PGgrowth - Planned Giving podcast

For this episode of the PGgrowth Podcast, Ed Sluga is joined by Goody Gibson to discuss a subject on everyone’s minds lately: data. As Principal Consultant for Empower NFP, Goody is consistently helping fundraisers unlock the full potential of their donor base through data. Tune in to hear Goody make the case that after your brand, data is the most valuable asset your organization has. Interested...

For our first episode of 2026, Ed interviews Mark Halpern, one of Canada's top life insurance advisors. As the President and Founder of WEALTHinsurance.com, Mark reimagines life insurance as a way to build individual philanthropic desires. Tune in to hear Mark talk about how he started his career in life insurance, the need to emphasize philanthropy in wealth planning, and the importance of good f...

Join us for a special episode of the  Planned Giving Podcast . Today the tables are turned and Julia Magnuson-Ford, PGgrowth's Vice President, will be interviewing Ed to celebrate his 30th year as a fundraiser. They discuss how Ed started in the industry, how he has seen it change, and what advice he would give to himself 30 years ago. 

From the Archive: Ken Ramsay and Ed Sluga discuss the Golden Age of Planned Giving and how to implement a Planned Giving campaign methodology into an existing Planned Giving program so that an organization can take advantage of the current opportunity. First broadcast in 2021, the information in this podcast is as relevant today as it was then - perhaps even more as the opportunity continues to in...

In this episode, Ed Sluga offers a glance at some important research PGgrowth has been doing. Research in the world of planned giving is often focused on donors and donor attitudes. But what are charities doing to respond to these attitudes and take advantage of them? That question was the central focus of two PGgrowth research surveys conducted over the past few years. In this episode, Ed goes ov...

In this week’s podcast,  Ed Sluga  is joined by  Julia Magnuson-Ford  and  Erika Ewacha  to share some exciting news! As many planned giving professionals know, the industry is changing rapidly and facing new challenges as a result. The digital age has made it harder for fundraisers to connect with each other, and smaller charities are finding it difficult to access necessary services. In response...

In a continuation of PGgrowth’s 15th anniversary, this week’s podcast is all about Tracey Church. Tracey is a Senior Research Consultant at PGgrowth and one of the preeminent prospect researchers in Canada. In addition to her work with over 400 organizations, Tracey was a part-time faculty member at Western University for 15 years and also co-edited and co-authored “Prospect Research in Canada: An...

In this special episode, we shine a spotlight on Suzanne Bone, Senior Consultant at PGgrowth and a trailblazer in hospital foundation fundraising. With over three decades of leadership as the inaugural—and for 31 years, the only—CEO of the Foundation of Guelph General Hospital, Suzanne has built a legacy of progressive impact and fundraising success. Join us as we sit down with Suzanne to reflect...

In this episode of  The Planned Giving Pod , Ed Sluga continues the conversation sparked by last week's discussion with Ken Ramsay, diving deeper into the realities of working in planned giving. Planned giving can often feel like a solitary pursuit, but it doesn’t have to be. Ed reminds us that the heart of this work is community, a shared space where fundraisers can lean on one another, exchange...

In this thought-provoking episode,  PGgrowth  President and Co-Founder  Ed Sluga  revisits a critical question: Why are so many charities still struggling to embrace planned giving? Back in 2017, PGgrowth launched an in-depth research initiative to understand how charities across the country were engaging with planned giving—an often-overlooked yet powerful source of revenue. Now, in 2024 and into...

Navigating the professional pressure of raising funds for great causes is difficult. Yes, we feel a great sense of well being by working to advance a mission that helps our community. But with that comes great stress and pressure. There is help! Fundraisers are coming together and meeting to support each other. Building a community of support that understands - and does not increase - the stress a...

Enthusiastic promoter of planned giving and all around friend to everyone, Theresa Butler-Porter feels like she has always been a planned giving professional - she just didn't know it. Now, an expert in the field and much sought after mentor and speaker, Theresa takes some time to talk about her journey working in the field, what she has learned about herself and what others can do to 'lean in' an...

