Make Sure Your Software is Using the New ACGA Rates

The new American Council on Gift Annuities suggested maximum annuity rates went into effect on January 1 of this year. If your charity is like most charities, it started following the new rates on that day. If this is the case, be sure that your PG Calc software is set up to use the new rates when you enter a gift date on or after January 1, 2020.

In PGM Anywhere, no software update is required, as PG Calc updates PGM Anywhere on your behalf. Check your rate table by choosing Customize > Calculation Options. “Gift annuity rate table” should be set to “ACGA rates effective on date of gift” (the default selection) or “ACGA rates effective 1/1/2020.”

In Planned Giving Manager desktop (PGM), you must be using version 7.5C, which we released on November 25, to access the new rate table. You can check your rates by choosing Customize > Gift Annuity Rate Tables. “ACGA rates effective on date of gift” (the default selection) or “ACGA rates effective 1/1/2020” should be selected. If you need to change your selection in PGM, also choose File > Save Configuration to save your change.

If you have any questions, contact Client Services at 888-474-2252, or support@pgcalc.com.

New PGM Anywhere Release

We will be publishing a new release of PGM Anywhere later in January. Highlights of the new release include:

• An option for improving email delivery of presentations to donors
• Expanded security features
• Improved heading behavior in Designer Proposals
• Bug fixesl

PGM Anywhere users will be able to click the release notes link on the PGM Anywhere login screen for details on all enhancements and fixes found in this release.

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The SECURE Act and Gift Planning

After lingering in limbo in the U.S. Senate for months, the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement” Act, aka the SECURE Act, was among several bills attached recently to a “must-pass” appropriations bill that was signed into law on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act includes many changes to the rules governing retirement plans, including several provisions of particular interest to gift planners.

Upcoming PG Calc Training Opportunites

Register now for an upcoming Planned Giving Manager or GiftWrap training session! We’re offering our Planned Giving Manager training in New York City on February 5-6, Atlanta on April 23-24 (following the ACGA Conference), and Boston on May 6-7 (prior to the PGGNE all-day conference). Trainees will get hands-on experience using web-based PGM Anywhere to illustrate various gift types.

We’re offering our GiftWrap training in Cambridge, MA on March 20-21. Attendees will learn how to use the powerful calculation, reporting, and data management capabilities of their GiftWrap software, and will be prepared to achieve the highest standards of stewardship, financial, and state compliance requirements.

You can view our full 2020 training schedule and register for training sessions on our website.

Giving Gifts of Appreciated Securities

The stock market, while cyclical, hit some record highs in 2019. As such, there is an opportunity to recommend to donors gifts of appreciated securities that they have owned for at least one year. While donors have watched their investments grow, if they sell these appreciated securities to lock in gains, they will trigger capital gain, eroding their net investment returns. Transferring these appreciated securities directly to charity to will result in a double tax benefit. Donors avoid tax on the capital gain and receive an income tax charitable deduction for the fair market value of the stock. The tax savings can make such a gift easy and affordable.

Note that, if donors want to provide support for your charity using securities worth less than they paid for them, they should sell them and contribute some or all of the cash proceeds. Donors can then use the loss on the sale to offset other gain.

Be sure to read next month’s eRate newsletter for a more in-depth discussion of gifts of appreciated securities.

Help Us Maximize Delivery of PGM Anywhere Emails

We have heard from a handful of PGM Anywhere clients who have experienced problems with the delivery of emails to donors sent using PGM Anywhere’s email presentations function. A new feature will be added in the January 2020 release to give clients experiencing problems options for improving delivery. If you have experienced any delivery problems with emails sent from PGM Anywhere, please let us know. We will be conducting a comprehensive test of the different email delivery options to formulate recommendations for best practices. If you would like to participate in that test, please let us know that, too.

Contact Client Services at 888-474-2252, or support@pgcalc.com.

Security Notice

You may have heard about a critical security flaw in the Windows 10 Operating System disclosed today by both the NSA and Microsoft. Microsoft released a patch to correct the vulnerability on January 14th that addresses this issue. Given the severity and potential impact to the security of data in PG Calc's care, PG Calc will be applying this patch tonight to all of our servers. If you want to read more about this topic, there is a good article on Wired.com.

Contact Client Services at 888-474-2252, or support@pgcalc.com if you have questions.

PG Calc Client Services Helps The Sisters of the Holy Names Overcome Challenges

The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) is an international congregation of Catholic Sisters, Associates, and Lay Consecrated who are dedicated to the full development of the human person through education, social justice, contemplation, and the arts. Their work occurs in settings including preschools, elementary and high schools, parishes, tutoring centers, graduate programs, studios, prisons, immigrant centers, clinics, spirituality and retreat centers. Sisters of the Holy Names ministries in the Northwest began in 1859, the year Oregon became a state, and since that time, SNJM has built schools, founded orphanages, and ministered in parishes throughout the region.

The SNJM Planned Giving program is about 25 years old, but very small. That notwithstanding, the program has encountered a number of difficult and complicated challenges of late, and PG Calc was there to assist in each case. For example, the SNJM faced a difficult situation in that one of their affiliated organizations closed its doors after 125 years of service to the community. Along with all of the challenges encountered during that difficult time, the SNJM had to accept a couple of their gift annuities whose acceptance posed a challenge for the organization. PG Calc rallied their resources to help SNJM navigate those waters in a timely and efficient manner.

Adrianna Carr, Executive Director, had this to say about PG Calc:

“I’ve never faced a problem PG Calc couldn’t help me solve, and always with patience and understanding. Jeffrey Frye is my all-time favorite. When I took over managing GiftWrap early on in my career here, it was left with a lot of holes by my predecessor. Jeffrey, specifically, walked me through the entire process of inputting all of my information to correct mistakes, and then assisted me in running CashTrac for the first time, as my predecessor hadn’t tracked the annuities’ market values. I can’t tell you how grateful we were. SNJM has worked with PG Calc for 20 years and we have benefited from the relationship in every aspect, most especially from PG Calc’s expert and responsive client services."

Learn more about Sisters of the Holy Names.

Learn more about PG Calc's Client Services.