If you are a typical major gift officer, you likely have a portfolio of assigned prospects across a range of ages and wealth circumstances, at various stages of engagement and levels of history with your university. This session will help you open the door to planned giving discussions with your assigned prospects, using the information they provide and your own knowledge of the options available to different donors.
You will not only learn why a donor would consider an estate gift or gift annuity, but why they would consider giving stock or IRA assets instead of cash. Most importantly, you will learn what to do next if your donor is interested in learning more, without necessarily having to call in the planned giving office or running a detailed illustration.
John McKee’s career in planned giving began in 1999 at Gallaudet University, having trained as a curator of American decorative arts and previously directing the Historical Society of Saratoga Springs (NY). In 2002 John joined the planned giving office at University of Maryland College Park, and moved to the University of Maryland Baltimore in 2018 where he currently serves as the Acting Associate VP for Philanthropy. A native of Seattle, John earned his bachelor’s degree in History of Art at Yale, holds a master’s degree in American Material Culture and a certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Delaware (Winterthur Program), and recently completed a certificate in Intercultural Leadership from UMB. John has called Annapolis and Maryland home since age 18, and currently lives near the Inner Harbor and commutes to work on foot.
