Giff and Pam Lehman brought their philanthropic journey to life at the Legacy of Giving Luncheon on February 26, 2025, honoring CFMC Legacy Society Members. Long-time supporters of the Foundation, the couple met at Carnegie Mellon Tipper School of Business in Pittsburgh, where Giff claims he only passed math thanks to Pam’s tutoring. They married after graduation, moved to NYC and started a family.
After 20 years, they happily relocated to the Monterey Peninsula in 1997, thanks to a job offer for Pam. Pam worked at Household Credit Services and Giff founded Integris Wealth Management, retiring in 2020. Giff was familiar with the Foundation from his days as a financial planner, often advising clients on charitable giving solutions.
Donor Advised Fund – Lehman Family Fund
They started their giving journey at the Foundation by creating the Lehman Family Fund, a donor advised fund of the CFMC, in 2016. They received an immediate tax deduction, enjoy recommending grants to their favorite causes and “an easy way to keep track of donations.”
He describes using their DAF, “It’s just easy. We go online, and don’t have to keep track. I know our donor advised fund is well-managed.” (Giff served as a CFMC board member from 2019-2024 and chaired the Foundation’s Investment Committee for five years).
Scholarship – Casilda Paul Memorial Scholarship Fund
Later they were looking for a way to honor their nanny, Casilda “Casi” Paul, who was with their family for 13 years. She was very involved as a volunteer for the local hospital and her church in Brooklyn and offered her heart and home to many friends and family, before passing away unexpectedly at an early age. “She was a real role model for philanthropy,” says Pam. “Given all she had done for us and others, we wanted to do something in her memory.”
They created a scholarship fund in 2021 to benefit children from Casi’s church. It awards 4-year scholarships and through 2024 has awarded 10 scholarships to students in all fields of study, four of whom have graduated, and one who is working on their master’s. “(Scholarships & Community Impact Manager) Esther Figueroa does it all with a smile. She delivers the brochure to attract potential scholarship recipients, manages the application process, distributes funds to the schools, tracks students’ performance and communicates the status to us,” describes Pam.
The Foundation designed and executed a program that is small but meaningful to us. They truly are our partner in giving.
Gift Planning – Memorandum of Charitable Intent (MOCI)
Giff spoke about their confidence that the CFMC will steward and invest the funds according to their wishes. “They are uniquely suited to facilitate more complex distribution requirements including a fixed dollar amount or percentages of the residual. They are in the inspiring philanthropy business.”
He shared their legacy giving plans which will be funded primarily through their IRAs. They’ve outlined their desires in a Memorandum of Charitable Intent (“MOCI”) to keep all their goals in one place. (Creating a MOCI is a complimentary service of the CFMC and plans can be updated at any time at no cost).
Giff shared that when the time comes, “all of our philanthropic assets will flow to the CFMC, including the creation of a donor advised fund for each of our two children. We want to inspire philanthropy with our children as part of their inheritance. We consider this the gift of giving.”
For the remainder, they specified that the Community Foundation invest the funds for the charities they have selected and pay out the assets over a period of 10 years. “The nonprofit will know how much money they will receive and can focus on their programming.”
Going Forward
Giff summed up their future plans and working with the CFMC, “We annually review our MOCI to make sure it still represents our charitable goals. It’s a simple document and everything’s in one place. And it’s easy to change if our vision changes. It can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be.”
He continued, “The Community Foundation is just a huge professional resource. They are wonderful thought partners in refining our charitable vision. The whole team has been fantastic. We have a lot to learn, but we have a great partner.”
