Ever wondered how to give back to a charity or organization that has truly made a meaningful impact on your family? Host Annette Hines shines a spotlight on one of her beloved organizations, Perkins School for the Blind, where her daughter, Elizabeth attended school to show how easy it is to make planned gifts. This episode is the kickoff to a series focusing on end of the year and beginning year planning and setting goals.  Planning is a big part of Hines’ toolbox that helped her gain control over her life and future early on in law school, and planning is what provides her with security and a sense of control.  Even when life events like having a 29-week premie, Elizabeth, shifted her original life plan, planning and goal setting are always what helped her navigate challenges. She encourages listeners to review the year, learn about what went well and didn’t go well, and celebrate wins and move forward with a plan for 2023.

Charitable giving is one of the most frequent discussions Hines has with her clients in planning their estate. Planned giving is accessible to almost everyone, and it is a meaningful way to make an impact at your favorite organization. Two guests join Hines for this discussion on charitable giving.  Jennifer Volpe works with donors on planned giving to Perkins and she shares the perspective of what planned giving looks like from the organization. Brooke Carter Sukhavasi serves at Colby College as the Senior Associate Director of Gift Planning and is working with Perkins on planned giving also joins the discussion.  Both guests emphasize the importance of forming a relationship with the organization to which you want to make charitable gifts so that your giving can match your goals and those of the organization. They also note that the method of giving may look different for everyone, but planned giving is possible for nearly everyone, and the long term impact on the organization is great.

Planning and goal setting for the new year are an annual focus for Hines in the podcast. Some previous episodes on these topics include:

  1. Year End Planning with Annette Hines
  2. 4 Steps to Make 2021 the Best Year Yet with Host Annette Hines
  3. Set Goals, Not Resolutions For 2022 with Tracey Ingle; Sarah Reiff-Hekking

More about our guests:

Jennifer Volpe spent over 10 years in sales and business development for a small new England based company, and then worked in the health insurance field. While volunteering at a local hospital, Jennifer decided to make the switch to non-profit fundraising. For the last 17 years, Jennifer has being raising much needed funding for programs at Perkins School for the Blind, and is now focusing on working with donors on Planned Giving to the school.

Brooke Carter Sukhavasi has over 20 years of sales, business development, event planning and fundraising/advancement experience. Currently, Brooke works for Colby College as the Senior Associate Director of Gift Planning. With over 8 years of fundraising experience, primarily in gift planning, Brooke recently established her own consulting business to help other organizations with their most pressing needs. She thrives when meeting new people to help their project or philanthropic intent become a reality. In addition to work, she helped co-found a NH based non-profit called Action for Aidan. To date, they have raised over $650K to support research for a cure to Hunter Syndrome.

Let us know what you think of the topic of charitable giving! Leave a comment on our podcasts page: Podcasts