Biographical Background
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Richard M. Lamport, Jr.
Professional Biography

Mr. Lamport is the founder and Principal of Gift Planning Associates. His clients include non-profit institutions in the fields of religion and religious education, health care, education, social services, and animal welfare.

He has over 30 years of experience in finance, direct response marketing, and fundraising. During that time, he served in the finance department of a major international corporation, supervised all direct mail promotion for two Readers' Digest product lines, and served for six years as the first national planned giving director for the Episcopal Church. Prior to founding Gift Planning Associates in 1991, he directed the planned giving consulting branch of Essex Fund Raising Counsel.

Mr. Lamport brings his extensive background in finance and profit-oriented direct response marketing to bear on the challenges of non-profit fundraising. He employs tools such as list analysis, segmentation, and market research to develop strategies for approaching an organization's donors.

Mr. Lamport has conducted over 150 planned giving training workshops and has lectured for the Robert F. Sharpe Planned Giving Institute, the Jonathan Tidd Advanced Planned Giving Institute, and many professional groups. He is currently a member of the National Society of Fundraising Executives and has served as a Board member of the Northern California Planned Giving Council.

Joseph W. Bracco
Professional Biography

Joe is a Senior Associate with Gift Planning Associates. Joe has an extensive background in nonprofit managment, administration, and fund development. Joe served as President and CEO of a college preparatory high school in Napa, CA for twelve years and was the Executive Director of a multi-service child welfare agency in San Rafael, CA for nineteen years. In his role as a nonprofit executive, Joe not only supervised development programs, but as the Executive Director of a high school foundation from 2006-09, was also responsible for the development and implementation of a comprehensive planned giving program. He has held leadership positions on several local, state, and national nonprofit Boards of Directors in fields as diverse as education, child welfare, university alumni, community outreach, and chamber of commerce.

Joe has an MBA from Pepperdine University. He has also been awarded a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG) designation from the American Institute of Philanthropic Studies

Dick Rabin
Office Manager

Dick oversees general office matters, including invoicing, preparation of written communications, and upkeep of computer files. Prior to joining Gift Planning Associates, Dick was in the for-profit sector, where he had over fifteen years management experience. He earned his BA degree in English at U.C. Berkeley.

Lawrence Ratner
Certified Public Accountant

Lawrence Ratner has over 28 years of experience in the fields of tax and accounting. Prior to establishing his own practice in 1987, he served as Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of the Hillsdale Group, a hospital management firm, and was a Senior Audit Supervisor for Ernst and Young. He has a BA from Ohio State University and became a C.P.A. in 1983.