Our History

The Southern California Council of Charitable Gift Planners (SoCalCGP) has a long history within the Los Angeles area under the names of Los Angeles Council of Charitable Gift Planners, the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning of Greater Los Angeles, and the Planned Giving Roundtable of Southern California. In 2023, in recognition of the connected nature of the Southern California region, we joined forces with the Santa Barbara Council of Charitable Gift Planners to better serve the region as SoCalCGP.
 
Our new name reflects our unwavering commitment to progress and excellence in philanthropy while staying true to our roots. LACGP and SBCCGP were both pioneers in planned giving associations, offering networking and educational opportunities to planned giving professionals in Southern California for decades. Founded in 1980, LACGP was one of the first planned giving associations in this country and provided the blueprint for the many others that have formed since. Its early mission was to serve the educational and networking needs of the planned giving professional from San Diego to Santa Barbara so this shift to SoCal has been a long time coming. 

As we bring together the expertise, resources, and connections of our two councils, we are excited to further our shared goal of promoting best practices and expanding the reach and impact of charitable gift planning in the region. Today, as one of the largest councils affiliated with the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, SoCalCGP aims to be one of the most innovative, inclusive, and dynamic councils in the country. We are committed to serving and being representative of all of Southern California, and we recognize the magnificent breadth, depth, diversity, and opportunity of our region.

Our members come from colleges, universities, hospitals, museums, libraries, botanical gardens, faith-based institutions, performing arts centers, animal welfare organizations, environmental groups, banks, trust companies, investment firms, law firms, and more. We maintains an active membership base of gift planning professionals – fundraisers at large and small shops, CPAs, estate attorneys, financial. In addition to the four general meetings each year, SoCalCGP hosts the popular Western Regional Planned Giving Conference, the introductory planned giving seminar PG101 and its advanced version PG201, regular Mini Round Table conversations for peer-to-peer sharing, webinars, and socials.
 
We recognize that our success depends on the success of our members. Through education, research, and advocacy, we will continue to support and serve charitable gift planners as you help donors achieve their philanthropic dreams. Our board and volunteers are working tirelessly to promote best practices and to offer a broader range of innovative, accessible — and more regionally focused — educational and networking opportunities, both virtually and in-person. We are excited by a future with SoCalCGP providing more opportunities for members to connect in person, and we look forward to seeing you all at these future events!

Our Mission:

• We are a community dedicated to increasing philanthropy through charitable gift planning
     
• We are a definitive resource for charitable gift planning information
      
• We are a network for building meaningful relationships within the Southern California philanthropy community