The Planner-June, 2011

JUNE 2011

Greetings!

John M. Bacon, JD
PPGGNY President

It was wonderful to see so many of you at the New York Philanthropic Planning Symposium (NYPPS) on May 26 at the Marriott Marquis. I write this even before we have the post-event survey results, but know they will be positive given the great feeling at the event from the breakfast right through the closing reception. Thanks and kudos to the entire NYPPS Committee and its hard-working chair, Alex Brovey; co-chairs Michelle Mulia-Howell, Anne Dalgish Koestner, and Hugh Williams; as well as to Ralph Wood and his team, who make it all come together year after year.

June 30 marks the end of our fiscal year. While times remain challenging for PPGGNY along with virtually every other organization of its type, we will end the year with a still-healthy cash reserve and already have many members signed up for next year. If you have not done so already, sign up for next year now-our early bird special ends on June 30!-or reply to one of our reminders later this summer.

The year-end also brings some changes to our board. Several board members have completed their terms of service: on behalf of the entire board, I thank Margaret Holman, Josh Rednik, and Richard Slutzky for their dedicated service. We are thrilled to welcome Pamela Bennett, Sarah Foote, and Jonathan Gudema as new board members. And congratulations to our new officers (as of July 1): President Alex Brovey, Vice President Jill Wasserman, Treasurer Sonja Carter, and Secretary Michelle Mulia-Howell.

Finally, thanks to all who have made my two years as President so rewarding and enjoyable. Many of them are named above, but I would also like to thank Dan O'Connell, our Presidents Emeriti, and all of the other board members with whom I have served (with a special shout out to Charlie Gordy, even though he skipped town to go work for a certain school up in Cambridge). I will remain on the board as Immediate Past President (though Margaret Holman will once again be a hard act to follow!) and am confident that the incoming board will remain committed to presenting the best educational and networking opportunities for gift planners and allied professionals in greater New York, as well as to promoting the highest professional standards for all gift planners as PPGGNY has done since its founding.

I look forward to seeing you at our Fall programs.

John M. Bacon, J.D.

PPGGNY President

NYPPS 2011 Logo

NYPPS Wrap-up

John-Alex NYPPS 2011 President-elect Alexandra Brovey presents outgoing President John Bacon with a gift thanking him for his stellar job as President for 2009-11. Read more about the election of officers in "PPGGNY News" (below).

Attendees of NYPPS 2010 requested in the post-event survey a few things for the next Symposium: a tax expert, more focus on the "softer side" of gift planning, including relationship management, and a merger of the Advanced Planning and Master's tracks. Attendees also asked that we nix the lunchtime "rubber chicken" as well as the infamous columns in the break-out rooms.

NYPPS 2011 incorporated all of these suggestions and more, resulting in a well-attended educational and networking experience. The NYPPS Committee with input from Board members restructured the day to include a morning plenary session with a national tax expert, and a business luncheon that featured elections plus an update from Melanie Schnoll-Begun who is a PPGGNY member as well as a board member of the national group, the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning.

The new Innovation Track was a success with three speakers who focused on practical issues beyond the Nuts & Bolts of fundraising. Those who sought a primer, or master's level stuff, or who enjoy panels were able to select what they wanted as well.

Kudos to the entire NYPPS Committee, with a special thanks to co-Chairs Anne Dalgish Koestner, Michelle-Mulia-Howell and Hugh Williams, Past President Margaret Holman for her sage advice, and our generous sponsors, exhibitors and prize donors.

PPGGNY NEWS

Membership for 2011-12

Early Bird Program Ends June 30.

Save $30 compared to the standard membership fee of $325...be an Early Bird and join/renew for only $295. Join now

Introductory Membership

Those who have never been a PPGGNY member are invited to join for only $175. Join now

Tell your colleagues! Click the Forward Email link or at the bottom of this newsletter to spread the good news and help PPGGNY grow.

An Evening of Networking

The Financial Planning Association of New York invites PPGGNY members to An Evening of Networking on June 14th, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Vermillion.

read more about this event

PPGGNY Elects New Officers

The following were elected to key PPGGNY offices for the 2011-13 term; for more information about each click on their names.

Vice-President: Jill Wasserman
Treasurer: Sonja Carter, Esq.
Secretary: Michelle Mulia-Howell

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

President Elect Alexandra Brovey, J.D., L.L.M.

Alexandra Brovey

Alexandra Pia Brovey is the Senior Director of Gift Planning at the North Shore-LIJ Health System Foundation. Alex has 18 years of legal and charitable gift planning experience, and she has served as PPGGNY Vice President, co-Chair of NYPPS 2010 and Chair of NYPPS 2011, and previously served as Vice President of the Central Pennsylvania Planned Giving Council.

Alex earned a B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University, Phi Beta Kappa, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, and an LL.M. in Estate Planning from the University of Miami School of Law. Alex is a member of the Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York bars, as well as the Estate Planning Council of Nassau County. She has lectured around the country, including at the National Conference of Planned Giving (now PPP) and for AFP for several regional conferences and local gift planning councils, and she has had articles published in the Journal of Gift Planning and Planned Giving Today. In her spare time, Alex coaches junior soccer, and is studying toward her black belt in shotokan karate.