Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Stanford University’s Office of Planned Giving hosted our 12th annual Conference on Charitable Giving, featuring renowned presenters and a variety of significant topics in the gift and estate planning field.

The Conference drew 220 attorneys, financial planners, accountants and other estate planning professionals in the charitable giving field to 13 in-depth sessions that provided both learning and networking opportunities.

Attendees were able to qualify for MCLE Ethics credits by attending the morning breakout session “Ethical Considerations When Dealing with Elderly Clients and Donors” by Bob Temmerman, Jr., of Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann.

A special panel featuring Bob Grant of Grant and Gordon, Judy Barber of Family Money Consultants, and Jane Williams of Sand Hill Global Advisors addressed the topic of wealth transfer and "how much is enough" for one generation to give to the next. This topic has been discussed frequently among professional advisors working with members of the Baby Boom Generation who are expected to give trillions of dollars to younger family members over the next several years. The luncheon keynote speaker, Richard Saller, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, provided a perspective on the issue through a historical lens by discussing the challenges and implications that ancient Romans faced when they made interfamily and intergenerational wealth transfers.

Another popular session dealt with pledges. The market upheaval over the past few years has left many donors in a difficult position where they can not fulfill pledges made under better economic conditions. Mary Quilici Aumack from the Catholic Foundation of Santa Clara County, Howie Pearson of Stanford University, and Dave Mitchell of Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel joined forces to discuss strategies aimed at both maintaining donor relations and still meeting the nonprofit’s fiduciary duties.

The success of this year’s conference was due, in large part, to the faithful support of BNY Mellon Wealth Management. BNY Mellon has sponsored the conference since 2003 and its generous backing allows the community foundation and Stanford University to continue to showcase engaging speakers and thought leaders from the field of charitable gift planning. Following the conference, BNY Mellon hosted a reception in the Ford Gardens outside the Arrillaga Alumni Center. Many attendees stayed to enjoy the hors d’oeuvres and cocktails and to network with one another following the day’s events. The community foundation and Stanford’s Office of Planned Giving are tremendously grateful to BNY Mellon for their support.

If you joined us at this year’s conference and would like to share your feedback, please contact us at 650.450.5517 or info@conferencecharitablegiving.org. We hope you gained valuable tools and information on charitable gift and estate planning and we look forward to seeing you again at the Conference on Charitable Giving in 2012.