Testimonials
What my clients say about my work:
John Draper
Philanthropy Advisor
Crystal Springs Uplands School
“Crystal Springs Uplands School hired
Greg as our consultant with the direct charge of teaching me
the ways of planned
giving
and revitalizing our dormant efforts at the school. After thirty
years at Crystal, I joined the development team and began to learn
about planned giving. To that end Greg has made presentations with
me as his ‘assistant.’ The most memorable and edifying
was his clear, concise and thoughtful presentation to a school family
who expressed interest in learning about donating rental property.
Greg led the conversation with the father and son for over an hour
and a half. I was pleasantly struck by his forthright honesty with
the family about the potential benefit and the potential downside
of gifting real estate. He touched lightly and clearly on the various
merits of charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities,
wealth replacement trusts and other topics. The family and I learned
a lot from the session, and I am sure they will be back for more
because Greg clearly ‘lit the fuse’ of philanthropy through
real estate.”
Lela DaVia
Development Director
Center for Independent Living
“Greg is a skillful professional who brings expertise combined
with a passion for planned giving as well as a respect for the nonprofit
community.” Back to top
John Graf
Chair, Planned Giving Committee
Former Board Chair
FACE (Family Aid – Catholic Education) “Greg has been invaluable in our efforts to launch and sustain
what we believe will be a fruitful planned giving program. He brings
extensive
experience as a planned giving officer and works very well with
our staff, board and Planned Giving Committee. Greg takes a highly
systematic
approach to the process and keeps us on track. We set goals, establish
operating plans and execute with Greg guiding us each step along
the way. He is very involved and actively participates in meetings
with our board, prospects, etc. It's a pleasure to work with him.”
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Christopher Hest
Director of Development (1996-2002)
San Francisco Symphony
“I hired Greg as the San Francisco Symphony’s first
full-time planned giving officer and knew that the organization needed someone
who could deliver while honoring cultural norms. While there was eagerness
to enter the world of planned giving, many inside the Symphony had misgivings
about being overly aggressive or otherwise insensitive around a subject that
was delicate: mortality. Greg skillfully launched a Symphony-specific effort
that made participation in its planned giving activity attractive to prospects.
“One of his first accomplishments was leveraging resources
through advancing the use of volunteers. Prior to his arrival only a minority
of SFS volunteers were members of the Symphony’s Pierre Monteux Society,
and he hit 100 percently shortly after his arrival. Greg also led the charge
for the Symphony’s launch of its charitable gift annuity program, including
the licensing process with the California Department of Insurance. In his six
years with the Symphony he more than doubled the legacy group from fewer than
200 to over 400 members. His nearly three decades working in nonprofit development,
holding a wide variety of staff positions and responsibilities, highly informs
Greg’s consulting practice.
I am a fan of Greg Lassonde’s work and recommend him to you.”
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Judith Parker
Development Director (2004-2008)
California Symphony
“I brought Greg in to launch California
Symphony’s planned giving
program after hearing of his success from symphony colleagues around
the country. As an employee at San Francisco Symphony for six years,
Greg set the standard for a well-run program. Our work together
was highly collaborative as I am more of a hands-on person, and wanted
to be involved in the program. He helped us avoid the normal pitfalls
and roadblocks to moving a program forward, and also engaged the
Board and inner circle of supporters and donors. Under his guidance
we quickly made planned giving highly visible at performances,
in
publications, and through direct response mailings. Our legacy
society is growing and we have created a significant pool of qualified
prospects.”
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Patsy Vincent
Development Director (2006-2008)
Mount St. Joseph’s – St. Elizabeth’s
“Greg is a patient and intelligent coach, and helped me negotiate the sometimes
challenging world of planned giving! He was terrific with providing ancillary
materials including newsletter articles and letter templates that made it easy
to market planned giving and respond to inquiries.”
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