Our colleague Alex Brovey, senior director of gift planning at Northwell Health Foundation in New York, is seriously into karate—and she uses the 10 black belt stages as a metaphor for learning planned giving in a fascinating presentation. Pentera is presenting Brovey in a Webinar May 3, "Black Belt Gift Planning: Ten Stages to Becoming a Master." You can register here.
"As masters of karate know, even the most complex task or form involves knowing the basics and building on them over time," says Brovey, J.D., LL.M., a black belt in Shotokan karate. "Gift planning veterans similarly know that each time they prepare for a gift conversation, design a marketing piece, strategize with a colleague about gift options, or plan a training, they are building on a foundation of prior experiences.
"Join me in exploring the various stages in a typical gift planner's career path that lead to success individually and at your charitable organizations. We will discuss lessons learned, gift scenarios, training ideas, and donor stories at each stage. We will interact to discuss both the art and science of gift planning, including metrics versus goals, blended gift scenarios, and other current topics. We will also explore both 'hard' and 'soft' skills that epitomize the character of a master gift planner.