Alexandra Brovey

It has been a privilege to be a PPGGNY Member during the Presidencies of John Bacon, Margaret Holman, Bill Samers and  Barbara Diehl, and to watch PPGGNY mature and adjust over time to serve its members. I will make every effort to follow in my predecessors' footsteps with the support of a strong Board of Directors and enthusiastic Committee members and Chairs.

We have had an excellent response to our Early Bird membership offer. When this issue went to publication we had 89 members for 2011-12, including 16 new members.  This is a great beginning for a new year and a testimonial to past success. (See below for an added incentive to join sooner rather than later!)

There is much to look forward to in the coming year.  Through our surveys you have provided valuable feedback about what you want out of your membership experience, as well as the types of programs that interest you. 

• You cited two major reasons for membership: networking opportunities and educational programs that contribute to job success and career development. We are exploring some new networking opportunities, and we are excited about being abole to provide CFRE credits for some of our programs. More details will be forthcoming prior to each luncheon and seminar.
• You indicated that the highly experienced among you wanted in-depth coverage of technical/esoteric topics, but that there is also a significant number of members that wanted to focus on "the fundamentals" of gift planning. For the former group we will continue and enhance the Masters' Forum, and for the second group we will provide seminars and luncheon topics that impart practical information.  
• Finally, you have let us know your interests and experiences regarding social media. Immediate Past President John Bacon will develop PPGGNY's Linked-In presence, and will explore other venues (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) in more detail. Stay tuned in future issues of The Planner.

We hope to send a survey to members later this summer in order to gain more information to serve you better. If you seek your colleagues' opinions and experiences on a particular matter, please submit your questions for inclusion in the survey. Results will be shared at our first Fall meeting on September 21.

Finally, KUDOS! to PPGGNY members Meryl Cosention, Margaret Holman, Wally Munro, Henry Rubin, and Bill Samers (and yours truly), whose presentations were selected out of hundreds submitted to be shared at the national conference in San Antonio, Texas in early October. Future issues of The Planner will contain a brief description of these presentations, with a link to the full presentation once it becomes available.  

I hope you are enjoying the summer so far. I look forward to working with you in the coming year.

PPGGNY President 

PPGGNY NEWS

Sponsorships

A big "Thank You" to all of our 2010-11 sponsors for their tremendous support!

We are very pleased to announce that for 2011-12 NFP National Madison will continue as our Premier Sponsor, Pentera will continue as Lead Educational Sponsor and Holman Consulting will continue as sponsor of our Masters' Forum. A very special thank you to Tom Bonhag and Andrea McDaniel at National Madison, to Claudine Donikian and Chandra Towers-Blatt at Pentera, and to Margaret Holman.

Membership
We ended the 2010-11 membership year with 244 members. Here are some interesting demographics:

• Gender ratio is 2-to-1, female to male
• 120 members are at the Director job level or higher
• 61 new members joined us 
• 16 members are residents of New Jersey
• 6 organizations have 6+ members; Planned Parenthood tops the list at 8 

We begin 2011-12 on July 1 with 89 members, 73 Early Bird renewals and 16 new members. Wouldn't it be great if we could surpass 250 members again? Everyone can help to ensure our professional organization remains strong by encouraging colleagues both in and outside of their organizations to join us for our educational programs and luncheons, including the networking time that many members report is so valuable.  

SPECIAL OFFER FOR MEMBERS WHO RENEW BY 8/15

Once again PPP has provided PPGGNY with a complimentary registration to the National Conference in San Antonio, Texas, from October 4-6, 2011.  The winner of this complimentary registration (a $695 value) will be able to network with gift planning professionals from across the country, attend the Annual Meeting & Council Conversations with President Alexandra P. Brovey as PPGGNY's representatives on the first day of the conference, and attend presentations from experts across the country (including 6 of PPGGNY's own!). Note that all other costs (flight, transportation, hotel, and some meals and incidentals) are the certificate holder's responsibility.  Watch your inbox later this summer for an invitation to have your name included in the lottery. Already a member? Renew here Not yet a member? Join now

Events

Attendance at our monthly luncheons has steadily increased over the past 3 years:

• 2008-09 average luncheon attendance was 99, the September luncheon was the most heavily attended (149)
• 2009-10 average attendance was 101, the December luncheon was the most heavily attended (122)
• 2010-11 average attendance was 110, December was again the most heavily attended (142)

We provide programs throughout the year, including our annual Symposium, that are directed to all experience levels and different career paths: financial organizations, attorneys, accountants, consultants, and, of course, employees of non-profit organizations. 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Sonja Carter, Esq.

Sonja Carter

After several years in private practice, Sonja is now now Director of Gift Planning at Columbia University, where she works to increase charitable giving through planned giving vehicles such as bequests, charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, charitable lead trusts, donor-advised funds, real estate and gifts of tangible personal property. Sonja manages the University's 1754 Society Planned Giving marketing and communications, and Columbia's first-ever campaign for planned gifts.

Sonja received both her B.A. and J.D. at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, going on to receive her M.S. in Fundraising Management and Nonprofit Administration from Columbia University, where she also teaches as Adjunct Professor.

Sonja is currently Treasurer PPGGNY and Co-Chair of the Programs Committee.