Happy 25th Anniversary Crescendo!

Crescendo celebrated its 25th anniversary in April 2009 with a party for our staff and their family members. It was a celebration to remember. With so many fond memories and friendships made over the years, Crescendo wants to thank all of you who have helped us become the nation's only full-service gift planning provider.

It All Began with Software

Crescendo began in 1984 as a planned gifts software company. Now in its 26th year, Crescendo software reflects a maturity continually enhanced by new features and options. Did you know that there are now over 9,000 Crescendo client licenses nationwide? With representation by charities of all types and sizes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Crescendo has friends everywhere!

Donor-friendly proposals have become the industry hallmark for Crescendo software, greatly increasing the ability of our users to close planned gifts. The decision to add the complete GiftLaw Pro tax service has enhanced gift planners' work with CPAs and attorneys in the gift closing process. GiftLaw Pro now comprises over 25,000 pages of material written to make technical tax and gift planning concepts easy for anyone to understand.

GiftCollege is Exploding!

Almost 2,000 of our users are now enrolled in Crescendo's GiftCollege online education program, with curriculum based on GiftLaw Pro. Through weekly online video classes, supplementary reading and quizzes, these individuals are receiving a complete planned gifts education in the privacy of their homes or offices. A new benefit in 2009 is the 10 free GiftCollege credits our users will receive when they renew their Pro, Estate or Lite software licenses. In addition to offering over 100 gift planning topics, GiftCollege now features six new courses on planned gifts marketing.

As the GiftCollege program continues to grow, it is gaining recognition. This past year, GiftCollege qualified as a continuing education provider for CFP and CFRE. Crescendo has been pleased to welcome many new Certified Gift Planning Associates (CGPAs) and Certified Gift Planning Professionals (CGPPs) who have now graduated from GiftCollege.

eMarketing Continues to Grow

The GiftLegacy eMarketing program has substantially grown to become a sophisticated web, e-mail, print and video marketing system. During 2008 the GiftLegacy/GiftLaw servers had over 45 million page-views! With hundreds of thousands of donors now getting their gift planning information online, we decided to again recognize top GiftLegacy sites with substantial numbers of eNewsletter and website contacts.

Many of our users are excited about the new wills marketing campaign strategy and one-day seminars that were launched this February. By the end of 2009, the complete wills marketing system will include an updated website, online wills planner, updated wills information guides and a comprehensive print and eMarketing bequests strategy.

A new system aimed at helping smaller charities launch planned giving is the GiftLegacy/GiftCharity eMarketing program. A larger charity serves as the GiftLegacy parent, and 10 to 50 affiliates receive the GiftCharity print and eMarketing system for $450 per year. Community foundations and national charities serve as the GiftLegacy parent. Several large community foundations are now implementing the GiftLegacy-GiftCharity network marketing program.

New Capabilities with Gift Annuities 1 • 2 • 3

In a time when seniors are concerned about security, charities large and small are moving forward with gift annuity programs. Crescendo Admin software continues to offer increased capabilities and is used by many charitable organizations to administer and report on their gift annuity programs. Crescendo Senior Vice President Kristen Schultz has been appointed to the State Regulations Committee of the American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) and she and other Crescendo attorneys monitor the regulatory activities of the state insurance departments.

If you are looking for information on state regulations, the Crescendo website and GiftLaw Pro state regulations section now include regular updates on the regulatory activities of the 50 states. Do you need help with gift annuities? As part of the Gift Annuities 1•2•3 system, Crescendo will also help you with gift annuity administration, state registrations and notifications to issue annuities and annual reporting.

Crescendo's Staff is a Winning Team

Crescendo has also grown significantly over the years to include a very expert and diversified staff that accomplishes the multitude of tasks required for a full-service provider. Our four attorneys and paralegal are continually enhancing their expertise. Kristen Schultz has recently completed her Masters in Tax Law and Bill Knox will complete the same program later this year. Because of the capabilities of our legal staff, Crescendo is able to produce the weekly GiftLaw eNewsletter, maintain the comprehensive GiftLaw Pro charitable tax service and keep the software updated with the latest tax changes.

The technology staff now is comprised of nine software/video engineers. With this well-trained technical group, Crescendo has been able to achieve leading-edge technology goals. The Crescendo GiftLegacy system with the rotating content and web manager is technically unmatched elsewhere in the industry. Extensive personalization is possible through the direct control of our GiftLegacy subscribers using the password-protected web manager we have developed.

GiftCollege represents another major technical achievement. The eCommerce website, secure student records, the clean and modern web design and the ability to webcast multiple sessions each week require a large and capable technology staff. In addition, the technology staff is trained to operate the Crescendo digital studio. All of our taping and post-production editing of GiftCollege video is done by our expert tech team engineers.

Education Opportunities Abound

Crescendo continues to maintain its strong commitment to education. During 2009 we will conduct over 40 seminars, including the new Wills Marketing Seminars added this year. The Practical Planned Giving Conference (PPGC) in Orlando on September 14-15, 2009 will be our sixth annual users conference. With an expected record attendance, it is projected to be the second-largest gift planning conference in 2009. Our PPGC Conference enables Crescendo to honor the eMarketer of the Year (with eGifts now totaling over $50 million per year for the past two winners). We also look forward to another graduation ceremony for the Certified Gift Planning Associates of the GiftCollege program.

We are Grateful for You!

With so much to be grateful for, Crescendo is poised for continued growth in the future. We have much development underway as we continue to enhance the products we provide you, our valued subscribers, and offer new options and ideas to take your planned gifts strategy to a new level. Thank you for the part you have played in Crescendo's success. We are also privileged to be a part of your success. From all of the Crescendo staff, it is our pleasure to serve you!