PGgrowth - Planned Giving podcast

From the Archive: Ken Ramsay and Ed Sluga discuss the Golden Age of Planned Giving and how to implement a Planned Giving campaign methodology into an existing Planned Giving program so that an organization can take advantage of the current opportunity.First broadcast in 2021, the information in this podcast is as relevant today as it was then - perhaps even more as the opportunity continues to increase while the investment in programs across the country continues to either not keep pace with the business need or even decline.

In this week’s podcast, Ed Sluga is joined by Julia Magnuson-Ford and Erika Ewacha to share some exciting news!As many planned giving professionals know, the industry is changing rapidly and facing new challenges as a result. The digital age has made it harder for fundraisers to connect with each other, and smaller charities are finding it difficult to access necessary services.In response to these issues, PGgrowth is launching The Planned Giving Commons, an online community for fundraisers, by fundraisers.In this episode, Ed, Julia, and Erika talk about the motivation behind PGcommons, what to expect from this new community, and why it is set to become an important resource in this age of planned giving.

In this special episode, we shine a spotlight on Suzanne Bone, Senior Consultant at PGgrowth and a trailblazer in hospital foundation fundraising. With over three decades of leadership as the inaugural—and for 31 years, the only—CEO of the Foundation of Guelph General Hospital, Suzanne has built a legacy of progressive impact and fundraising success.Join us as we sit down with Suzanne to reflect on her extraordinary career, the lessons she's learned along the way, and her invaluable insights into the evolving world of Planned Giving.

In this thought-provoking episode, PGgrowth President and Co-Founder Ed Sluga revisits a critical question: Why are so many charities still struggling to embrace planned giving?Back in 2017, PGgrowth launched an in-depth research initiative to understand how charities across the country were engaging with planned giving—an often-overlooked yet powerful source of revenue. Now, in 2024 and into 2025, we've gone back to the roots of that original survey, updating it and gathering fresh responses to see how things have evolved.The findings? While planned giving remains a deeply untapped opportunity for sustainable funding, many organizations are actually stepping back from it.Tune in as Ed reflects on what this means for the sector, why this revenue stream continues to be under utilized, and what your organization can do to avoid becoming a part of the trend—and instead, lead the way forward.

Enthusiastic promoter of planned giving and all around friend to everyone, Theresa Butler-Porter feels like she has always been a planned giving professional - she just didn't know it. Now, an expert in the field and much sought after mentor and speaker, Theresa takes some time to talk about her journey working in the field, what she has learned about herself and what others can do to 'lean in' and make it happen!

From time to time, we mark important moments in the planned giving world with a discussion around the current state of this form of fundraising. We've done it again. This time it is a way to look at the 15 years we have been working to raise the bar within the sector around planned giving. Joining me for this discussion are noted experts in the field Peggy Killeen, CFRE, Grant Monck, LL.B and Ken Ramsay, one of the 'founders' of planned giving as a profession in Canada. The conversation is honest - both in a positive and critical way - and offers both practical and strategic next steps for the sector and for your organization.

In our 15 years, PGgrowth has had as part of our team extraordinary leaders and experts in planned giving. This year, we will be taking the time to highlight these professionals. First up is Grant Monck - leader in planned giving for 30 years, sector expert in blended gifts, a fixture both in British Columbia and across the country in leading best in practice programs. His journey to planned giving success, like many others, did not start in fundraising. He, like so many others, was drawn to working in the charitable sector by personal experience, thoughtful examination of the career he wanted to have - and being at the right place at the right time. Although his journey did not start in fundraising, through his time working with charities, mentoring organizational leadership and staff, inspiring volunteers and engaging with donors, Grant has helped to shape how we approach planned giving in Canada. His thoughts are both inspirational and practical.

Why and how should your charity examine in a deep and meaningful way, its data and donor bases to find its best prospects for Planned Giving. Ken Ramsay brings his decades of experience leading programs asking hundreds of thousands of people across North America for Planned Gifts has provided him with a 'one-of-a-kind' knowledge and expertise in mining data for your best prospects, He is experience is unmatched and his insight is extraordinarily valuable to YOUR Planned Giving program.

Janice Meighan - in a conversation with Ed Sluga - describes the purpose, process and outcome of a fulsome review of your Planned Giving program. Put simply, it is difficult to start a journey to greater success when you don't know where you are starting from. Janice discusses policies, metrics, reporting and more in what she describes as a 'business unit' of your fundraising program.

In this first episode of the seventh season of The PGgrowth Planned Giving Podcast, host Ed Sluga discusses the new reality of planned giving programs and their importance to overall fundraising with legacy giving expert and innovator Ken Ramsay. Planned giving as a fundraising channel has gone from a niche secondary funding source to an important main focus of every development program. BUt what are organizations doing about this new reality and are they ready to lead or be left behind.

Ed Sluga, CFRE and Ken Ramsay discuss the new reality that to truly engage donors as partners in your mission, all personal philanthropy - Leadership giving, Major Giving and Estate Giving - can and should be considered part of a larger Planned Giving program development.

Ed Sluga and Tracey Church, well known and well regarded Prospect Research Professional, talk about how to use the techniques of prospect research in a Planned Giving Program. Research is often reserved for Major Giving and Campaign Giving programs. This podcast rethinks that conventional wisdom in the new era of Planned Giving Campaigns.