Session Descriptions
General Session
Estate Administration
Communicating Your Planned Giving Initiatives
Technology's Role in Gift Planning
Diving Deeper
The conference has been approved for 8.25 hours of CFRE continuing education.
MONDAY, MAY 12
Conference Check-In | 12:00pm -6:00pm | Kanuga Inn Lobby
Planned Giving 101: Building and Growing a Sustainable Program
Peggy Cieslikowski, College of Charleston
RJ Gimbl, USC Upstate
Bill Yaeger, The Citadel Foundation
1:00pm-4:00pm | Gooch Main
This interactive session offers practical guidance for building or strengthening a planned giving program, covering infrastructure, prospecting, and donor engagement, with actionable strategies and real-world insights from experienced practitioners.
What Does it Mean to Be "The Adult in the Room' in These Uncertain Times?
Avery Fontaine, PNC Asset Management Group
3:00pm-4:00pm | Gooch A
This session explores how Ultra-High Net Worth donors and Family Offices are adapting their approach to philanthropy in the current climate, using social capital strategically and navigating uncertainty to their advantage.
Welcome Reception 5:00pm-6:00pm | Johnson Fireplace Lounge
Dinner and the Clash of the Carolinas
6:00pm-8:00pm | Balthis
Opening night of the Carolinas Planned Giving Conference features a warm, friendly and fun icebreaker – our first ever Quiz Show! Join us for The Planned Giving Game: Clash of the Carolinas, where three South Carolina contestants take on three contestants from North Carolina as they answer questions about the wonderful world of planned giving. You’ll laugh and learn as our two teams of contestants test their knowledge. Don’t miss it!
TUESDAY, MAY 13
Breakfast | 7:30am-9:00am | Dining Hall
Wealth of Narratives: How Money Stories Influence Donors
Andrew Tudor, Zenith Wealth
9:00am-10:15am | Balthis
Behind every planned gift is a personal story. This session explores the diverse money stories that influence giving, from family values and cultural traditions to lived experiences with wealth and scarcity. You’ll discover how exploring your own money narrative can help you listen better, connect more deeply, and secure transformational gifts.
Break and Sponsor Time | 10:15am-10:45am
The Impact of AI in Planned Giving and How to Use it to Support Your Program
Brantley Boyett, Giving Docs
10:45am-11:45am | Gooch A
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various industries, and the field of planned giving is no exception. AI-driven tools are helping gift officers optimize their strategies, engage donors more effectively, and ultimately, increase the revenue generated by planned gifts for nonprofits across the industry. Attendees will leave this session with a baseline of what AI is currently being used for by nonprofits and a practical outline of how to apply in their everyday work.
Curiosity as Currency: Planned Giving for Future-Thinking Nonprofits
Lauren Tudor, ARCHITECT Philanthropic Collective
10:45am-11:45am | Gooch B
This innovative session reimagines planned giving through the lens of curiosity and strategic design. Attendees will explore how to transform donor conversations, create "living legacies," and design adaptive giving vehicles that evolve with changing needs. Drawing from real-world examples, we'll demonstrate how nonprofits of all sizes can revolutionize their approach to legacy giving and long-term community impact.
Navigating the Path Forward: Steps for Charities When a Planned Gift Donor Passes Away
Kinna Clark, UNC System Office
10:45am-11:45am | Gooch C
This session provides essential guidance for charitable organizations on the crucial steps to take when a planned gift donor passes away. Attendees will learn how to respond with sensitivity and professionalism, including initial notification and family communication, reviewing donor intentions and legal documentation, and executing the donor's wishes. The session will also highlight the importance of partnering with key professionals and will cover the critical questions to ask and contacts to make. Through examples and interactive discussions, participants will gain practical strategies to navigate these delicate situations effectively and respectfully while honoring the donor’s legacy and ensuring compliance with obligations.
Preparing your Institution for The Greatest Generational Wealth Transfer in US History
Clay Grayson, Grayson Law Firm
10:45am-11:45am | Gooch Main
By the year 2048, it is anticipated that up to $18 trillion dollars will be donated by baby boomers to nonprofits, with a significant amount of that transfer to be made through planned gifts. Author of the best-selling book, The Philanthropist Handbook: Finding Meaning in the Endowment of Humanity, Clay Grayson will present a data driven program, drawing from the 2020 Census and many other sources, to quantify and project this incredible transfer of wealth.
Lunch | 11:45am-1:00pm | Dining Hall
Data Preparation and Accuracy
RJ Gimble, USC Upstate
Becky Snow, USC Upstate
1:15pm-2:15pm | Gooch A
Explore the fundamentals of data preparation and cleaning, learning best practices for handling messy datasets. The session will demonstrate techniques for identifying inconsistencies, removing duplicates, and ensuring data accuracy, highlighting how clean data enhances analytical insights. Review the tools and strategies essential for efficient data management.
