Donor Giving > Professional Advisors

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If you are like many professional advisors, you have hesitated to raise the subject of philanthropy with your client. Research shows, however, that people are eager to learn more about charitable giving. According to an article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, most people report that they would like their advisors to be more knowledgeable about planned giving, and more forthcoming with opinions about what type of gift to make. In other words, if you make an effort to become better informed about the pivotal role philanthropy can play in estate planning, your clients will thank you.

The Ventura County Community Foundation is a single, trusted vehicle you and your clients can use to address the issues they care about most, while gaining maximum tax benefit under state and federal law. We offer a variety of giving options — including the ability to set up a Donor Advised Fund in your client’s name.
Significant giving opportunities often arise when clients are making major business, personal and financial decisions. Our staff can work with you and your client to recommend the best charitable solution. Consider the following scenarios:

Year-end tax planning
Your client just earned a bonus and wants to give back to the community, but has no time to decide on the most deserving charities.

Preserving an estate
Estate planning identifies significant taxes going to the IRS, but your client wants to direct dollars for local benefit.

Retiring in comfort
Your client is concerned about running out of money during his/her lifetime, but has always been charitable.

Establishing a private foundation
Your client is thinking about establishing a private foundation, but is looking for a more cost-efficient, simpler way.

Closely held stock
Your client’s net worth is tied up in a closely held company, but it’s important for your client to give back to the community.

Sale or disposition of highly appreciated stock or property
Your client has appreciated stock or property and wants to use a portion of the gains for charitable giving, but the identified charities are too small to accept direct gifts of stock or property.

You can meet all of these giving challenges by working with the Community Foundation to create a donor advised fund, a planned gift or life income gift. We can accept a number of giving vehicles including closely held and highly appreciated stock. Your client will receive the maximum tax benefit and know that their charitable goals will be faithfully pursued.

As a service to professional advisors check our Planned Giving page to receive up to date changes in accounting and laws effecting charitable giving or to use the new Gift Calculator. VCCF is pleased to make the Planned Gifts Calculator from Crescendo available to our Professional Advisor friends. The Planned Gifts Calculator helps you to run charitable deduction calculations and explore planned gift options for your clients. Special Thanks to VCCF Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) member and Crescendo owner Charles Schultz for making Planned Gifts Calculator available to VCCF and to VCCF's many professional advisor friends.

VCCF hopes that you will bookmark this site and use it often. We are hosting the Planned Giving Charitable Tax Planning website, provided as a public service by Crescendo Planned Gift Software and owner Charles Schultz, member of VCCF’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), in support of our mission to serve the needs of the Ventura County community.

Visit the Planned Giving Page

Introducing the Door Opener Society

The Door Opener Society honors professional advisors who help their clients achieve planned giving and charitable objectives through the Community Foundation. We are proud to recognize the following advisors who have strengthened our community by opening doors to charitable giving for their clients since the Community Foundation’s inception in 1987.

Gary Arnold – Arnold, Bluel, LaRochelle, Mathews & Zirbel LLP
Sean Bell – Morgan Stanley/Smith Barney
Carolyn S. Bishop, CFP – Partnervest Financial Group
Bart Bleuel – Arnold Bleuel LaRochelle Mathews & Zirbel, LLP
Lee D. Bobrowske, CPA
Michael D. Bradbury – Anderson Kill Wood & Bender, P.C.
Stephen G. Bradvica, CPA
Gregg Burt – Jacobs & Jacobs
James Cunningham – Cunningham & Associates
Phil Drescher – Nordman Cormany Hair & Compton
David Edsall
Robert B. England – Ferguson Case Orr Paterson
Theodore England – Ferguson Case Orr Paterson
Stephanie Eubanks – Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
Gary E. Erickson – The Erickson Group
William D. Fairfield, Esq.
Steve Feder – Hathaway Perrett Webster Powers Chrisman & Gutierrez
Pamela Garvin, Esq.
Gregory R. Gose – Gose Lechman & Lund
Larry L. Hines – Nordman Cormany Hair & Compton
Allan Jacobs – Jacobs & Jacobs
Jack Jacobs – CPA
William Kearney – Merrill Lynch
Scott Luhnau – Merrill Lynch
Laura McAvoy – Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP
Sandra Masiel – Morgan Stanley
Tom Olson – Benton Orr Duval & Buckingham
John C. Orr – Ferguson Case Orr Paterson
Michael Perrett – Hathaway Perrett Webster Powers Chrisman & Gutierrez
Tom Petrovich (retired)
Scott Samsky – Nordman Cormany Hair & Compton
Charles Schultz – Crescendo Interactive
Richard C. Shipley – Archpoint Insurance Services
Craig J. Skeels, CFP, ChFC, CLU – Apex Wealth Management Group
Susan Siple, Esq.
William R. Steele, CPA – Steele, St. John & Cohen
Midge Storke, Esq. – (retired)
Deborah Sutherland – Grey Law of Ventura County
Stuart Tobisman – Loeb & Loeb LLP
J. Peter Wakeman, Esq.
Jo Ann Wedding, Esq. – (retired)
Doug Wied – Rabobank
Mark Winter – EPA Financial Services
Jim Williams – West Coast Capital Corporation
Sharon Yoon – Cunningham & Associate