Sarah Ruef-Lindquist, JD, CTFA
Allen Financial advisor and wealth manager Sarah Ruef-Lindquist, JD, CTFA, was the featured speaker at the June monthly meeting of the Mount Desert Island Nonprofit Alliance at the Garland Farm. MDINA members work collaboratively to address operational issues and coordinate event schedules for the many Mount Desert Island non-profit organizations.
Participant groups who were represented at the meeting included the Schoodic Institute, Friends of Acadia, Seal Cove Auto Museum, MDI Hospital, Abbe Museum and Jessup Memorial Library.
After a brief tour and background presentation from Garland Farm personnel, Ruef-Lindquist spoke about the policy foundations, recognition practices and outreach necessary to have fiscally-sound and successful planned giving programs and endowment funds. Members submitted questions in advance of the meeting ranging from how to begin a planned giving program to how to begin a conversation with a donor about planned giving.
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. It is an area in which she has worked as a consultant, philanthropic advisor or trust officer for more than 20 years.