​Featured Keynote Speakers

Alex Banayan - “When you change what people believe is possible, you change what becomes possible.” That’s the lesson Alex Banayan learned as he interviewed the world's most successful people over  the course of seven years for his bestselling book, The Third Door. He found that all of these leaders, from Bill Gates to Maya Angelou to Warren Buffett to Lady Gaga, found a Third Door to get in to the arena where they eventually excelled. It was almost always an entry they created themselves, that didn’t exist for anyone else. At the conference, Alex will share fascinating Third Door tales. But it’s his own creativity, his focus on origin stories and his insight into the self-made mindset that offer real inspiration for gift planners, who help successful people believe that they can change the world. Banayan has presented the Third Door framework to business conferences and corporate leadership teams around the world, including Apple, Google, Nike, IBM, Salesforce, Disney, and Harvard.

Elizabeth J. Dale -  Elizabeth J. Dale is an assistant professor in the Master of Nonprofit Leadership Program at Seattle University. Her research focuses on the philanthropic practices of LGBT individuals and couples, women’s giving and funding for women’s and girls' causes, and the intersection of gender and philanthropy. Elizabeth received her Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies in 2016 from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. CGP attendees will get an early look at important new research from the Giving USA Foundation's new survey of planned gift donors in New Orleans. During the closing plenary, survey director Elizabeth Dale will preview key findings from the study, which will be published in November.

The RIFT Project
Charitable Beneficiary IRA Distribution Resource Center

In a recent CGP survey 43% of organizations stated they experienced difficulty in collecting beneficiary proceeds from one or more IRA administrators. This is a matter of great concern to nonprofit organizations across the country. Many individuals and organizations are working to improve the timely distribution of beneficiary proceeds from financial institutions. Through awareness, advocacy and the collection of valuable information to assist organizations, they have created a number of resources to expedite distributions and promote change in institutional policy. The goal of the center is to organize the results of their efforts in one location to benefit the entire nonprofit sector.

View Resource Center

In a recent CGP survey, 43% of organizations stated they experienced difficulty in collecting beneficiary proceeds from one or more IRA administrators. This is a matter of great concern to nonprofit organizations across the country. Many individuals and organizations are working to improve the timely distribution of beneficiary proceeds from financial institutions. Through awareness, advocacy and the collection of valuable information to assist organizations, they have created a number of resources to expedite distributions and promote change in institutional policy. The goal of the center is to organize the results of their efforts in one location to benefit the entire nonprofit sector.

This center is meant to be dynamic with new resources and information added as they become available. If you have information to share or know of a resource that should be added, please let us know by adding your comments in the “Contact Us” bulleted link below.

• Read About the Issue:  
  • Overcoming Obstacles When Charities Collect Deceased Donors' IRAs in The Journal of Gift Planning - October 2025
  • ​RIFT Advocacy Updates in Planned Giving Today - November 2024

• RIFT Database of IRA Custodians

• State RIFT Laws

• Join RIFT Advocates Working Group or RIFT Legislators Group

• Transfer on Death (TOD)/Brokerage accounts
• A Word About Income Tax Withholding
• IRS Form W-4R
• Sample Corporate Resolutions
  • Long sample resolution
  • Short sample resolution
• Royalty-Free Donor Audience Articles
  • Sharing Your Plans with Your Beneficiaries
  • Take the Next Step: Notify Your Beneficiaries 
• 2024 FinCEN Ruling Letter
• Additional Reading 
• Contact Us/Comments

RIFT (Release IRA Funds Timely) Project

LEAD by Johni Hays, JD

The RIFT Project is a database of collected materials to assist charitable organizations to effectively file and timely receive IRA beneficiary distributions. Click on the institution you are looking for to access sample letters, filing information, forms and key contacts.

Disclaimer: Neither the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners or the RIFT Project is responsible for errors in this information. The information is gathered from multiple sources and may change without notification. Should you see data that is incorrect or have knowledge of changes to the information posted, please share that information in the comment section.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Tax Reform Act of 1969

The Tax Reform Act of 1969 provided the legal framework for much of what gift planners do today. To reform abuses of loosely regulated charitable trusts and private foundations, the Act mandated many changes affecting the practice of charitable gift planning.

While familiar tools such as charitable remainder trusts and lead trusts, pooled income funds, and gift annuities were in use long before 1969, this legislation spelled out very specific and wide-ranging new rules for their operation.

As a result of the Tax Reform Act, many people became attracted to the field of charitable gift planning. Gift planning councils sprang up across the country. Another major tax reform in 1986 closed many popular loopholes, making charitable remainder trusts even more attractive, and intensifying the need for a national professional association. The National Committee on Planned Giving (now NACGP) was founded as a federation of gift planning councils in 1988. Gift planners continue to find creative gift arrangements within the legal framework set out in 1969.

This is an anniversary worth celebrating!

Why was the Act needed?  What did it contain?  What was its impact on charitable gift planning? Read Ronald Brown’s article about the Tax Reform Act of 1969 here.

Read Article

Visit Ronald Brown's webiste www.giftplanninghistory.org.

Charitable Giving and Tax Incentives Report

June 2019

The report, commissioned by Independent Sector, compares five policy proposals to incentivize charitable giving for non-itemizers. The research was conducted by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in partnership with the Wharton College of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Read Independent Sector’s summary or download the full report below.

Access Report