Sharpe Insights Articles

Last fall, the Federal Reserve Bulletin examined changes in family finances from 2013 to 2016 based on the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances. The report found broad-based gains in income and net worth since 2013. Because donors give from discretionary income and assets, these trends should be of interest to fundraisers. Real growth of income and wealth …Read More

by Barlow T. Mann A new study suggests the long-promised transfer of wealth may now be upon us. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has recently collaborated with the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship/LOCUS (Center) to create a new study, $9 Trillion and Counting: How Charities Can Tap Into the Transfer of Wealth. While recent Giving USA reports …Read More

McKendree University, located in Lebanon, IL, was founded in 1828 as Illinois’s first institution of higher education. Today, the liberal arts university has just under 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students and more than 23,000 alumni. We spoke with Whitney Strang (pictured), McKendree’s Director of Major and Planned Giving, about recent successes they’ve had in reaching …Read More

The Rates Committee of the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) recently announced an increase in the suggested maximum rates payable for charitable gift annuities at the 33rd ACGA Conference in Seattle April 25-27, 2018. The new rate table was subsequently released with a suggested July 1, 2018, effective date. According to ACGA surveys, 97% …Read More

The last six months have perhaps ushered in more changes in the charitable gift planning world than any other period in the past 30 years.   Given these developments, gift planners need to review the online and print materials they rely on to educate and motivate donors to make sure they are still effective in …Read More

by: Jon Tidd, Esq The following is adapted from a blog post on March 28, 2018. To subscribe to the Sharpe Group Blog, click here. In the wake of 2017 tax law changes, the Charitable IRA gift is likely to be the gift of choice going forward for many Americans aged 70½ and older. A …Read More

R&R Newkirk has been providing planned giving support services to charities for more than 50 years, and Kathy Sperlak has been an integral part of the Newkirk team for more than half of that time. In January 2018, Sharpe Group and Newkirk announced they are combining services, talent and resources. Moving forward, the two brands …Read More

The Charitable IRA (CIRA) provision, allowing individuals with IRAs to make direct charitable transfers totaling up to $100,000 per year, will likely become significantly more popular in 2018 as a result of the new tax law. (See “A Review of Charitable IRA Gifts” for more information.) The doubling of the standard deduction under the provisions …Read More

Randy Reed is director of planned giving at Hampden-Sydney College and an alumnus of the school. Located in central Virginia, Hampden-Sydney was founded in 1775, making it the tenth oldest college in the United States. Give & Take: What are some things that make Hampden-Sydney unique? Reed: Besides being one of the three all-male colleges …Read More

Why an emphasis on gifts of securities is important for many fundraising programs. Gifts of securities have risen along with stock market values in recent years. According to the latest IRS reports, gifts of corporate stock, mutual funds and other investments accounted for more than half of the $60.4 billion reported on form 8283 for …Read More