CPGR Legacy Partners

"It is my pleasure to provide initial support for an endowment fund for the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable (CPGR). I believe an endowment fund is an essential tool, not only to ensure the future of CPGR, but to enable the organization to continue to offer the very best services to our profession and our professionals-- locally, state-wide and nationally.

The CPGR and its membership has met, and exceeded, every expectation over the past 25 years.  Let’s make sure we can continue our tradition of offering the highest level networking, educational, and leadership opportunities."

Betsy A. Mangone
CPGR Founding Member 1984

"Having worked as a planned giving professional for more than twenty years, I can think of no other organization that has better supported my work through ongoing, quality education and mentorship than the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable. The wealth of knowledge and generosity of spirit within this group is unparalleled. As other sources of funding wane, the work we do with individuals in facilitating philanthropy is increasingly important. I made my legacy gift because I want to help ensure the future of the nonprofit community we serve by supporting the organization that provides the best, most consistent training and education for planned giving professionals—the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable."

Karen A. Wibrew
CPGR Member since 2001

"I first joined CPGR in 2008, when I was new to planned giving and was trying to soak up as much information as possible. I attended my first Summer Symposium and was overwhelmed with the amount of information, insights and connections I gained during the conference. In 2015, I transitioned into gift planning full-time and CPGR has been more important than ever to my career and professional development. I can honestly say I would not be where I am today without CPGR and the friends I have made along the way. I am proud to be a Legacy Partner and help ensure that CPGR can continue to serve the Colorado community for many years to come!"

Jon Kraus
CPGR Member since 2008

"From Day 1 of the "Denver" Planned Giving Roundtable in the summer of 1984, to this very day in 2017, CPGR has been one of my true sources of pride and joy. Along with my partners Betsy Mangone and Scott Lumpkin, we introduced the concepts of charitable gift planning to many development professionals along the Front Range for the first time in those early days...and to think of CPGR as one of the finest organizations of its kind in the country is astounding! Long live the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable!"

Douglas G. Laub
CPGR Founding Member 1984

"For the past 30 years I’ve worked as a planned giving professional for different major non-profits, from the American Red Cross to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. However, the one thing that has stayed constant has been my membership in CPGR. Over that time I have formed many friendships, stayed informed of leading trends and served as CPGR president, speaker and mentor. It is for these reasons that I was pleased to add a gift as a legacy partner."

Jim Gumpert
CPGR Member since 1996

Over the past 13 years, I have served on committees and the CPGR board and like many long-time members, I can honestly say that the organization has had a tremendous impact on me and my career. In addition to connecting me to an extraordinarily generous and welcoming network of colleagues, it has provided high quality educational programming and resources. I am grateful to be a part of this amazing organization and ask for those who feel the same, to join me in becoming a member of the Legacy Society. After all… it is what we do!"

Vickie M. Wilson, Ph.D.
CPGR Member since 2004

"CPGR has been a major player in my growth and networking as a gift planning professional. Since 2006, it’s been a pleasure participating and serving in CPGR and I credit our organization and its members and team with much of my success in this industry."

Marianne Blackwell, J.D.
CPGR Member since 2006

"CPGR provides such good programing and support for gift planning professionals that it was an easy decision to include a modest bequest for CPGR’s endowment when my wife and I recently updated our wills. I want to help provide a long-term solid financial footing for the organization I have benefited from since 2010, and I urge others to also support CPGR in such a fashion."

Dale Zschoche
CPGR Member since 2011

"I have gotten so much more from CPGR than I have put in as a volunteer. The lasting partnerships and friendships I have formed have made me the successful and fulfilled fundraiser I am today. With my gift I hope to share what I have gained with others in their career."

Josie Stewart
CPGR Member since 2006

"When I'm not here, CPGR will be. I want tomorrow’s fundraisers just starting out and super busy generalists with no time and no budget to have access to the best possible training and networking to advance their own careers, and the good work they make possible."

Jody Phillips
CPGR Member since 2005

"One of the best investments for my donors and my career has been being a member of CPGR. From education, networking and philanthropic goals - CPGR has given me tools to enhance my relationship with donors, grow my professional community and elevate philanthropic giving to nonprofit missions."

Gloria Jara Price
CPGR Member since 2008

"I value the mission of CPGR and the outstanding professional development it offers. I hope my gift will perpetuate this important asset for future generations of gift planners and nonprofits that enrich our community."

