Charitable Gift Planners of Southwest Florida upcoming events

Summer Social (08/27/2026)

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 21:00:00 GMT

Join us for a relaxed evening of networking, refreshments, and connection at our annual Summer Social. This informal gathering is a great opportunity to unwind and strengthen professional relationships in a casual atmosphere.

Thursday, August 27, 2026
5:00 – 7:00 pm

Location: Senior Friendship Center
1888 Brother Geenen Way, Building 2
Sarasota, FL 34236

Parking: Plenty of free parking is available in the Senior Friendship Center lot. Look for the “Event” signs to find us!

Free for Members & Future Members - Thanks to the Generosity of Our Sponsors!
(Members: please bring a guest to learn more!)

Event Sponsored by FUNDucation and the USF Foundation Office of Gift Planning

Looking ahead, please also save the date and RSVP for our September program:

“Behind the Curtain: Understanding the Business Sale Journey and Its Philanthropic Potential” presented by Cliff Walters and Jenifer Schembri, Principals with Blalock Walters Attorneys at Law

September 24th at 8:00 am
Location: Manatee Community Foundation
Click here to learn more.

Behind the Curtain: Understanding the Business Sale Journey and Its Philanthropic Potential (09/24/2026)

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Please join us for a Charitable Gift Planners of Southwest Florida program with Clifford L. Walters and Jenifer S. Schembri of Blalock Walters.

The sale of a business is often one of the most significant financial and emotional events in an owner’s life—yet many advisors and nonprofit professionals only see part of the picture. This session offers an insider’s perspective on what business owners are focused on “behind the curtain” as they contemplate and complete a sale, how trusted advisors influence decision-making, and where philanthropy can fit into the conversation. Through real-world perspectives and stories, attendees will explore strategies for engaging business owners thoughtfully and effectively before, during, and after a transaction.

Key Takeaways:

Understand the priorities, concerns, and motivations of business owners as they contemplate and complete the sale of a business, including the emotional and financial dynamics occurring “behind the curtain.”
Explore practical approaches to initiating philanthropic conversations with business owners in ways that align charitable intent with broader wealth, estate, and succession planning objectives.
Recognize opportunities for more sophisticated charitable gifts tied to business interests and know when to engage specialized expertise and resources.

Thursday, September 24, 2026
8:00 am – Breakfast and Networking
8:25 – 9:30 am – Remarks and Program

Location: Manatee Community Foundation, 2820 Manatee Ave W, Bradenton, FL 34205

Free for Members
$20 for Non-Members

About Our Speakers

Cliff & Jenifer are both principals at Blalock Walters and have worked together on countless transactions to help business owners accomplish their goals.

Clifford L. Walters, III, Principal, Blalock Walters - Cliff concentrates on business counseling and planning, complex real estate transactions, commercial law, and wealth transfer estate planning. He represents business executives and owners, large and small entrepreneurial businesses, and commercial real estate developers. Cliff handles business succession and wealth transfer planning; real estate deals from entity formulation, due diligence, project financing to permitting, construction and development services; and commercial law matters, such as contract negotiations, buying and selling of businesses.

Jenifer S. Schembri, Principal, Blalock Walters - Jenifer Schembri serves as the practice group leader of our estate planning, tax law, business & corporate, and health care law departments. She practices in both of the firm’s Bradenton and Sarasota offices. Jenifer is Board Certified by The Florida Bar as an expert in Tax Law, in addition to having her LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida. Jenifer represents both companies and individuals in the areas of individual and business tax planning, entity selection and formation, corporate governance matters, mergers and acquisitions, business succession planning and transitions, charitable planning, tax controversy matters at the federal and Florida levels, and all aspects of estate planning, including trust and estate taxation and wealth preservation.

About Our Moderator

Jennifer W. Abbott, Abbott Advising – Jennifer brings deep experience in the nonprofit, foundation, and philanthropic sectors to her work as an independent philanthropic advisor. She helps individuals, foundations, and nonprofit organizations develop thoughtful giving strategies and strengthen philanthropic impact. Jennifer also serves as an Initiative Lead consultant with The Patterson Foundation, supporting nonprofits in building organizational capacity and long-term sustainability.

Special Thanks to Our Program Sponsors:

Charitable Gift Opportunities for Residences and Vacation Homes: Lifetime and Testamentary Strategies (10/20/2026)

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Please join us for a special program, presented jointly by the Sarasota County Bar Association and Charitable Gift Planners of Southwest Florida!

Tuesday, October 20, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Registration Details:
Free for SCBA & CGPSWFL Members

Click here to register for this virtual session. (All attendees will register through the Sarasota County Bar Association website.)

Southwest Florida is home to a vibrant philanthropic community supported by many generous donors and impactful charitable organizations. This program is designed for real property, probate and trust law attorneys, along with philanthropic fundraisers to facilitate the collaboration among professional advisors, enhance donor engagement in gift conversations and to learn the nuts and bolts of impactful ways to make charitable gifts of primary residences and vacation homes.

This program will focus primarily on lifetime gifts of a remainder interest in a residence or vacation home, sometimes referred to as a “retained life estate,” as prescribed in IRC Section 170(f)(3)(B)(i) and the corresponding Treasury Regulations. We’ll discuss in detail the legal requirements to establish the gift and how to illustrate the charitable income tax benefits and other consequences to the donor. Through case studies we will highlight ideal candidate profiles and walk through the practical mechanics of the gift of a remainder interest strategy.

In addition, we will discuss alternative methods for donors to make gifts of residences and vacation homes, via:

Outright lifetime gifts
Lifetime bargain sales
Lifetime and testamentary charitable remainder trusts

About Our Speaker: David K. Cahoone, J.D., LL.M (in Taxation)

David is a Senior Partner with The Dorcey Law Firm in Southwest Florida. David is also a consultant, author, and frequent public speaker. He has over 30 years of active practice experience in the areas of wealth transfer planning, charitable planning, trusts and estates, income tax planning and business planning. David has significant experience planning with ultra-high-net-worth families and individuals and working with them in all phases of design, implementation and ongoing support.

David enjoys engaging with individuals, families and business owners to develop and implement plans to achieve their unique goals and objectives by listening to discover and then working with them to build a plan to implement, their "enlightened dreams" for themselves, their loved ones, their communities and their philanthropic passions.

David also assists public charities and private foundations with navigating the challenging requirements for accepting complex gifts and providing proper documentation to donors and IRS compliance. He also provides training to charitable fundraisers and presentations to charitable donors who are looking to be more tax efficient in their charitable giving.

David has a Masters degree in Taxation from the University of Florida College of Law and has attained the highest professional ranking (AV) from Martindale-Hubbell. He is a member of the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Counsel, National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, Charitable Gift Planners of Southwest Florida, and the Sarasota County and Florida Bar Associations (Sections on Business Law, Tax Law, Real Property and Trust Law).

David is a co-author of Protect and Enhance Your Estate published by McGraw Hill and The Living Trust Workbook published by the Penguin Group. He has been quoted in national newspapers and magazines and appeared as a guest on a number of radio talk shows. David is also a frequent keynote speaker for local and national organizations.

For five years David was the Director of Philanthropic Strategies and Planned Giving at Brown University. At Brown he worked collaboratively with the Advancement office, faculty, staff and alumni as a resource for donors and their advisors to develop and achieve their charitable and financial goals and dreams in a tax-wise manner.

David looks forward to working collaboratively with other attorneys, fundraising professionals, CPAs, financial advisors, and insurance professionals to serve the specialized planning needs of high-net-worth individuals, families and business owners.