Gift Planning Development, LLC
“Helping you chart a strategic direction in gift planning.”
About Our Firm
Brian M. Sagrestano
President
brian@giftplanningdevelopment.com
Brian M. Sagrestano, JD, CFRE, received an A.B. cum laude from Cornell University and a J.D. cum laude from Notre Dame Law School. The son of a sole-practitioner CPA, his interest in the complexities of the tax code was “encouraged” at a very young age. Brian worked for the family business throughout his formative years and then “as-needed” until it was sold in 2001. His service as a law clerk in the Hunterdon County Superior Court and Surrogate Court cemented his interest in estate planning and probate. He spent several years practicing law with two New Jersey law firms, with an emphasis on tax and estate planning. Brian’s client-centered philosophy ultimately drew him into philanthropic planning full-time, where he led the gift planning efforts for the University of Pennsylvania, Middlebury College and Meridian Health Affiliated Foundations, following major gift and gift planning positions at Clarkson University and Hamilton College. The gift planning programs under Brian’s direction raised over $400 million in complex outright gifts, life-income gifts and realized estate gifts. After many years of providing pro-bono gift planning consulting services, Brian formed Gift Planning Development in 2007. In 2008 Brian co-founded the Legacy Giving Building Blocks program with Caleb Rick, JD of North Common Associates and Shawn Twing of Barn Door Media. Instead of training fundraisers about gift planning tools, this unique program helps small and midsized non-profits create the infrastructure necessary to pursue long-term support through legacy gifts. Charities participating in the interactive sessions develop each of the building blocks so that at the end of the program, they have a fully functioning, legacy giving effort. Brian is a current board member of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning and past board member of both the Gift Planning Council of New Jersey and the Planned Giving Council of Greater Philadelphia. He also serves on the editorial boards of both Planned Giving Mentor, a newsletter for those new to charitable gift planning, and the Journal of Gift Planning, the flagship gift planning magazine published by the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning. He has been cited in numerous publications, including CASE Currents and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, among others. He is a regular contributor to both Planned Giving Tomorrow and Planned Giving Mentor. A strategic thinker, he specializes in helping charities develop integrated, donor-centered philanthropic planning programs, either from the ground up or enhancing existing programs, and then assisting in implementation of the needed elements. His work for the University of Pennsylvania has received national attention for its innovative and collaborative approach with other areas of development. When not working, Brian enjoys spending time with his wife Christine and their three daughters. He has also been seen singing in a barbershop chorus, refinishing furniture, swinging a golf club or tennis racquet and watching the occasional baseball game. Editorial Board, Journal of Gift Planning, 2008-Present Member, 1998-Present Gift Planner Profile Advisory Task Force, 2007 Conference Committee, 2006 Member, 2003-2009 Board Member, 2003-2008 Gift Planning Conference of New Jersey Co-Chair, 2007 & 2008 Gift Planning Conference of New Jersey Sponsorship Chair, 2004-2006 Planned Giving Council of Greater Philadelphia Mentorship Chair, Education Committee, 2007-2008 Editorial Board, Planned Giving Mentor Newsletter, 2008-Present Gift Planning Group of Northeastern New York, 2009-Present Planned Giving Council of Northern New York, 2009-Present Planned Giving Council of Upstate New York, 2009-Present Recently Conducted Training Sessions and Seminars PG Conference at Kanuga, Donor-Centered Philanthropic Planning in the 21st Century, 2009 PG Conference at Kanuga, Legacy Giving Building Blocks, 2009 National Capital Gift Planning Conference, How to Schedule Vists and Ask for Bequests, 2009 Collaborative Alliance, Through the Lens of the Donor, Funding for Now & the Future, 2009 New England Association of Healthcare Philanthropy, Legacy Giving Building Blocks, 2009 Association of International Education Administrations: The Art and Soul of Fundraising, 2009 AFP of Eastern PA, Philanthropic Planning 102: Increasing Income in Retirement, 2008 AFP of Eastern PA, Philanthropic Planning 101: How to Ask for Bequests, 2008 PG Group of CT, Introducing Philanthropic Planning Into Prospect Conversations, 2008 Investment Management Consultants Association, Impact of Donor-Centered Fundraising, 2008 Mid-Iowa Planned Giving Conference, Legacy Giving Building Blocks, 2008 Mid-Iowa Planned Giving Conference, Putting Your Gift Policies in Order, 2008 Planned Giving Day in Philadelphia, Legacy Giving Building Blocks, 2008 Wachovia Gift Planning Conference, Donor-Centered Fundraising, 2008 PPP Virtual Seminar, Donor-Centered Gift Planning Marketing, 2008 Chesapeake Planned Giving