PPGC News and Updates

Congratulations to our new board members for the 2024-2025 term:

• Matthew Clark - President
• Cynthia Caldwell - Immediate Past President
• Rachel Zadnik - Vice President / President Elect
• Susan Salyards - Secretary
• Colin Connolly - Treasurer
• Taylor Staiger - Assistant Treasurer
• Jack Owen - Legislative Affairs
• Brittany Zuckerman - Public Relations Committee Chair
• Patricia Winter - Resources Committee Chair
• Z. Allen Abbott - Program  Committee Chair
• Anne Lee - Emerging Philanthropy Conference Committee Chair
• Chris Crytzer - Membership Committee Chair
• Josh Diller - Director-at-large

We had our first board meeting prior to the January 9, 2024 regular meeting and are looking forward to working together to create a community where every individual leaves a legacy through philanthropic estate gifts.

Happy Estate Planning Awareness Week! Didn't know that this was a thing? The third week of October has been recognized as National Estate Planning Awareness Week since 2008 to help the public understand what estate planning is and why it's so vital.

How does your organization participate? Members, please share your ideas in our online forum. 

We are thrilled to share that the Emerging Philanthropy Conference on September 29 was a huge success, thanks to all of you who attended. We had a record-breaking attendance of 218, which was a 50% increase from 2022!

We want to thank MC Houser and the EPC Planning Committee for organizing a fantastic day of professional development, networking, and fun. We learned from experts and peers about topics such as social media fundraising, donor retention, grant writing, and more. We also had a chance to connect with other professionals and organizations in the field of philanthropy.

We hope you enjoyed the conference as much as we did. We’d love to see your pictures and hear your feedback. Please visit https://ppgc.net/EPC-Pictures to upload and share your photos. We hope to see you at next year's conference!

The Pittsburgh Planned Giving Council (PPGC) is pleased to announce that three non-profit fundraising professionals have been selected to receive scholarships to the Emerging Philanthropy Conference on September 29, 2023. The Conference, which is co-hosted by AFP Western PA Chapter, will take place at the Regional Learning Alliance Conference Center in Cranberry Township.

Congratulations to Teresa Trich, Director of Development, Braddock Carnegie Library; Devan Mercurio, Senior Manager of Development, Pittsburgh Public Theater; and Olivia Narciso, Donor Relations Manager, Pittsburgh Glass Center! 

Pittsburgh Planned Giving Council is a membership organization of planned giving officers, development professionals, attorneys, financial planners, financial services officers, and insurance underwriters. The Council meets regularly to discuss issues and trends in the area of charitable gift planning and provides educational opportunities for its members. Visit our website at: ppgc.net.

Our programming committee is hard at work coming up with some great programs for 2024. In the meantime, here are the tentative dates for 2024.

• Tuesday, January 9, 2024
• Tuesday, March 19, 2024
• Tuesday, July 16, 2024
• Tuesday, September 10, 2024
• Tuesday, November 12, 2024

New to gift planning? Meet your peers!  

The CGP Emerging Professionals affinity group aims to ease entry into gift planning for those with five or fewer years of experience in the field. Join us for a series of virtual events covering topics key to your development as a gift planner, a casual monthly Zoom meet-up, and an annual social at CGP conference. 

You don't have to be a member of CGP to participate. RSVP for upcoming events at https://charitablegiftplanners.org/emerging-professionals

Based on our recent poll, there is significant interest in receiving text notifications for events, membership notifications, etc. This is an opt-in program and is based on your profile having a valid cell phone AND your consent to receive text messages (you will not receive messages unless these fields are completed.) Update your member profile if you would like to participate.

We want to help you get the word out! Does your organization have an upcoming event that you want to share? Visit https://ppgc.net/community and let us know!

With the WildApricot for Members app, you can interact with PPGC and fellow members from your mobile device. See our membership roster, register for upcoming events, amd more. Try it out!