Margaret A. (Meg) Cline serves as the Vice President for Gift Planning and Trust Services at the University of Illinois Foundation where she is responsible for the team of professional staff that oversee all aspects of gift planning, deferred gift administration, and all gift documentation for the University of Illinois System and its three universities. Prior to assuming this role in February 2015, Meg served for five years as the Associate Dean for Advancement for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining the University in 2005, Meg worked for the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS) in Jefferson City, Missouri where she assisted in the management of institutional investment portfolios and was the key liaison for all communication and education on investment matters with the Board of Trustees, retirees, the press, and general public. She started her fundraising career at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Prior to this time, she worked in the fee-only financial planning industry as a financial advisor.

Meg received a Bachelor of Science degree and MBA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  She holds the Certified Financial Planner^® designation and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Meg is a member of many professional associations including the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, past President and member of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Council on Planned Giving, the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, the Eastern Illinois Estate Planning Council where she has served as President and a board member; Regent of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois; and P.E.O. where she has served on several state committees. She is past president of the Illinois 4-H House Alumni Association. Raised on a farm in Stark County, Illinois, Meg now resides in the Champaign-Urbana community with her husband, Scott, and their daughter.

Kathy Kielar is the Vice President of Development at WTTW and WFMT. She holds a B.S. in Public Relations from Illinois State University. Kathy has 20 years of experience in planned and major giving. Kathy is a past president of the Chicago Council on Planned Giving board, participated in their outreach program as a mentor, and is the 2020 recipient of their Jonathan Heintzelman award. She was also recently on the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners board where she served as Conference Chair in 2019. She is a member of the Hibel Family Foundation’s Planned Giving Initiative Advisory Council.

Ericka L. Webb is the Director of Gift Planning at Boston College. She oversees all aspects of the gift planning program and works closely with donors, their advisors, staff, and University leadership to increase philanthropic support to the University through planned gifts. She was Director of Gift Planning and Endowment for the WGBH Educational Foundation for more than four years. Prior to joining WGBH, Ericka worked in the gift planning offices at both Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Ericka is a past president of the Planned Giving Group of New England (PGGNE) and is also a member of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners. 

In April of 2023, we sadly lost of one of our inaugural Advisory Council members, Camille Allen. Camille played an important role in the launch of our initiative and furthering our mission. Her kindness, generosity, sense of humor and intelligence will be missed by the non-profit community she served so expertly as a forward thinking and dedicated leader, advisory board member, volunteer and advocate who committed many decades to the organizations and charitable causes in which she was engaged.

Obituary of Camille Allen