Council, Donor-Centered Gift Planning Marketing, 2008 AFP of Greater Philadelphia, Putting Your Gift Policies in Order, 2008 National Capital Gift Planning Conference, Legacy Giving Building Blocks, 2008 National Capital Gift Planning Conference, Donor-Centered Gift Planning Marketing, 2008 Planned Giving Group of New England, Starting a Donor-Centered Gift Planning Program, 2008 The Planned Giving Course, Gift Planning Marketing, Spring 2008 & Winter 2008 Guest Lecturer, Philanthropy & Fundraising Tools for Managers of Nonprofit Orgs, UPenn, 2008 Chattanooga Planned Giving Council, Marketing for Young Gift Planning Programs, 2008 AFP-Philadelphia, Franklin Forum, Starting a Donor-Centered Gift Planning Program, 2008 AFP-Brandywine, Legacy Giving Building Blocks, 2008 AFP of Eastern Pennsylvania, Legacy Giving Building Blocks, 2007 Planned Giving Day in Philadelphia, Donor-Centered Gift Planning Marketing, 2007 Planned Giving Day in Philadelphia, Avoiding Gift Planning Pitfalls, 2007 National Conference on Planned Giving, Donor-Centered Gift Planning Marketing, 2007 Quaker Fundraising Conference, Preparing Donors to Work with Advisors, 2007 Planned Giving Council of Greater Philadelphia, Working with Advisors Panel, 2007 AFP New Jersey, Building an Integrated Gift Planning Program, 2007 Guest Lecturer, Philanthropy & Fundraising Tools for Managers of Nonprofit Orgs, UPenn, 2007 Gift Planning Council of New Jersey Nuts and Bolts, 2007 CASE District I & II Regional Conference, 2007 AFP of Eastern Pennsylvania Philanthropy Day, 2006 Planned Giving Council of Upstate New York, 2006 AFP New Jersey Conference on Philanthropy, 2006
A dynamic and engaging teacher, Brian has presented at conferences around the country for organizations such as the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (formerly the National Committee on Planned Giving), the Council on the Advancement and Support of Education and the Association of Fund Raising Professionals. Over the last ten years, he has spoken to over 150 groups and developed philanthropic training programs for several nonprofits. He has taught thousands of fundraisers, professional advisors, board members and philanthropists how to use a donor-centered approach to integrate philanthropic goals with tax, estate and financial planning. A recent attendee to one of his sessions wrote in her evaluation, “I was struck by his breadth of knowledge, professional expertise and at the same time his ability to convey abstract concepts in easy to understand lay terms. Brian is warm, funny and very generous with information. Once you have met him, he is a friend and the "go-to" person for advice.”
Professional Involvements
Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (formerly NCPG)
Board Member, 2008-Present
Leadership Assembly, 2006-Present
2009 Conference Task Force, 2008-2009
Gift Planning Council of New Jersey
Co-Chair, Leave a Legacy New Jersey, 2003-2005
Member, 2004-2009
Board Member, 2007-2008
Leave a Legacy Committee, 2004-2008
Other Involvements
Member, Philadelphia Estate Planning Council, 2004-2008
Member, CASE, 1998-2003, 2004-2008
Member, Estate and Financial Planning Council of Central New Jersey, 2003-2005
Member, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, 2003-2005
Member, Planned Giving Group of New England, 1999-2003
Mentoring Committee, Planned Giving Group of New England, 1999-2003
Member, Upper Valley Planned Giving Council, 2001-2003
Coordinator, Middlebury Planned Giving Officers Conference, 2001-2003
Board of Directors, International Philanthropic Foundation of Middlebury College, 2001-2003
GP Conference of NJ, Introducing Philanthropic Planning Into Donor Conversations, 2009
Christine L. Sagrestano
Director of Client Services
christine@giftplanningdevelopment.com
Christine L. Sagrestano received a B.S. from Cornell University with a combined degree specializing in Communications, Education and Sociology. She started her career in the non-profit sector as a training evaluation coordinator for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, based in South Bend, Indiana at the University of Notre Dame. Christine developed a strong background in human resources and search while working for Nissan Motor Corporation as a human resources administrator. Later, she served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Flood Search of New Jersey, Inc.
Together with Brian, Christine formed Gift Planning Development in 2007 to bring an innovative approach to gift planning executive search. While most search firms focus exclusively on calling contacts in the industry to try and fill development positions, Gift Planning Development’s proprietary Gift Planning Match service includes a complete assessment of the organization and its gift planning capacity, the search and hire, an implementation plan and finally six months of ongoing consulting in support of the new hire. This approach maximizes the benefits of the search process and ensures the gift planning effort will succeed.
When not working with clients, Christine is known for spending hours in her kitchen creating candies and desserts from scratch. She also enjoys reading and spending time with Brian and their three daughters.
