Cramer & Anderson Associate Joshua Weinshank was recently appointed to the new Planned Giving Committee formed by Ability Beyond, the pioneering Bethel-based organization that “helps thousands of people with physical and mental disabilities discover their abilities and become a part of their communities.”
Cramer & Anderson Associate Attorney Joshua Weinshank
“They’ve tossed it around in the past, but they’ve always been focused on their current operating budget and programs they have going on,” Attorney Weinshank said of the genesis of committee that will create a planned giving platform. “It’s exciting because we’re getting started on the ground floor. We’re really getting to sculpt it. I hope I can play a role in increasing planned giving support for Ability Beyond to build a solid future for the organization and the thousands of people it will serve in the coming years.”
The new Planned Giving Committee is composed of approximately 15 professionals, who held their initial meeting in late April, according to Attorney Weinshank, whose practice focuses on the areas of Trust and Estate Planning, Elder Law, and Trust and Probate administration.
Driving the planned giving effort at Ability Beyond—formed in 1953 by a group of parents who dreamt of a life for their children in which disability did not define who they were, what they did or where they could go—is the disproportionate relationship between the annual operating budget and the endowment.
Estimating the budget at approximately $70 million a year, Attorney Weinshank said the endowment, in the low millions, is “very disproportionate for an organization that size.”
Joined on the committee by tax attorneys, CPAs and investments advisers, Attorney Weinshank will help to develop a vision and comprehensive plan for enhancing the growth of Ability Bound’s endowment.
The effort to build a planned giving platform will involve such steps as creating informational materials and giving seminars on both the benefits of giving and the accomplishments of the 501{c} (3) nonprofit organization that serves people with disabilities in Connecticut and New York by providing person-centered, cutting-edge, and cost-effective services.
“With nearly 3,000 people benefiting from our services across two states, our size, scope, and experience motivate us to constantly utilize creative new technologies to develop innovative approaches to care for those in our programs,” Ability Beyond explains on its website. “Our best practices are nationally recognized and replicable, and are being adopted by organizations around the country to serve thousands more people at the state and national levels.”
In addition to his expertise in Trust and Estate Planning, Elder Law, and Trust and Probate administration—including preserving and creating intergenerational wealth—Attorney Weinshank also focuses on asset protection and Title XIX (Medicaid) Planning. He has broad and significant experience with probate law and contested probate proceedings.
Attorney Weinshank works in the Danbury office of Cramer & Anderson, which may be reached at (203) 744-1234. His email is mailto:jweinshank@crameranderson.com.
