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CCPG Scholarship Programs 


The Chicago Council on Planned Giving provides education to fundraising and charitable gift planning professionals to promote philanthropic planning techniques among a broad base of individuals interested in expanding their professional expertise in this arena. CCPG offers scholarships to ensure that the vast and diverse population of nonprofit organizations in the Chicagoland area have the opportunity to learn how charitable gift planning can benefit their organizations and their donors in an effort to cultivate philanthropy that will enrich the broader community.

Each year, CCPG offers the following three types of scholarships:

CCPG Scholars Program 

The CCPG Scholars Program is a year-long scholarship opportunity (September 1-August 31) that includes a free one-year membership to CCPG, complimentary registration for all Bi-Monthly meetings, registration for the Annual Symposium, and an assigned mentor for one year.  There are six slots each year in the CCPG Scholars Program, and application is open to current CCPG members and non-members.  Click here for more detailed information.  


Annual CCPG Symposium Scholarships 

CCPG offers four scholarships to attend CCPG’s Annual Symposium. Scholarships are available to current CCPG members and non-members. The 2024 Symposium scholarships have all been selected. Check back for more information on scholarship opportunities for the May 2025 Symposium. 


“I was thrilled to be chosen as a CCPG Symposium Scholarship recipient and to participate in such a well-orchestrated insightful event. The choice of speakers, topics, and schedule were excellent, fitting every participant from beginners to established members. The lessons I learned from the symposium motivated me to craft a planned giving strategy for the organization I work for.”
– Philile Mabuza, Heartland Alliance






For additional information about the Chicago Council on Planned Giving Scholarship Programs, please contact:

Amy Roy, Outreach Committee Co-Chair
aroy@hibelfoundation.org
(708) 800-8474

Kristen Lynch, Outreach Committee Co-Chair
klynch@saintmarys.edu
(773) 744-2947

Christine Teed, CCPG Administrative Director
cteed@ccpgonline.org
(630) 599-7103



Past CCPG Scholarship Recipient Testimonials

Keenya Lambert Joining CCPG Scholars Program has added tremendous value to my professional development. By attending the meetings, I have acquired transferable skills to execute effective gift planning and major gifts fundraising. Each speaker is exceptionally knowledgeable in their field and accessible for questions weeks after their presentation. The Mentoring Program provides in-depth guidance to assess your organizational needs and apply skills attained to your meet your annual targets. I highly recommend this program. After one year of membership, I have expanded by network, developed new friendships, and move from theory into practice.


Scott Wozencraft I am a relatively new major gift officer. In my short time, I have especially enjoyed getting to work with donors considering a planned gift or with an established planned gift. Their commitment and often long history with the organization are really inspiring, and you can usually learn a thing or three from them.

That said, conversations around these gifts were also challenging for me. Sometimes these conversations involved just plain difficult subject matter (end of life planning, for example) and I was also not well versed with the giving vehicles. Acronyms abound and the information on taxes is probably meant to be handled by someone who has done more than file the standard deduction before.

Despite this, I kept finding myself in more of these conversations and really enjoying having (or at least starting) them with donors. With that, a colleague (who has often helped finish these conversations) presented the idea of applying for the Chicago Council on Planned Giving Symposium Scholarship. After giving the website a look and talking to a few colleagues who had been before, I dusted off my resume and sent in the application. And you can certainly count me grateful that I did.

Marc Carmichael’s intro sessions were terrific and did a nice job presenting the lay of the land. I walked away knowing more about what giving vehicles are available and who they might be right for. Marc, and really all of the presenters, also sprinkled in readily implementable project ideas throughout their presentations. Marilyn Schaffer’s session on stewardship for planned giving donors was especially helpful in this regard. The team I work on recently had a mid-year check in and one of our priority projects to implement in the last half of the year was inspired by an idea in Marilyn’s presentation.

The substance of the conference and experts were exactly what I had hoped for. Beyond that though, the other attendees were also terrific conference partners. Eager to learn and eager to share, everyone was friendly and willing to help one another.

The conference was a tremendous learning and networking experience, and generally a wonderful introduction to the Chicago Council on Planned Giving. I am looking forward to getting more involved with them going forward.

Alan Paberzs Over the past several years, one of my primary goals was to become an expert in planned giving and thanks to the Chicago Council on Planned Giving, I am closer to meeting this goal now more than ever. For starters, being selected as a 2015-16 CCPG Scholar was one of the highlights of my career. In addition to the relationships I developed with fellow Scholars, my mentor, Board members, and fellow CCPG members, I gained so much knowledge from CCPG bi-monthly meetings that I always went back to the office full of energy and ideas on how to strengthen our organization’s planned giving efforts. My time with CCPG is already paying dividends – I am more confident when meeting with planned giving prospects and am prepared to take a leadership role in the development and implementation of my organization’s planned giving strategy. Whether you are looking to better understand the nuts and bolts of planned giving, learn about the latest trends in estate planning, or expand your network, there is something for everyone at CCPG. I am grateful for all that CCPG has done and continues to do for my career and encourage all fundraisers, no matter their experience level, to learn more about how CCPG can help take your career or organization to the next level.



Nanette M. Scoville Thank you very much for the scholarship to the CCPG Symposium that I was able to attend yesterday. Words can’t express the gratitude in my heart for your generosity in selecting me for the sponsorship. I enjoyed every session. The facilitators were very well versed in the subject matter, were very prepared and made sure that they imparted as much information as possible during each session. I learned quite a bit from every session and some things were confirmations that we are moving in the right direction. This is very encouraging to me. Also, every facilitator offered to make themselves available by email and phone, should we have any questions in the future. They are all very generous professionals and they have a genuine interest in our success. I would also like to especially thank you for your selection of the keynote speaker, Louis Nanni, from University of Notre Dame. His presentation was very educational, inspiring and moving.


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