Vicki P. Dansky
CPGR Member since 2007

"It is so wonderful to have an opportunity to give back to the Gift Planning profession through a planned gift to CPGR. This work has been the highlight of my life in Colorado and I’m proud to help sustain CPGR’s professional support and career development for future members."

Gaye Leonard
CPGR Member since 2001

"By supporting Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable through an estate gift I will be able to magnify the impact of my own gift through CPGR’s work allowing my gift to be felt throughout Colorado long after I’m gone. Since CPGR has done so much for my career it only felt right to give back to an organization that has given me so much."

Tyler W. Drum
CPGR Member since 2014

"I became a CPGR Legacy Partner because CPGR helps make living in Colorado great! Thanks to CPGR, organizations large and small are equipped to have deeper, more impactful gift conversations with donors than ever before. We’ll never know the full extent of CPGR’s impact on life in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains."

Scott Lumpkin
CPGR Founding Member 1984

"The great work of CPGR has to continue. One of my favorite quotes is from Dwight D. Eisenhower, 'Our problem then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow.' Making a legacy gift to CPGR is my investment in a wonderful profession and its devoted advisors, with an eye towards the future."

Virgil Scott, CFRE, FCEP
CPGR Member since 2011

"Supporting CPGR as a Legacy Partner was one of the easiest decisions I have made. CPGR has helped me to grow professionally, strengthen my skill set, and expand my professional and social networks. In supporting CPGR, I know that I will be able to impact philanthropy in Colorado and beyond for a very long time – and that is a legacy that I want to leave."

Hannah J. Yaritz
CPGR Member since 2013

"CPGR is a continuous source of professional education, networking opportunities and friendship. The chance to regularly connect with fellow PG professionals has informed my career in powerful ways. I’m constantly amazed by the generosity of those who embrace this work. And I’m hopeful my gift will help preserve this community for the future good it will create, and perhaps inspire others to consider something similar."

William A. Albrecht, CFP®
CPGR Member since 1996

"My membership in the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable has been incredibly rewarding. In addition to outstanding professional development opportunities, I have developed relationships with wonderful people who serve as a network to enhance my ability to provide meaningful planned giving opportunities to donors. It is my honor to help future generations of planned giving professionals through my planned gift to CPGR."

Lynda Ricketson
CPGR Member since 2008

"My involvement with the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable has been extremely rewarding. At its core, our organization is comprised of professionals in the planned giving community sharing their knowledge with all of our other members. Those educational programs have enhanced the well-being of the many people and organizations that are the beneficiaries of the charitable programs our members efforts advance. I have included a bequest to CPGR in my estate plan because I want to ensure that this important work will continue when I am no longer able to participate."

Philip V. Keenan
CPGR Member since 2000

"I can’t possibly give back to CPGR all that it has provided to me. The friendships and ongoing education that comes from actively participating is invaluable. One acknowledgement of appreciation is to become a Legacy Partner. With three kids, my wife and I have a lot to plan for. Yet, it seemed natural to prepare our estate plans by dividing what will be left into quarters. Each of our children will benefit from one fourth, and our last 25% will go to the nonprofit missions we care deeply about. CPGR is included in that group."

Mike Jackson, MA, CFRE
CPGR Member since 2009

"I was inspired to include CPGR in my estate plans because of the important work the group does in demystifying planned giving and making it accessible to professionals at all stages of their careers. Planned giving offers the greatest potential to significantly increase giving for many organizations. Every development officer, no matter their title or level of donor involvement benefits from understanding about how planned giving works and can help donors see their way to having a greater impact. The work that CPGR is doing thus impacts the entire non-profit sector and indirectly leads to better programs and services. I am proud to add my name to this list of legacy donors."

Colin Ware
CPGR Member since 2018

"I joined CPGR in 2006 and was immediately struck by the interesting programs offered throughout the year and at the annual Symposium. As I became more involved first as a committee volunteer, and then on the board, I regularly experienced how dedicated the board and the committees were to upholding mission and ensuring CPGR provided quality educational programs and maintained a strong member network. The membership made up of both fund development specialists and professional advisors is a unique twist that the CPGR founders created, and I believe this is vital in keeping our estate planning community connected. This organization has made such a positive impact on my work life that I felt compelled to add CPGR as a beneficiary of my IRA. Hopefully the contributions committed by the members of the Legacy Society will help ensure CPGR endures for the next generation of estate planning professionals."

