Helping charitable individuals achieve their philanthropic goals can be a group effort, involving a cadre of charitable people, nonprofit gift planners and professional advisors. The Oregon Jewish Community Foundation understands the key role professional advisors play in helping clients with their philanthropy, which is why the foundation launched its Professional Advisors Group in 2010.
PAG comprises advisors from legal, accounting, insurance, wealth-management and investment fields. Professional Advisors Group meetings, held several times a year, focus on a variety of topics, some more specialized than others. The common thread that runs through the program is the idea that when advisors, clients and nonprofits collaborate, the results can provide important financial resources that will strengthen our community for generations to come.
Now in its sixth year, PAG is co-chaired by Josh Frankel and Brian Suher. PAG continues to provide its members with educational programming, community building and networking opportunities, with the goal of providing advisors with valuable resources to assist their clients.
“Due in part to the success of OJCF’s Professional Advisors Group, advisors are now more aware than ever of the benefits of working with the foundation to help their clients realize their philanthropic vision,” says OJCF Executive Director Julie Diamond. “Our relationship with advisors plays a pivotal role in the continued growth of OJCF and our success in serving sophisticated donors.”
In recent years, OJCF’s PAG meetings have covered issues surrounding empowering elders, legal issues for same sex couples, charitable gifts of complex assets and identity theft. The group’s next gathering will be held in January 2017 and will address the matters surrounding professional liability. A session about ethical wills will be held in June 2017.
It is OJCF’s mission, as a community foundation, to support and strengthen the entire community. Our work with professional advisors and their clients has meaningful impact on both Jewish and general nonprofit organizations alike. For example, in recent years, OJCF distributed grants to the OHSU Knight Cancer Challenge from funds realized through the liquidation of gifts of noncash assets.
For more information on PAG, contact Gail Mandel at 503-248-9328 or gailm@ojcf.org.
Gail Mandel is the legacy development and marketing manager at OJCF. She also serves as the program manager for OJCF’s Professional Advisors Group.
