recipient at the September 15th
luncheon (though recipient need not be in attendance to win). Please note that the recipient will receive free
registration only and must register for the conference before September
29; recipient will be responsible for all other costs of attending,
including travel, lodging, food and personal expenses. Recipient will be asked to prepare a brief written
summary to the PPGGNY board & membership on his/her experience at the
conference.
*A member in "good standing" means one who has
renewed/joined for 2010-11.
We are happy to
provide this opportunity to our members and look forward to reviewing your
applications.
|
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Please join us in welcoming the following NEW PPGGNY members:
Karen Azeez, Director of Individual Giving, American Foundation for the Blind
Mimi Falsey, LLM, JD
Charles Flynn, BA, MIA, JD, Planned Giving Coordinator, The Salvation Army of Greater New York
Amy Mugavero, Director of Major and Planned Gifts, The New York Philharmonic
Bryan Nemeth, Director of Planned Gift Marketing, Rutgers University Foundation
Brian Peterson, BS, MA, Planned Giving Dir., Regis High School
Elizabeth Skinner, Regional Dir., Planned Giving, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
Jean Smith, Major Gifts Officer, The Fordham School of Law
Peter Wayne, Associate Director, The Queens Library Foundation
|
PPGGNY NEWS
Premier Sponsor
 PPGGNY welcomes the National Madison Group as our Premier Sponsor for 2010-11. Previously our Lead Educational Sponsor, National Madison will sponsor all of the upcoming PPGGNY monthly luncheons as well as the luncheon at NYPPS 2011. Thank you National Madison.
New Board Members
Please welcome the following new Board members:
Dianne Armstrong
Alan Berkowitz
James Dawson
Russell Hammond
Annetta Love
Steven Meyers
New Committee Chairs:
Membership: Darrin Goldin & Peggy Mathieu, co-chairs.
Programs: Sonja Carter & Josh Rednik, co-chairs.
Marketing & Communications: Russell Hammond, chair.
Pictures & Bios for BOD members are posted on the PPGGNY website.
New Contributors/Editors for The Planner: Barbara Cane, Esq. will be a contributor of articles relating to taxes & estate issues, particularly those affecting non-traditional families. She is the author of this month's Feature Article. Arli Epton, Judith Katz and Ed Pitaro will also be contributors/editors. Thanks to all.
|
MEMBER PROFILE: Darrin GoldinDarrin is a Development Executive in the Planned Giving &
Endowments Dept. of UJA-Federation of New York. Prior to joining
UJA-Federation, Darrin worked as the Northeast Area Executive Director
for BBYO, Inc.
Before entering the not-for-profit sector, Darrin
practiced as a Trusts & Estates attorney at Young Moriwaki & Greenfader in New York City.
Darrin is co-chair of our Membership Committee.
|
ANNUAL APPEAL
Every year, about this time, PPGGNY ask members and friends for support in the form of a donation, so here we are this year. Wouldn't you like a nice yellow "Donor" ribbon to wear on your name badge? If you want to help support PPGGNY, donate now.
|
FEATURE ARTICLE
Planning for Non-Traditional Families: Legal Update & Practical Pointers at Summer's End
by Barbara H. Cane, Esq.
 |
On
August 5, 2010, Judge V.R. Walker of the US District Court for the Northern
District of California struck down California's
Proposition 8 which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. Issued
after a lengthy trial, Judge Walker declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional on
due process and equal protection grounds.
His careful findings of fact contradict many favorite assertions of
marriage equality opponents, such as the idea that heterosexual parents do a
better job raising children than same-sex parents, or that making same sex
marriage legal would have a negative effect on the future of heterosexual
marriage. As of 5PM on August 18, 2010, the court lifted a temporary stay of
its ruling, so henceforth Proposition 8 will not be enforced or applied by the
State of California
or its agents. The case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, is of historic
importance. You can read the full opinion,
or a quick an easy summary. Margaret Talbot's coverage of the case in The New Yorker, since the beginning of the year, is superb. read the article
On
July 12, 2010 in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the US District
Court in Massachusetts
overturned application of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),
which keeps the federal government from providing various benefits to people
legally married under state law. On
August 18, 2010, that decision was stayed, pending appeal. You can read more
details on the GLAD website, www.glad.org.
Taken together, these decisions frame the issues in very concrete terms likely
to be compelling to the unconvinced "middle of the roaders" who may not have
thought far beyond the emotional power of the word "marriage" to the economic
and financial realities of daily life for those who cannot marry.
But
promising as these cases are, until DOMA is definitively struck down by the
Supreme Court or national legislative action such as the pending Respect for
Marriage Act (HR 3567) is passed, even couples who have married in one of the
six states where same sex marriage is legal, or in Canada where it has been
legal since 2005, or in another country with no legal bar to same-sex marriage
like Spain, they are single for federal purposes throughout the United States.
(For discussion of 1324 differences between the married and unmarried state go
to www.nycbar.org/pdf/report/marriage_v7d21) This makes caring for loved ones a
challenge. Use these links www.hrc.org, www.lambdalegal.org/, and the
thorough research reported at www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/about/index.html
to flesh out the situation.
