Savvy Philanthropists

Chris and Denise (Campbell) Pineno are savvy philanthropists who know how to leverage the power of their giving. Among several charities benefitting from their generosity is the Curry School, where Denise received her masters in teaching degree in 1992.

“In my career I’ve met many teachers who did not attend the Curry School. When we compare notes about our respective teacher education programs,” she says, “one thing that always stands out is the number of field placements I experienced at Curry.”  

Denise believes that exposure to a variety of teaching methods, behavioral strategies, and educational technologies is crucial for prospective teachers. “We’re glad to be one of the many contributors who make this level of preparation possible,” she says.

Up until the past year, Denise worked as a project manager at Topics Education, an educational consulting firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the Pinenos live with their daughter, Sarah Kathryn (11 months).

Chris (College ’90) is a portfolio manager at Columbia Management, the investment management division of Bank of America. Even though Chris is not a Curry alum himself, he was able to leverage his employer’s matching gift program to qualify their annual Curry School donation for the Dean’s Circle of Friends.

“The primary benefit of a matching gift program,” Chris says, “is that it allows you to donate more to an organization than you could ordinarily afford.”

The Pinenos also make their annual gifts to Curry  through a donor advised fund, currently the fastest growing charitable giving vehicle in the U.S. Donors can make irrevocable, tax-deductible contributions to a third party fund. Gifts can then be dispersed by the third party fund to one or more public charities recommended by the donors, either immediately or after the account value has had time to grow.

Because the Pinenos give to a number of different charities, they are diligent about finding ways to multiply the power of their gifts. “When making a donation to any organization,” Denise says, “every dollar counts.”