Sharpe Insights: Conversations With Your Planned Giving Experts
Sharpe Insights: Conversations With Your Planned Giving Experts is the podcast for nonprofit development professionals looking to deepen their understanding of planned giving. Whether you’re new to planned giving or looking to enhance your existing program, we will provide you with practical tips, expert advice and real-world stories.
Host Grant Miller will explore the nuances of planned giving, covering everything from building relationships with donors to understanding the various gift vehicles to learning how to ask for a planned gift. We’ll feature advice from Sharpe consultants and interviews with planned giving professionals who will share strategies for engaging donors in meaningful...Show more
All Episodes
From Ink to Interface: Giving Docs and The Future of Planning Your Charitable Legacy
Join host Grant Miller and Brantley Boyett of Giving Docs as they discuss the evolution of online estate planning, how charities can benefit from providing access to digital tools and what role AI may play in legal tech in the future. Panelist info: Host Grant Miller is an award-winning creative writer and senior editor with Sharpe Group. Brantley is the co-founder and president of Giving Docs. He is a former (recovering) attorney, having practiced for more than a decade before starting Giving Docs in 2015 in Austin, TX. In 2017 Brantley moved to Durham, North Carolina, when Giving Docs partnered with Duke University to use behavioral science to advance legacy giving. Brantley received his JD and BFA in Economics at the University of Texas in Austin. He has also taught Law and Entrepreneurship at Duke University School of Law.
The OB3. May the Force Be With You (As You Navigate This Tax Bill)
Do floors and ceilings have you reeling? Tax and planned giving experts Chris Woehrle and Barlow Mann discuss the latest OBBBA changes, offering some hopeful predictions for their impact on 2026 fundraising and beyond. Panelist info: Host Grant Miller is an award-winning creative writer and senior editor with Sharpe Group. Chris Woehrle, JD, LLM is a technical consultant for Sharpe Group, writing and editing our advisory communications. A magna cum laude graduate of Cornell University, Chris earned his JD and LLM (Taxation) from the Widger School of Law at Villanova University, where he is a member of the Graduate Tax Program Advisory Board. He also teaches charitable gift planning and principles of wealth management in the LLM taxation program. Barlow Mann, JD. Sharpe Group’s General Counsel, attended National Planned Giving Institute Seminars, joining the faculty in the late 1970’s. He began his career at several university development offices and a healthcare center. In his decades at Sharpe Group, he has focused on consulting, seminar training and developing planned and major gift marketing efforts for small, medium and large nonprofit organizations.
Membership Has Its Privileges: The National Capital Gift Planning Council
Debra Kathman, senior director of gift planning at World Wildlife Fund, talks networking opportunities, the collegial community and the continuing education that are part of membership with Washington DC’s National Capital Gift Planning Council. Panelist info: Host Grant Miller is an award-winning creative writer and senior editor with Sharpe Group. Debra Kathman is the senior director of gift planning at the World Wildlife Fund. Since 2016, she’s led WWF’s gift planning program, blending strategy, stewardship and storytelling to connect donors with the planet’s most urgent conservation efforts. Debra also serves as vice president of membership with the National Capital Gift Planning Council (NCGPC), which was honored as the 2025 Council of the Year by the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners.
Socratic Fundraising Featuring Dr. Russell James
Socrates, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Gandalf the Grey walk into a donor meeting … In this mind-bending episode, Dr. Russell James reveals the power of using questions as a means of self-discovery to help guide donors into making their gift of a lifetime. Panelist info: Host Grant Miller is an award-winning creative writer and senior editor with Sharpe Group. Dr. Russell James is a professor of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University and one of the nation’s leading experts on charitable giving. Dr. James has published more than 150 works on philanthropy and behavioral economics and is frequently cited by media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Chronicle of Philanthropy.