Questions to Start Gift Planning Conversations

December 9, 2019

Greg Sharkey, JD, Senior Philanthropy Advisor

In this interactive talk, Greg will share several key questions to help you engage donors in conversations about their values, life transitions, non-cash assets, and what they want to accomplish with their philanthropy. Greg will share short stories on how these questions have led to great gifts, and will invite audience members to share their experiences/stories as well.

Greg Sharkey serves as Senior Philanthropy Advisor with The Nature Conservancy. He assists major and principal gift donors with a wide range of issues related to their philanthropy with The Nature Conservancy and their other charitable priorities. Specifically, Greg helps donors with goals for their charitable giving, and counsels them on the most effective and tax-efficient use of assets and vehicles to accomplish those goals. He often works closely with donors’ professional advisors. Greg also advises donors on the effective use of Donor Advised Funds and Private Foundations, and the engagement of family members in those platforms. Greg is a nationally recognized and highly acclaimed speaker/expert on charitable gift planning. He is former Chair of the Board of The National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, a 6,000-member organization of nonprofit planners and for-profit advisors who assist donors with their philanthropy. Greg is a former Chair of the Central Ohio Planned Giving Council, and a former Board member of the Granville Community Foundation. He is also a long-time leader in the land trust community, having served nine years as a Board Member of the Licking Land Trust (Ohio). Greg is a former partner in the Philadelphia law firm of Sweeney, Sheehan and Spencer. He earned his J.D. degree at Villanova University School of Law. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Denison University, and served his alma mater as Director of Gift Planning/Senior Development Officer for 12 years before joining The Nature Conservancy in 2008.