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The Center for Estate and Gift

About the Center for Estate & Gift Planning

The CENTER FOR ESTATE AND GIFT PLANNING was formed in 1996 as a permanent office within Pepperdine University's University Advancement division.  The Center is dedicated to building awareness of the opportunities and many charitable strategies available to meet the philanthropic needs of Pepperdine and its donors.

The CENTER FOR ESTATE AND GIFT PLANNING publishes a newsletter, The Rising Tide, which is distributed to nearly 5,000 Pepperdine friends and alumni two times each year. The newsletter highlights one gifting option, providing the reader information about how that particular option would benefit the donor and Pepperdine University.  The Rising Tide also includes donor stories and various charitable giving news.  If you would like to be included on The Rising Tide mailing list, please  us or call 310-506-4893.

We Are Charitable Giving Experts
A Resource for Professionals and Individuals

The CENTER FOR ESTATE AND GIFT PLANNING works with donors, prospective donors, and professional advisors to help them learn about opportunities to support Pepperdine University through deferred giving. The planned giving staff act as liaisons to facilitate gifts to the University.

The Center's staff provides current information to donors and prospective donors by:

  • Meeting personally with individuals and their advisors to explain opportunities in which they have an interest; assisting individuals to assess their deferred giving options, including bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, gifts of qualified retirement plan assets or life insurance, and gifts of personal residences or vacation homes with a retained life estate;
  • Providing illustrations of the benefits of deferred gift plans;
  • Distributing newsletters and informational articles;
  • Offering periodic seminars on deferred charitable giving to professionals and lay communities;
  • Sending periodic informational mailings to donors and prospective donors;
  • Answering general inquiries from interested friends and contacts.

The Pepperdine Estate Planning Network
Elevating the Practice of Charitable Event Planning Today

The CENTER FOR ESTATE AND GIFT PLANNING hosts the Pepperdine Estate Planning Network (PEPNET), a mutual benefit society for estate planning professionals from the legal and financial community.  It is comprised primarily of attorneys, financial planners/consultants, life insurance professionals, trust officers, etc.

Through this group, the Center provides continuing professional education courses and opportunities for professionals to network with colleagues in the same or related disciplines.  Within this forum, the Center also seeks to improve the profession and society at large by promoting the practice of charitable planning.

The Center provides professional referrals from the PEPNET roster to donors and alumni who come to us seeking the services of a planning professional.  If you need a referral, call the PEPNET Hotline at (310) 506-4893.

The Heritage Society
Celebrating Tomorrow's Benefactors Today

The CENTER FOR ESTATE AND GIFT PLANNING maintains the Heritage Society, a donor organization that honors those who have named Pepperdine in a bequest or who have informed the University of their plan to benefit Pepperdine through a deferred charitable gift.  Members are invited as special guests of the Center to attend special events on campus.  
(See: Donor Recognition)

Meet the Staff of the Center for Estate & Gift Planning

Click Here for staff contact information.

DISCLAIMER:  The intention of the Center for Estate and Gift Planning is to provide accurate and authoritative information provided with the understanding that we do not render legal, accounting, tax, investment, or other professional advice.  This site makes frequent reference to written determinations, including private letter rulings, determinations letters, and technical advice memoranda.  The reader is cautioned that these determinations are applicable only to the taxpayer requesting them and, therefore, cannot be cited as tax precedent.  If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.