Sarah Ruef-Lindquist, JD, CTFA
Sarah Ruef-Lindquist, JD, CTFA of Allen Financial was the featured speaker at the May meeting of the MDI Nonprofit Alliance (MDINA) held recently at the Acadia National Park Headquarters offices.
MDINA is a collaborative group of nonprofits in the Mount Desert Island area who share event planning, development and other resources, including educational programming, to support their respective missions. Some of the participant groups who were represented at the meeting include the Criterion Theatre, Camp Beechcliff, Jackson Laboratories, Jesup Library, Schoodic Institute, MDI Nursing Association, Island Connections, YWCA, Bar Harbor Food Pantry, Southwest Harbor Library, Friends of Acadia, Wendell Gilley Musuem, Healthy Acadia and Island Housing Trust and host, Acadia National Park.
Ruef-Lindquist spoke about the policy foundations and recognition practices she views as necessary to have fiscally-sound and successful planned giving programs. Her background as an attorney, financial and philanthropic advisor, trust officer and board member contribute to her unique perspective as an advisor and fiduciary and how they approach potential gifts through clients’ estate and financial planning. She was invited to present as a long-time member of the board of the Maine Planned Giving Council, an association of non-profit board and staff as well as professional advisors involved in the industry of gift planning.
Given the unprecedented intergenerational transfer of wealth taking place in the United States, and the projections for gifts to non-profit organizations during the next 30 to 40 years in the trillions of dollars, organizations would be well-served to pay greater attention to this area of resource development to build their long-term financial sustainability, Ruef-Lindquist said. She is no stranger to Hancock County, having worked as a Senior Administrative Trust officer for Union Trust until a merger in 2008 with Camden National, and as a past board member and development chair for the Abbe Museum.
