Jamie C. Holzer White, JD, LLM, AEP®
Vice President, Legal Services
Crescendo Interactive, Inc.
https://www.crescendointeractive.com
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Jamie Holzer White is a planned giving expert with nearly a decade of experience in federal tax law, nonprofit compliance and estate planning. She serves as Vice President of Legal Services at Crescendo Interactive, a leading organization specializing in charitable gift planning and marketing. Jamie advises charitable organizations on complex giving vehicles and assists with managing charitable gift annuity registrations and filings. Jamie regularly contributes to Crescendo’s publications and literature library. She is a frequent speaker for webinars, conferences, and educational programming.

Jamie earned her J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law and her LL.M. in Taxation with High Distinction from Loyola Law School. She graduated with Honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Communication Studies. Jamie is a member of the California State Bar and holds the Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) and Certified Exit Planning Advisor® (CEPA®) designations.

Fun Facts About Jamie

Tell us about your favorite charitable gift annuity you worked on.

One of the most memorable CGAs I have worked on was an incredibly complex and high value gift funded with a life estate remainder interest in a home that also carried a mortgage. The development team was incredibly motivated to make this work for the donor and their dedication really came through. This gift is not one that I would advise every nonprofit to make, but in these circumstances it was the best fit. Ultimately the gift structure was a blended gift, with part of the life estate donated outright and part of the life estate funded to the CGA. This creative structure allowed the donor to remain in their home, establish a significant legacy gift and receive lifetime payments from the CGA. The nonprofit was able to balance the risks and achieve a mutually beneficial result.

What was your first job?

As a teenager, I worked at a specialty yarn store founded by two wonderful women from the knitting and crochet group that first taught me the craft. I helped manage inventory and restock the bins with yarn. The most rewarding part of the job was teaching a crochet class for kids. I let each student pick their own project and guided them through the process of bringing it to life. Watching the kids fall in love with the craft was the best thing. I still love teaching others how to crochet!

If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

Pizza. There are so MANY different styles of crust, my favorites are: Neapolitan, New York, Chicago, Detroit and Sicilian. You can put just about anything on pizza and it is amazing. Peaches, pepperoni and mascarpone on pizza is amazing. Pizza is never boring, and yes pineapple does belong on pizza.

What is your favorite book?

My favorite book is The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, I first read it in college and it has remained a favorite ever since. Wharton’s writing is timeless and thought provoking. It was such a beautifully written story of the twists and turns of life; life is often shorter than we expect.