REGISTRATION AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

8:45 - 10 a.m.

WELCOME AND OPEN PLENARY

Recent Developments: Charitable Gift Planning After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
Martin Hall, Esq., Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP

• A leading expert in the area of charitable tax and estate planning will share the latest developments in this area of the law, including a review of provisions from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 which affect charitable gift planning. This annual update will cover legislation and cases impacting estate and gift taxes, private foundations, donor advised funds, supporting organizations, retirement plans and other issues of importance to practitioners and advisors to individual donors and foundations.  

10:15 - 11:00 a.m.

MORNING PLENARY II

Reflections on a Philanthropic Journey
Jeff Raikes, Co-founder, Raikes Foundation

• High-net-worth families and individuals and their foundations are often challenged by how to clarify their philanthropic goals and develop a philanthropic strategy that makes an impact and brings satisfaction. Jeff Raikes, former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, cofounder of the Raikes Foundation, and chair of the Stanford Board of Trustees, will share insights and experiences from his own philanthropic journey.

11:00 - 11:15 a.m.

BREAK

11:15 - 12:15 p.m.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Introduction to Planned Giving: How advisors can work with their clients’ charitable beneficiaries
Fred Hartwick, Philanthropic Advisor, Stanford University

• It is always good to involve a charitable beneficiary when a client is making plans for a significant gift.  When should advisors contact the charity?  What kind of help should the advisor expect?  What issues arise when a client wants to leave a charitable bequest, create a life income gift, or make a non-cash gift?

Charitable Strategies for Business Owners
Stephanie C. Buckley, Vice President, Senior Regional Fiduciary Manager Philanthropic Services, California and Southwest Regions, Wells Fargo Private Bank

• Many successful business owners engage in philanthropy, particularly upon the sale of their business.  Utilizing charitable strategies at the time of sale can provides the business owner with several benefits while allowing him or her to support one or more charitable causes.  One of the main benefits include the mitigation and/or deferral of capital gains tax on sale and depending on the strategy selected, can also include a lifetime income stream.  In this session, Ms. Buckley will discuss various charitable strategies such as private foundations, donor advised funds, and charitable remainder trusts and how utilizing these strategies can create a win-win for your clients and the charities they support.  She will also discuss the pitfalls to be aware of to ensure a smooth transaction and a happy client.

The Deduction is in the Details: Substantiating Charitable Gifts
Barbara Rhomberg, Esq., Kavanagh Rhomberg, LLP

• Completing a planned or major gift can be exciting, but the gift is just the first step in securing a charitable contribution deduction.   The tax rules for substantiating charitable deductions are persnickety, and small foot faults can provide the IRS with a basis to deny large deductions.  This program will cover the substantiation rules for charitable gifts, including qualified appraisal requirements, charity acknowledgements, donor reliance on the charity’s receipts, and other documentation required to secure a deduction for planned, major, and corporate gifts.

12:15 - 1:45 p.m.

LUNCH & PLENARY

The Race of Our Lives
Jeremy Grantham, Co-founder and Chief Investment Strategist, GMO
Dr. Ashby Monk, Executive Director, Stanford Global Projects Center
Bert W. Feuss (moderator), Silicon Valley Community Foundation

• Climate change is a critical issue in the world of ESG and sustainable investing. This panel will attempt to address the following questions/topics: 1) Why should fiduciaries be concerned about the impact of climate change on their portfolios? 2) What do advisors need to know to help protect their client portfolios from the risks of climate change while potentially benefitting from the investment opportunities it may present?

1:45 - 2 p.m.

BREAK

2 - 3 p.m.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Charitable Lead Trusts Demystified
Kirsten Wolff, Esq., Partner, Sideman and Bancroft

• A Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) is not the most well-known charitable planning vehicle, but with a change in the tax code they may become more common.  This presentation will provide a brief overview on the structure and requirements for a CLT and mainly cover case studies for when a CLT could be the most advantageous.  This sessions will also explain why the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 could make this vehicle more attractive to your clients.

Engaging the Conversation on Impact Investing
Justina Lai, Director of Impact Investing and Shareholder, Wetherby Asset Management
Patricia Farrar-Rivas, CEO and founding principal of Veris Wealth Partners
Anna K. Snider, CAIA, Managing Director and Head of Due Diligence, Chief Investment Office, Global Wealth and Investment Management, Bank of America Corp.
David M. Sacarelos, CPA, Partner, Seiler LLP (moderator)

• This session will focus on financial advisors and their role in supporting HNWI and their families in designing, developing and implementing impact investing strategies. Join us to learn more about specific approaches, tools and options to integrating impact investments into client portfolios

Intergenerational Family Dynamics: Navigating Values, Philanthropic Priorities and Giving
Liz Simons, Chair, Heising-Simons Foundation
Caitlin Heising, Vice Chair, Heising-Simons Foundation
Kim Meredith, Executive Director, Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (moderator)

• Liz Simons, Chair of the Heising-Simons Foundation and her daughter, Caitlin Heising, Vice-Chair, will engage in a conversation with Kim Meredith, Executive Director of Stanford PACS, to discuss the decision to start a family foundation, what values to reflect, when to involve the next generation, and how the board determines its program priorities and giving.  The panelists will also cover the decisions they have made about board composition and governance, the role that professional advisors have played in the evolution of the foundation, and their view of the impact of the foundation and what they envision for its future.

3 - 3:15 p.m.

BREAK

3:15 - 4:15 p.m.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Advanced Planning and Drafting: What we are seeing and what we might see after the 2017 tax legislation
Martin Hall, Esq., Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP
B. Howard Pearson, Development Legal Counsel, Stanford University

• Two leading experts in the field of charitable giving will discuss legal developments in the field of charitable gift planning with a focus on complex issues related to CRTs, CLTs, and other sophisticated approaches to charitable giving in the context of a well-designed estate plan.  The speakers will present a few scenarios based on their recent experience and address the implications of recent tax law changes and the strategies they recommend in response to these changes.  This session will also include time for attendees to share interesting situations and trends that they are seeing in their practices.

Donor Advised Funds: Tips for Conversations and Recent Changes
Don Gottesman, JD, LLM (Tax), Director of Planned Giving, Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Lisa Barr, Director of Philanthropic Entrepreneurship, Silicon Valley Community Foundation

• Donor advised funds (DAFs) continue to be a popular way for people to make gifts to charities. Your ability to discuss DAFs with clients, donors and prospects will become increasingly important.  This session will help boost your confidence when talking about DAFs.  First, we will briefly discuss what DAFs are and the key points to bring to a client’s, donor’s or prospect’s attention.  Then, we will talk about how DAFs can be used by people who already have a private foundation and as an alternative to private foundations. We will then wrap-up with comments about any changes due to the new tax law, a few specific examples, and a lively Q&A.

Navigating Gifts Involving LLCs
Bill Knox, JD, LLM, TIAA Kaspick

• Over the past several years more and more donors are inquiring about making gifts from and/or of an LLC. Gifts of business interests and gifts directly from business entities can be challenging but they tend to be large and rewarding too.  In this session we will discuss valuation, transferability, tax pitfalls and road blocks that can arise with such gifts.  While the issues presented by a gift involving an LLC can be complex to navigate—especially when LLCs are operating businesses, have large amounts of debt, or are owned by multiple members—many gifts involving LLCs are straightforward. This session offers tools to evaluate gifts involving LLCs and highlights opportunities that may have a greater likelihood of success for both the donor and the charity.

4:15 - 5 p.m.

RECEPTION