No
matter what charitable organization you work for, chances are that some of your
donors are singles who cannot marry now. The better you understand their legal
and financial realities, the greater your ability to help LGBT donors fashion a
plan that works for them, and overcome some of the disadvantages built into
current law. Over the coming year, the aim of this column will be to keep you
informed of the movement for marriage equality, but, in the meantime, help you
understand charitable solutions that can help meet planning challenges of the
non-traditional family today. True, the
observations apply equally to unmarried heterosexual couples since there is no
such thing as Common Law marriage in New York and a surviving opposite sex
partner would be as out in the cold as a gay partner, or famously this summer,
Steig Larsson's long-time lover. But a
trip to City Hall is a ready solution not available to same-sex couples.
Meanwhile, nobody knows where the estate tax laws will
settle out at the end of 2010: will Congress act or not? The answer will affect
all families, but rather than add my guess, I suggest you get informed
prognostication from Blanche Lark Christerson's "Tax Topics". Write to Blanche to get
on the mailing list. The Planned
Giving Design
Center from the Boston
Foundation www.PGDC.org will give updated
information (and speculation) on where the tax laws that relate to charitable
giving may be headed.
While we wait for answers, people need to plan with today's
rules in mind. Let's consider one planning option that is out there: annuities.
Commercial annuities are creatures of contract governed by the insurance laws
of each state. Their appeal is that they
offer a way to put away money today for a secure future income stream. Assets
grow free of current income tax; what comes out is a mixture of tax-free return
of principal and ordinary income. A major
appeal for married couples is that upon the death of the first spouse, the
survivor is usually able to "step into the shoes" of the decedent, taking over
the income stream and stretching it out over the same timetable in effect.
While preparing for my Planned Giving Day presentation about
non-traditional families in May, I asked financial advisor Rae Carole Fischer about annuities for same-sex couples (www.yourseniorcaremanager.com/). She confirmed that at least three major insurance companies (Prudential
Annuities, First Sun America Life Insurance Company, and Proco Life Insurance
Company) recently issued disclosures stating that DOMA precludes them from
offering same-sex couples favorable income deferral rules, even if they are
married under state law. A surviving
partner could still be a beneficiary, of course, but could only choose a lump
sum payment (read accelerated income tax) or conversion into a new contract
(which may or may not have favorable terms). Of course, because there is no marital deduction for same-sex surviving
spouses, there may be a negative estate tax impact even if death occurs in 2010
since some states that have their own estate tax (including New
York, New Jersey and Connecticut).
This information would be useful to your LGBT donor thinking
about how to take care of his or her partner. Depending on the specific situation, it may be interesting to consider
charitable gift annuities as an alternative planning tool. For example, if George is a federal employee who
cannot include Michael on his health insurance plan, he can always pay premiums
for Michael's private health insurance as an exempt gift under 2503 of the tax
code. But what happens when George dies? If George buys a charitable gift annuity for Michael starting this year,
the annuity payments over Michael's life time could pay insurance
premiums. The amount George uses to buy
the annuity could be calculated so that the non-charitable portion (i.e. the
gift to Michael) is covered by George's annual exclusion gift amount (now
$13,000), thus allowing him to transfer money to his partner at no gift tax
cost. Remember that married people can give each other unlimited amounts, but
gifts to non-spouses are limited to $1,000,000. Since only a gift of a "current
interest" qualifies for the annual exclusion, Michael would start getting
payments now. He should be encouraged to
"bank" them now for future use. Their
financial planner and accountant could help figure out the best way to do that.
At least part of the cost of the gift annuity will generate a charitable income
tax deduction for George, and the other portion will ultimately support a
charity he cares about....maybe yours!
But suppose George already owns a commercial annuity and has
just learned the sad facts about the limited choices for Michael when he
dies? First, he can discuss the
particulars with someone who can explain his commercial annuity carefully.
Next, he can consider how it fits into his overall estate and retirement
planning. Maybe George should accelerate
income during his lifetime and use part of the cash to set up charitable gift
annuities for Michael, or for himself. Maybe he could name a charity as the
beneficiary of the commercial annuity when he dies, creating a dollar for
dollar estate tax charitable deduction. He might want to pair this with directions to create a charitable gift
annuity for Michael when he dies, either with a specific dollar amount or a
portion of the residuary estate. Michael will be older (and charitable portion
of the gift greater) when that day comes, thus increasing the overall yield for
Michael, cutting estate tax, and increasing the charitable portion.
Start the conversation; it may lead to interesting solutions
to the challenges George and Michael face. Include their attorney, accountant, and
financial advisor. On the happy day that they can be married for all purposes,
they are likely to remember you fondly.
c. 2010 Barbara H. Cane, Esq. Barbara H. Cane is Of Counsel at Cane &
Boniface, P.C., a firm dedicated to providing "legal planning for every family"
in the greater metropolitan area. She
frequently counsels same-sex couples and helps design charitable gifts. This is
for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. You can learn more at
www.canelaw.net.
|
MAJOR GIFTS
 PPGGNY is planning to add new feature to The Planner that will include articles of interest to those of you who manage Major Gifts. If you would like to contribute articles to this new feature, please let us know.
|
| JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Nora Benoliel is the coordinator of jobs postings on our website. If you want to post a job, e-mail Nora. The Job Bank can be found in the Members Only section of our website. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