Leslie Karotkin
CPGR Member since 2006

"I am constantly impressed by the level of experience and enthusiasm of CPGR members and their willingness to openly share knowledge and best practices. We come from an incredibly diverse group of organizations that provide assistance to address society’s challenges in today’s complex world. CPGR brings us together with the common goal of elevating the planned giving community and, thereby, society as a whole, and its impact on our professional development, on our organizations, and, hence, on philanthropy in general should not be underestimated. The organizations we represent need support, and CPGR is an integral part of that support. That’s why I’m proud to help enhance CPGR’s endowment by becoming a Legacy Partner."

James H. Marlow, Esq.
CPGR Member since 1998

"I joined CPGR in the mid 90’s as a struggling Financial Advisor. Soon after, I made the leap into the Gift Planning profession and it was one of the best decisions of my life. From the beginning, CPGR has served as a critical source of information to keep me current on the technical aspects of planned giving along with the “soft skills” needed to work with donors that often are more essential. Equally important have been the wonderful friends that I have made through CPGR. I feel blessed to have been with National Jewish Health, an incredible organization dedicated to improving health for all that suffer with respiratory, immunologic and cardiac issues, since ‘95, currently serving as the Associate Vice President for Development, Planned Giving. CPGR has been a critical partner to me in my success and for that I am eternally grateful. I believe it is the organizations that truly make a difference in our lives that deserve our support in both the short and long run. I want CPGR to be around for years to come so that it will be able to serve others in a similar fashion and for this reason I chose to establish a bequest to benefit CPGR."

Gordon Smith
CPGR Member since 1995

"The mission of CPGR is to inspire our community to increase the quantity and quality of charitable planned gifts to nonprofit organizations. I believe in the mission of CPGR. I have gained much information about planned giving since joining CPGR in 2001. I know CPGR is a very well run organization thanks to Tina Drum, the Executive Director. CPGR also has an outstanding board of directors. This is an organization that inspired me to include a bequest for CPGR in my Will. Not everyone has the benefit of being married to a trusts and estates lawyer like I do so I asked my husband to draw up a simple codicil that I could sign to include CPGR in my Will. I don’t believe my children will miss out on what I am leaving CPGR and I also believe that those forward thinking philanthropists who include their favorite charities in their estate plans will live longer. So please consider joining me, update your estate plans or start putting in place your estate plans so that you too can feel great about making the world a better place."

Krista Boscoe
CPGR Member since 2001

"In 1989 I became Director of Development for the College of Engineering at CU Boulder with no prior professional development experience. Within a few months, Betsy Mangone reached out to me. I joined CPGR, became enthralled with gift and estate planning and made PG acritical part of my toolbox….and my staff’s. Eventually I took a year-long program and earned the Certified Planned Giving Specialist designation. Gift and estate planning was crucial to secure a nine-figure gift commitment in 2001 that established the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities where I became Associate Director. I have maintained my membership in CPGR because I believe in its mission. A CFRE since 1994, I rely on CPGR to maintain my continuing educational requirement. Much of my work now is teaching non-profits and donors the importance and power of endowment giving, especially in terms of the sustainability of an organization. I will be forever grateful to Betsy and to CPGR for introducing me, oh so many years ago, to the world of strategic philanthropy and legacy giving."

Enid Ablowitz
CPGR Member since 1996

"CPGR has been and continues to be instrumental to my planned giving education and beyond. I want to pay that benefit forward by providing the same opportunities for the next generation of planned giving professionals. That’s why I have included CPGR in my estate plan with a percentage of my assets."

Russ Shaw
CPGR Member since 2005
Watch Russ share his experience.

"In my six years as a CPGR member, the volume of information, education and inspiration I have received is priceless, sparking a creative energy and direction in my work. The opportunity to exchange ideas among non-profit professionals benefits us all, strengthening our organizations’ performance. CPGR education programs and the Summer Symposium are assets to everyone working in non-profit Planned Giving. I have included CPGR in my estate plan because I want to help others to experience the value of this organization in the future."

Joann Wooley
CPGR Member since 2012
Watch Joann share her experience.

"I’m happy to join 21 others in committing to a legacy gift. Last year I named CPGR as a beneficiary on my retirement account. I have been a member of CPGR for more than 5 years, and I’m indebted to the organization and its members for the education and relationships that have allowed me to develop my own approach and be successful as a fundraiser. When I started in nonprofits, I thought planned giving was a way for the super wealthy to avoid taxes and enrich their children. And I thought planned giving was about death. Now I have experienced, through conversations with some truly amazing and inspirational donors, that planned giving is a sophisticated way to celebrate life. I am honored to be part of a group of people at CPGR that understands this. I feel kinship and belonging, and treasure the friendships that I’ve made with numerous members."

