The Financial Strategy Nonprofit Leaders Deserve.
Executive benefits, charitable giving, and estate planning — built around tax-efficient strategies for nonprofit executives and philanthropic families nationwide.
Three Disciplines.
One Integrated Strategy.
We do three things — and we do them deeply. Every engagement is built around a coordinated plan between you, your attorney, your CPA, and your financial advisor. The insurance architecture we design is the connective tissue that makes the rest of the plan work.
Executive Benefits
Retain and reward mission-critical leaders with supplemental compensation that works for a nonprofit’s unique tax and regulatory environment.
- 457(b) & 457(f) plans (golden handcuffs)
- SERPs funded with tax-deferred IUL
- Endorsement & loan-regime split-dollar
- Section 162 executive bonus plans
- Board-level compensation review
Charitable Giving
Transform appreciated assets into lifetime income, charitable impact, and tax-free legacy for heirs — all in the same strategy.
- CRT-IUL: capital gains elimination + wealth replacement
- Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs)
- Charitable gift annuities & CLTs
- Donor-advised fund coordination
- Planned giving program design for nonprofits
Estate & Wealth Transfer
Remove unnecessary estate tax, ensure liquidity at death, and equalize inheritances between heirs — on purpose, not by accident.
- Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs)
- IUL inside ILIT: four-layer tax shield
- Estate equalization & business succession
- Premium financing for $5M+ face values
- Beneficiary optimization & wealth replacement
We Start With the Risks, Not the Products.
Most advisors start with a portfolio and fit the risks around it. We reverse that. Every plan we design is stress-tested against the five risks that derail retirement for nonprofit executives and philanthropic families.
“We begin with the end in mind. Then we work backward to build a plan that survives everything a 30-year retirement can throw at it.”
Taxes
The largest single expense in retirement. Tax-efficient strategies can save $30,000–$60,000 per year — compounded over decades, that’s generational wealth.
Market Volatility
Sequence-of-returns risk in early retirement can permanently destroy a portfolio that would otherwise have lasted a lifetime.
Longevity
Planning for age 85 and living to 95 is the single most under-accounted-for risk in retirement planning today.
Inflation
A 3% annual inflation rate cuts purchasing power in half over 24 years. Fixed income alone cannot keep pace.
Healthcare & Long-Term Care
The average couple needs $315,000+ for healthcare in retirement. Long-term care adds another $100,000 per year.
The CRT-IUL: One Plan. Four Wins.
The CRT-IUL is our most-requested charitable giving strategy. It turns a single highly-appreciated asset into lifetime income, capital gains elimination, a charitable deduction, and a tax-free legacy for heirs — all at once. The charity wins. The donor wins. The heirs win.
See the full case studyTransfer appreciated asset into a Charitable Remainder Trust. Trust sells the asset — zero capital gains tax.
CRT pays the donor guaranteed income for life. Donor receives an immediate charitable income tax deduction.
A portion of the tax savings or CRT income funds an IUL inside an ILIT — outside the taxable estate.
At death: charity receives the remainder. Heirs receive the IUL death benefit — income-tax-free and estate-tax-free.
Founder & Strategic Advisor
Carpinteria, California
One of the Most Trusted Names in Nonprofit Financial Strategy.
Tom Ligare has spent 27 years inside the rooms nonprofits actually operate from — as Executive Director of the Ernest Brooks Foundation, as Personnel Director at Park City Ski Resort, as a multi-time nonprofit board chair, and as a Top 1% national agent in a prior career at State Farm. He has seen every angle of an executive compensation decision: as the employer, as the board member, and as the strategist designing the plan.
That is why four thousand clients across every state in the country have brought their most sensitive financial decisions to Tom — and why NPPSS plans get approved by development committees, finance committees, CPAs, and outside counsel without a fight. When a plan has to survive a board room, you do not want the advisor who is learning on your time. You want the one who has been in the chair on all three sides of the table.
- 27Years in insurance & financial strategy
- Top 1%National ranking, prior career
- 4,000+Clients served
- 50States served through NPPSS
Free CE Workshops on Nonprofit Executive Compensation, Planned Giving, and Estate Strategy.
Live and on-demand workshops for CFP®, CFRE, and CSPG professionals. Each session is approved for continuing education credit and built for advisors whose clients include nonprofit executives, donors, and their families.
View WorkshopsRead What Leaders Say
After the Plan Is Built.
NPPSS identified areas of concern I was unaware of. I changed my retirement plan with the new information, which will make a significant difference later. It will save thousands of dollars in taxes. I recommend taking the time to go through the process.
I’m like most people — I don’t pay attention to retirement because it’s in the future. I’m glad I took a few minutes to understand what could happen and the potential cost. I am glad to have put a plan in place while I am young. It takes the worry away.
I’m busy and procrastinating at sitting down with a retirement advisor. The convenience of working with Tom online makes the process painless. The financial tools gave me the comfort of having tax-free retirement funds I will not outlive. Highly recommend.
A 30-Minute Call Is the Fastest Way to Find Out What Your Plan Is Missing.
No cost. No obligation. No sales pitch. Just an honest conversation about the gaps in your current benefits, giving, or estate plan — and what it would take to close them.
Schedule a Discovery Call