From Hesitant to Heroic: Inspiring your Board to Champion Planned Giving
Pam Davison, Davidson Gift Design
1:15pm-2:15pm | Gooch B
Would you like your nonprofit board to embrace planned giving? Board members can be wonderful advocates for planned giving, and in this session, national expert Pamela Davidson will share her secrets and strategies about how to engage even the most reluctant board member! Learn how to provide board training on what planned giving is, how it works, and why it is crucial to a nonprofit’s long-term sustainability. Would you like to hear the best ways to encourage board members to make their own planned gifts, and encourage others they know to make a planned gift? You’ll learn that and so much more in Pamela’s session!
Top Estate Administration Roadblocks and How to Get Around Them
Jane Lee Heuser, Duke University
1:15pm-2:15pm | Gooch C
Collecting estate gifts can be quick and simple. But more often than not, your team runs into issues. Why does it take so long to collect the estate gift? Are you receiving the full amount your donor intended? This presentation will explore common roadblocks such as slow-moving estates, the unresponsive fiduciary, accounting red flags, and more! We’ll also discuss best practices to help prevent and manage these issues.
Next Level CGAs - Have You Considered...
Karl McTaggart, PNC
1:15pm-2:15pm | Gooch Main
Learn how organizations with existing charitable gift annuity programs can take them to the next level, and how they can integrate gift annuities within a larger gifting strategy. For those organizations without gift annuity programs, learn how they can be an effective tool in helping donors achieve their overall philanthropic goals.
Break and Sponsor Time | 2:15pm-2:30pm
Ask The Experts
2:30pm-3:45pm
Gooch A - Legacy Societies
Gooch B - AI/Technology
Gooch C - Building a Planned Giving Program
Gooch Main 1 - Community Foundations
Gooch Main 2 - RIFT Project
Balthis 1 - Non-Cash/Complex Assets
Balthis 2 - Higher Education
Break and Sponsor Time | 3:45pm-4:00pm
Legislative and Regulatory Panel
Tim Prosser, TIAA Kaspick
4:00pm-5:00pm | Balthis
Session description coming soon!
Break | 5:00pm-6:00pm
Reception | 6:00pm-7:00pm | Johnson Fireplace Lounge
Dinner | 7:00pm-8:30pm | Cunningham
Bill's Porch | 8:30pm-11:00pm | Cabin 26
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14
Breakfast | 7:30am-9:00am | Dining Hall
Gifts of Retirement Plan Assets
Tim Prosser, TIAA Kaspick
9:00am-10:00am | Gooch A
Retirement plan assets, including traditional IRAs, 401k and 403b plans and others, constitute a very large part of many donors’ net worth. In this session, we will discuss tax-effective ways to use these assets to create outright and deferred charitable gifts, as well as life income gifts to benefit individuals
Made with Love: How to Craft Heartfelt, Small-Batch Marketing Campaigns for Legacy Prospects
Claire Meyerhoff, The Planned Giving Agency
9:00am-10:00am | Gooch B
Are you looking for a more personal and practical approach to planned giving marketing? With fast-growing e-mail fatigue, consider connecting with potential legacy donors with thoughtful, small-batch mailings to spark meaningful conversations about planned giving. In this session, philanthropy marketing expert Claire Meyerhoff will share her top three small-batch campaign ideas. Uncover hidden planned giving donors, identify excellent prospects, build trust, and even engage your board. With Claire’s friendly style and first-hand experience, you will discover how easy it is to create personal, intentional mailings to cultivate deeper donor relationships.
Faith and Planned Giving: What to Know Before the Ask
Erik Ely, Tre Fratelli Consulting
Scott Stephens, USC Upstate
9:00am-10:00am | Gooch C
Individuals with faith are often quite generous. However, what should I consider before starting a conversation with them? We will examine their motivations from a broader perspective.
Disaster Fundraising Panel
Chad Contay, MANNA FoodBank
Luke Howe, AMY Wellness Foundation
Debra Romano, Wells Fargo
9:00am-10:00am | Gooch Main
Hurricane Helene came through this very region of WNC and altered landscapes, lives, and livelihoods. Come meet Chad Conaty of MANNA Food Bank in Asheville, NC and Luke Howe of AMY Wellness Foundation in Spruce Pine, NC and hear their stories. Learn how both personal and organizational challenges were vividly overcome so critical services could be continued and delivered. Listen to their incredible donor stories. Leave with a practical list of tips and skills you need to develop for your own disaster toolkit.
Break and Checkout | 10:00am-10:30am
Grit, Guts, and Game Plan: The Top Power Attributes (and Actions!) of Exceptional Planned Giving Fundraisers in Turbulent Times
Pam Davidson, Davidson Gift Design
10:30am-11:30am | Balthis
Join us for our closing keynote session when one of the best-known names in Planned Giving, Pamela Davidson, will inspire you to take on the challenge’s fundraisers face right now. With a fresh perspective based on the current climate, and decades of thought leadership, Pamela will introduce her TOP POWER ATTRIBUTES AND ACTIONS she says will ensure your success right now – and into the future. Don’t miss this session! You’ll leave the 2025 Carolinas Planned Giving Conference with new -found energy, sensible strategies and the confidence you need to be EXCEPTIONAL planned giving fundraiser!