Kyle Backlund
CPGR Member from 2011 to 2021

"As a transplant to Denver in 2013, I was warmly welcomed by CPGR members—it made a world of difference. The relationships I developed as a member are those that carried me through the early stages of my career and set me up for success in the future. From best-in-class educational programs to real-time peer feedback, CPGR serves its members and the organizations for which they work in a meaningful way. In a complex field, this community makes a world of difference. Though I no longer live in Colorado, I am honored to be a Legacy Partners by including CPGR as a beneficiary of my 401K to ensure its future impact."

Mary Pat Rooney
CPGR Member from 2013-2020

"As a professional fiduciary, I see firsthand how testamentary gifts can be game changers for non-profit organizations. I have also seen how a donor’s failure to plan has led to the opposite result. I support CPGR in my personal estate planning as I value CPGR’s dedication to making sure that planning professionals have the tools they need to have critical conversations with donors so that their charitable intentions are documented. Serving on the CPGR Board, CPGR has shown to be a financially responsible and I am confident that they are a good steward of all donated funds."

Tonya J. Kaye
CPGR Member since 2014

"CPGR serves and supports members through high quality learning and professional development. I value the professional network and camaraderie of this experienced and enthusiastic group of planned giving and fundraising professionals. I have learned so much over the years as a member, committee volunteer and board member. I am proud to serve as a Legacy Partner to help CPGR continue to elevate the planned giving community and field for future professionals."

Anita Wesley
CPGR Member since 2016

"CPGR launched me into the gift planning world, something I was interested in and curious about, but didn’t fully understand. Since joining in 2010 as a member, attending countless programs, and later serving on the board, I have met many mentors and colleagues who later became good friends. Imagine a world where your legacy is defined by the charitable gifts you designate. We each have this power at our fingertips – and too few people know it. I support CPGR to help ensure that this education is widely available and accessible long after my time here."

Katy Herbert Kotlarczyk
CPGR Member since 2010

I attended my first CPGR Summer Symposium in 2018, four days after I started working at The Catholic Foundation in CO. I was so impressed. After my second Symposium I wanted more involved. I’ve been volunteering for the Summer Symposium Committee since 2019. Covid was stressful, yet we still had a great summer conference. I love all the learning opportunities, networking, and camaraderie. It has made a lasting impact on my career and in my line of work that means giving back.

Lisa C. Kukura, JD
CPGR Member Since 2018

I am proud to support CPGR as a Legacy Partner! My giving, along with my fellow Legacy Society Members, allows CPGR to build a fund reserve for the future while maintaining the ability to address urgent challenges and opportunities along the way.

Brandy Bertram
CPGR Member Since 2014

Through its masterful educational programming and generous members who are always willing to share, the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable makes legacy giving accessible for nonprofits of all sizes. CPGR transformed how I think about charitable giving and influences the conversations I embark on with donors. With my legacy gift to CPGR, my hope is that nonprofits for many, many years into the future can increase the quantity and the quality of charitable planned gifts and can continue their important work that makes Colorado a better place.

Olivia Mayer
CPGR Member 2014 through 2023

CPGR was introduced to me during the first week of my new job as a planned giving officer at the University of New Mexico Foundation. Since then, the resources, expertise and educational offerings provided have impacted every part of my life, including my work with donors, academic leaders at my institution, and local professional advisors. It even informed my own estate planning. Professionalism, collaboration, and collegiality are qualities that are woven into the fabric of CPGR, and it is an honor to include this organization in my estate plans. Thank you, CPGR!

Elizabeth Harcombe
CPGR Member since 2020

As I enter my twilight years and approach my retirement from the active practice of the law, I fondly think of my initial entry into membership in CPGR with the guidance and encouragement of its three founders, Betsy Mangone, Scott Lumpkin, and Doug Laub and the exemplary leadership of people like Paul Jonas, all of which eventually led to my service on the Board and annual attendance at the Symposium, but most memorable to me are all the planned givers I have had the pleasure of getting to know along the way, as their knowledge and inspiration have been invaluable to me.

Joseph G. Hodges, Jr.
CPGR Member since 1984