Conversational Gift Planning | CGP

Conversational Gift Planning | CGP
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Education
"What Did You Say?" Becoming an Effective Listener
8 Cool Ways Your Donors Can Give With CRTs
A Package That Ticks Might Contain a Large Complex Gift
All You Need For Planned Giving You Learned in Kindergarten
Applying the Killer Apps of Personalized Philanthropy
Bequest Pipeline Conference Whitepaper
Building a Legacy Gift Portfolio from Your Annual Donor Base
Checklist for Considering the Acceptance of Real Property Gifts
Click or Skip? What About Headlines Makes Donors Want to Read More?
Comprehensive Donor Relations: Moving Beyond Acknowledgements and Stewardship, Tools to Drive Major and Planned Gifts
Counting, Crediting, Valuing and Evaluating: Managing a Coordinated Approach to the Numbers
Discovery Questions for Gifts of Mineral Interests
Education - In-Demand
Education - Jon Tidd Webinar
Ethical Fundraising with Seniors
Featured session from NCPP2015
From Reactive to Proactive - the Evolution of a Gift Planning Program
Gifts from Cousin Eddie--Acceptance, Ownership and Management of Bizarre Gifts
Guidelines for Reporting and Counting Charitable Gifts
How to Have the MOST Productive Conversations: From Here to Eternity
Jumpstart Your Results: Conducting a Legacy Giving Mini-Campaign
Minding Your EQs: What Really Counts When it Comes to Success in Gift Planning
On Second Thought: Changing the Purpose of Yesterday's Gifts
Peer Link - Enhancing Your Program
Peer Link: Marketing
Peer Link: Planned Gift Tech
Personalized Philanthropy Across the Disciplines: Planning for High Capacity Clients and Donors
Preparing for and Optimizing Donor Visits
Resources - Webinar Series
Storytelling for Gift Planning Success Your Roadmap for Collecting Great Stories
Syllabus for Gift Planners, section 1: Philosophy and Practice
Syllabus for Gift Planners, section 2: Donor Relations
Syllabus for Gift Planners, section 2: Donor Relations
Syllabus for Gift Planners, section 4: Management of a Gift Planning Program
Syllabus for Gift Planners, section 5: Financial and Estate Planning
The (Baltimore) Raven Says Nevermore: Creative Advanced Gift Annuity Planning
Trending Forward--Emerging Demographics Driving Planned Giving
Valuation Standards for Charitable Planned Gifts
What are Donors Telling Us?
Why Donor Advised Funds and Supporting Organizations are a Gift Planners Friend
Research
Standards
Guidelines for Gift Planner Performance Metrics
Model Standards of Practice for the Charitable Gift Planner
National Standards for Gift Planning Success
Guidelines for Reporting and Counting Charitable Gifts
Syllabus for Gift Planners, section 1: Philosophy and Practice
NSGPS
Conversational Gift Planning
Advocate
Our Position
Advocacy Updates
Charitable Beneficiary IRA Distribution Resource Center (RIFT)
RIFT Database of IRA Custodians
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Activate your membership to connect with a national network of charitable gift planning peers and gain access to valuable resources.
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Understand how CGP membership works, discover our shared ethics and more.
Connect with a community of pros.
The National Association of Charitable Gift Planners is your professional home—a place to build your career and connect with a national network of charitable gift planning professionals.​
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About The National Association of Charitable Gift Planners
CGP has grown with and for the charitable gift planning industry. From think tank conversations, to a federation of local councils, to a professional organization, we've evolved to serve members nationwide. Together, we build a bold future of smarter giving and bigger impact.
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Tap into education that will take your career to the next level. Search for conference papers, on-demand webinars, and live events. CGP members enjoy member-only pricing and discounts on events.
Conversational Gift Planning
Learn The Four Decisions for more meaningful and productive conversations.
Conversational Gift Planning
, offered by the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, is a virtual, multi-week educational course led by Dan Shephard. This program equips participants with the fundamental tools to elevate their donor relationships.
Participate in live education to integrate practical skills into more meaningful and productive conversations. Courses meet live via Zoom weekly for a six-week period. Sessions are not recorded.
Module One: The Four Decisions
Dan will guide participants through
The Four Decisions
every donor makes to learn the skills of donor-participatory fundraising.
Why
: Learn your donor’s gift motivation.
What
: Determine a promising gift purpose.
How
: Identify life events, assets and other considerations for the gift.
Will You
: Identify possible gift strategies to share with your donor.
The cost of the program is $995 for CGP members and $1,195 for non-members. CFRE and CSPG credit is available for registrants.
Full participation in Conversational Gift Planning is applicable for nine credit hours in Category 1.B -Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.
The course will help you learn how to:
Identify a promising possible donor for a charitable gift annuity or a gift of an appreciated asset.
Describe the identified gift plan to that possible donor in conversational language.
Find your distinctive voice in conversational gift planning through realistic practice.
Identify giftable assets.
Learn about the planned sale of a private business before it’s too late.
Start a conversation about providing income for retirement.
Introduce tax advantages that can influence gift amount.
Engage others who should be involved in gift planning (personal and professional).
2026 class sessions
SOLD OUT
Wednesdays, 1-2:30 p.m. ET
​January 28, February 4, 11, 18, 25, March 4
SOLD OUT
Wednesdays, 2-3:30 p.m. ET
​March 11, 18, 25, April 1, 8, 15
NEW:
Module Two: Interactive Case Studies
through interactive case studies, course participants will dive deeply into driving more impactful gifts by GUIDING donor conversations.
Expand your gift planner’s tool kit for finding the right donor and right gift. During this course, you will:
Continue practicing Intentional Inquiry, using The Four Decisions.
Learn about selected gift planning strategies and assets in a conversational context.
Practice finding your voice.
The cost of the program is $795 for CGP members and $995 for non-members. CFRE and CSPG credit is available for registrants.
Full participation in Conversational Gift Planning is applicable for nine credit hours in Category 1.B -Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.
2026 class sessions
Wednesdays, 2-3:30 p.m. ET
​May 6, 13, 20, 27, June 3, 10
Registration is open for graduates of Module One.
Meet Dan Shephard
Dan Shephard
is the creator of The Four Decisions and of Interactive Case Studies, the learning tools used in this training program. He developed the tools and techniques used in the seminar during a three-decade career as a fundraising professional with experience in the performing arts and higher education.
Over the past decade, Dan has taught conversational gift planning to hundreds of fundraising professionals at such institutions as Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institution, Florida International University, Rochester Institute of Technology, the World Wildlife Fund, and many others.
Thank you for challenging us and coaching us through our donor conversations, it was incredibly valuable. This class was truly one of the best I’ve ever attended.
Cecilia Bynum, Senior Director of Planned Giving, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
Talking through hypothetical gift planning scenarios where I had to consider the best gift planning vehicles, while learning how to think what may be the best one for the donor, was extremely helpful.
Carli Yoho, Assistant Director of Planned Giving, West Virginia University Foundation
This course is a career accelerator.
Carlo Laurore, Interim Chief Development Officer, Scouting America
Participating in Conversational Gift Planning was transformative for my approach to donor engagement. The hands-on exercises, especially the role-playing scenarios, were instrumental in helping me refine my skills and approach each donor interaction with clarity and purpose.
Sarah Sosa-Acevedo, Gift Planning Officer, Smithsonian Institution
We took a close look at both the mechanics of a wide variety of gift planning strategies and, more valuable, how to explain them to my donors. It was just what my team needed.
Ryan Hart, Executive Director of Gift Planning, Columbia University