AFP Webinar: Looking at the Legacy IRA Act 18 months Later and How to Grow Giving from Older Donors

1:00-2:00 PM Eastern | Presenters: Lisa M. Chmiola, Carlo Laurore, Jeff Mueller, Alison McKenna, Sally Schaeffer, and Cathy R. Sheffield
Eligible for 1 CFRE Education Point

In January 2023, a new law took effect after national advocacy by AFP to expand giving for U.S. donors aged 70 ½ or older through Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from traditional IRAs. Not only did the Legacy IRA Act allow for the annual maximum transfer to be indexed for inflation each year, but it also introduced an option for donors to make a transfer to a split-interest gift, allowing them to enjoy an income stream for life while making estate plans with their assets. In this webinar, you’ll learn how this type of giving works, the benefits for older donors, and the opportunities for charities, featuring a panel discussion of how colleagues from a variety of different size nonprofits are using this type of giving successfully.

Presenters: 

Lisa M. Chmiola, M.S., CFRE, CSPG has more than 22 years in philanthropic development. Currently the Director of Gift Planning for the University of Missouri-St. Louis, she has served in major gifts and gift planning roles in education (public and private) and religious institutions, following initial career experience in event-based philanthropy. As Chief Fablanthropist for Fablanthropy (the intersection of fabulous and philanthropy), she works with nonprofit organizations and fundraising professionals providing consulting, training, and coaching services, particularly on legacy giving strategies.

An AFP Certified Facilitator since 2014 and TEDx speaker, Lisa has presented at four AFP International Conferences, and a variety of AFP and other industry association regional conferences, chapter meetings, and webinars. Lisa is an active volunteer, serving as chair of the AFP Global U.S. Government Relations committee and member of the AFP PAC board, as a past National Association of Charitable Gift Planners board member (and past president of the Houston chapter), as a Junior League sustainer, and is a graduate of Leadership Houston. Additionally, she has co-authored several pieces for AFP’s Advancing Philanthropy magazine.

Carlo Laurore is the Senior Vice President of Development for the Boy Scouts of America & the Executive Director of the National Boy Scouts of America Foundation.  Carlo has worked for the Boy Scouts of America for almost the past decade serving in various roles during that time. Currently, he leads the national fundraising efforts for the BSA Office of Development. Carlo also provides leadership for grant administration, restricted funds and endowment management, and fundraising educational initiatives for the organization.  Carlo is a current Executive Committee member of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners Board and a current board member of his local North Carolina Planned Giving Council Board.  He is also the chair of the CGP National Conference for 2024 hosted in Orlando, Florida.

Previously, Carlo worked in higher education fundraising at NC State University and NC A&T University.  Of note, he is responsible for starting the gift planning program at NC A&T, where he helped close the largest gift from a non-alum individual at that time.  Prior to his work in fundraising, Carlo worked for 8 years in the financial services industry for BB&T, where he held the title of Vice President and managed a $50+ million-dollar portfolio of business loan clients

Carlo is a graduate of UNC-Wilmington with degrees in Economics and Leadership and holds numerous financial planning and fundraising designations, including his CFP®, CFRE, and CAP®.  He has been a featured speaker at various local CGP Councils, FPA chapters, the 2022 National CGP Conference, AFP Icon 2024, and the Carolinas Planned Giving Conference (Keynote Speaker).  Carlo, his wife (Catherine), and his two teenage children (Trey and Tori) currently reside in Raleigh, NC.  In his spare time, he is an avid runner and weightlifter, having completed (1) 50K race, (5) marathons, (6) half marathons, and (2) 5K races since 2021.

Jeff Mueller started his planned giving career in 1999 as a Regional Director for the Salvation Army, Southern Territory. 17 years ago, he joined the American Heart Association (AHA) where he currently serves as a Charitable Estate Planning Advisor.  With 25 years of experience, Jeff, a seasoned planned giving officer, has successfully raised over $174 million in deferred and non-cash gifts. He specializes in closing charitable gift annuities, using various assets from cash & securities to gold coins, real estate and now QCDs.

In 2019, Jeff played a crucial role in advocating for the passage of the Legacy IRA Act, identified as a top priority by the AHA. As a subject matter expert, he accompanied the AHA’s core advocacy team to Capitol Hill meetings with staffers and members over a 4-year period, contributing to the Act's successful passage into law in late December 2022. 

Residing in Alexandria, VA, Jeff shares his home with his wife, three kids, and two ill-behaved dogs. Apart from his dedication to planned giving, he is also an avid skier.

Alison McKenna is the Vice President of Planned Giving at Covenant House International.  Alison has been with Covenant House for 12 years.  Prior to joining Covenant House, Alison worked in politics in Washington, DC and New Jersey.  She graduated from the University of Virginia and lives in New York with her husband and two children.

Bringing over 25 years of experience, Sally Schaeffer is founder and owner of Uncorked Advocates, a federal government relations firm started in 2017. Among her current clients are some of the largest nonprofits and philanthropic associations in the country, including Covenant House International, American Heart Association, YWCA USA, United Philanthropy Forum, Prevent Child Abuse America., and Association of Fundraising Professionals. 

She specializes in charitable tax, pension, appropriations (both programmatic and earmarks), and children and women's issues, particularly gender-based violence and trauma. On behalf of American Heart Association, she helped coordinate a national coalition of 60 nonprofits in support of legislation to support more charitable giving by seniors, called the Legacy IRA Act, which passed into law in December 2022. 

Previous to starting her own firm, Sally represented more than 500 nonprofits and foundations as the Government Relations Director at Independent Sector. She also served as the Washington advocate for Girls Scouts of the USA. Sally started her career on Capitol Hill working for former Rep. Louise Slaughter as her Legislative Director and then Chief of Staff.

Ms. Schaeffer holds a B.A. in Political Science from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Fel’s School of Government at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Cathy R. Sheffield, MBA, CAP®, CSPG®, CFRE is a seasoned nonprofit expert with almost 25 years of experience in charitable gift planning. Cathy is the Chief Advancement Officer at Lena Pope in Fort Worth, Texas.  She is also the founder and president of ThinkGiving, a philanthropic advising group that partners with individuals and nonprofits to maximize charitable contributions.  

Cathy serves on the American Council on Gift Annuities Board as the VP of Programs.  Cathy was the 2017 Board Chair of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (CGP) and the 2015 Chair of the National CGP Conference.  Chas served on the boards of the Lone Star Council of CGP and the Dallas Council of CGP.  

Cathy is a faculty member at California State University Long Beach, where she teaches courses for the American Institute for Philanthropic Studies' Certified Specialist in Planned Giving designation program. Additionally, Cathy is a national study group moderator for The American College of Financial Services Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation program.
Cathy received Association of Fundraising Professional’s prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award in 2015. She’s involved as a board member with Stage West Theatre, NewDay Services for Children and Families, Jerusalem Institute for Justice, and is the president nominee of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth. Cathy holds an MBA from Texas Christian University and an undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University.