Discovery: How to Learn About a Donor’s Assets

Cathy Sheffield

January 16, 2020

What do you own? Is it valuable (and how do you know)? Has the value appreciated? Do your kids want it? Do you owe anything on it? Are you thinking about selling it? Wouldn’t it be great to just straight up ask the questions that will help you identify assets that might be ripe for charitable giving? When you can’t be that blunt, Cathy helps you ease into conversations that yield the information you need to develop gift options.

Cathy R. Sheffield, CAP®, CFRE, CSPG, FCEP ThinkGiving, President Thompson & Associates, Vice President Cathy is a fundraising executive with 25-years experience, specializing in major gifts and gift planning in healthcare and higher education. Cathy is the Founder and President of ThinkGiving, a boutique planned giving consulting firm based in Fort Worth, Texas and she is a Vice President with Thompson & Associates, a values-based estate planning firm based in Nashville, TN. Cathy serves on the American Council on Charitable Gift Annuities (ACGA) board of directors and serves on the Charitable IRA Initiative board of directors and is a past board member and past chair of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (CGP). Cathy is a member of the faculty for the American Institute for Philanthropic Studies which administers the Certified Specialist in Planned Giving designation program at the California State University Long Beach. Cathy is also a recipient of The Ben Franklin Award for the Outstanding Professional Fundraising Executive presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Cathy received her MBA from Texas Christian University and a Bachelor of Science from North Dakota State University. Cathy is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®), Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG), and a Fellow in Charitable Estate Planning (FCEP).