Sharpe Blog

Growing up, I watched my father (who just celebrated his 93rd birthday) give blood to the Red Cross, deliver food to the local food bank and take leadership roles in our church. Through his actions, I learned the importance of philanthropy, which led me to my career in fundraising. Another important lesson I learned from …Read More

When it comes to charitable gift annuity programs, the past several decades have been difficult ones. Like a perfect storm, lower interest rates combined with a smaller group of Silent Generation donors who had aged into the 75+ age range, causing the long-popular split-interest gift plan to lose some of its appeal. But now things …Read More

Question: For a donor 70½ or older, is a QCD the best way to fund a gift annuity?   Answer: In certain circumstances. Your donor may find, however, that it is more advantageous to use cash or appreciated securities because they: Will receive a charitable income tax deduction if they itemize. Avoid some capital gains, …Read More

Question: I have a donor who is considering making a noncash gift at year-end. In addition to giving highly appreciated securities, what are other options I should discuss with them?            Answer: Even the shrewdest investor occasionally buys a stock that turns out to be a “dog.”  Continuing to hold declining stock, hoping for an upturn, …Read More

Question: What is building organizational sustainability? What it really means is answered with a series of questions: How much does your organization have in reserves for bad times? Does your organization consider the reserves to be AS important as your mission? How do you measure reserves? How do you build reserves? Having the opportunity to …Read More