Peggy Killeen and I sit down and discuss the messages of planned giving - there are the old standards AND the NEW thinking around how to speak to donors. The most important additions are simple: not everyone is the same so your messages need to relate to known types of donors who make a gift (one size does not fit all!), and, remember, at the core of giving is the fact that it makes people happy....

From time to time, we mark important moments in the planned giving world with a discussion around the current state of this form of fundraising. We've done it again. This time it is a way to look at the 15 years we have been working to raise the bar within the sector around planned giving. Joining me for this discussion are noted experts in the field Peggy Killeen, CFRE, Grant Monck, LL.B and...

In our 15 years, PGgrowth has had as part of our team extraordinary leaders and experts in planned giving. This year, we will be taking the time to highlight these professionals. Peggy Killeen is a well known leader in the planned giving sector. Based in Montreal, her impact is national not only helping charities create and launch programs but also mentoring staff and inspiring donor engagement. A...

In our 15 years, PGgrowth has had as part of our team extraordinary leaders and experts in planned giving. This year, we will be taking the time to highlight these professionals. First up is Grant Monck - leader in planned giving for 30 years, sector expert in blended gifts, a fixture both in British Columbia and across the country in leading best in practice programs. His journey to planned givin...

In this second pod focusing on our webinar series Driving PG Forward from the Fall of 2023, Ken Ramsay - noted planned giving expert and data guru - gives one of the best arguments for understanding your organization's data and planned giving opportunity I have ever heard – and I have heard Ken talk about this many times before.  It is all about the gap.  The gap is the space between your curr...

The first of four pods excerpted from our webinar series in the Fall of 2023 titled DRIVING PLANNED GIVING FORWARD. This episode looks at determining organization type and what best practices are the correct ones to implement and follow. What does your organization need to consider when establishing a program? How do you measure success? It is where an organization must start to ensure predictable...

In May of 2020, with the pandemic officially taking hold of all of our daily lives, PGgrowth held a Town Hall to examine fundraising in the ear of lock downs and economic unknowns. Now, 3 years later, we look at the after-effects of COVID, lessons learned - or not - and what to do so that your program is ready for the next economic down turn, whether it is caused by a pandemic, a bad economy or so...

Working with charities across the country, we do find one common thread when professionals discuss their ability to - or inability to - launch a truly proactive program: leadership commitment. While the rational and the data continues to support proactive engagement of supporters to increase giving in the way, organizations continue to hesitate, missing the important leadership imperative to launc...

This one is from the archives and firmly focused on the future. My colleague Katherine Blake is regularly talking about the coming transfer of wealth - one that we know of well in planned giving - and the fact that charities need to get involved now in planned giving or risk missing the opportunity. This reminded me of a conversation I had with Ken Ramsay a few years back. It was about the charita...

Many experts in planned giving might say that it all begins and ends with donor stewardship. My guest on this episode of The PGgrowth Planned Giving Podcast - Peggy Killeen - is one of those experts. And her passion for stewardship and how it leads to gifts of this kind is unmatched - and so is her knowledge. Listen and learn that for some, it is all about stewardship.

Any marketing tactic to engage your donors about planned giving needs both a preparation and a follow up plan. Otherwise, the cost and work put into the initial contact is not only wasted, the trust you need with your donors so they will create a planned gift will be eroded or even lost. In this first episode of season 8, we will explore the basics of preparing for direct donor lead generation and...

Why and how should your charity examine in a deep and meaningful way, its data and donor bases to find its best prospects for Planned Giving. Ken Ramsay brings his decades of experience leading programs asking hundreds of thousands of people across North America for Planned Gifts has provided him with a 'one-of-a-kind' knowledge and expertise in mining data for your best prospects, He is experienc...

Ed Sluga is joined again by planned giving thought leader Ken Ramsay as they discuss the most important asset of any organization's fundraising program - their data base. Using data effectively for the advancement of a planned giving program is fundamental to long-term and sustainable success. Ed and Ken discuss the rationale for regular data review and the steps necessary to use your data base to...