How To Build A Planned Giving Program

More and more people are dying these days to give charities money and real and personal property---assets instead of cash. They are doing so through gifts they have planned…often through their wills, trusts and estate plans. Planned giving, also referred to as gift planning, enables donors to give assets and leave legacies of larger gifts than they could make in their lifetimes just from their incomes. Only 5% of our country’s wealth is in cash –95% of it is in assets. The average bequest size in the United States is approximately $32,000, while annual outright contributions by individuals are averaging about just under $3,000. Therefore, planned giving makes great business sense in most cases! It also can include many kinds of asset giving including donating via real estate, charitable gift annuities, annuity trusts, unitrusts, lead trusts, and other charitable trusts, bequests and life estates in residence, as well as gifts of insurance, and pension plans. It also can embrace asset gifts of fine art, antiques, jewelry and other valuable collectibles including coin and stamp collections. So, whether you are a philanthropist, a generous individual or a nonprofit executive director or a development director, you should be sure to include planned giving in your plans.  Here’s how to successfully build and market a planned giving program:

List a particular person in your organization as its planned giving contact.

Provide a link to a planned giving section on your website.

Educate your board, volunteers and staff in planned giving.

Use proven planned giving methods that work.

Have a planned giving budget.

Create planned giving materials and website content with the help of

and management of reputable outside vendors.

Get law firms, accounting firms or banks to underwrite or sponsor planned giving cultivation events and materials.

Build a strong planned giving team.

Brand your planned giving program.

Identify planned giving prospects based upon their loyalty (consecutive giving) and age and other planned giving predictor factors.

Get your board’s early involvement.

Begin with securing bequests.

Communicate consistently.

Incorporate planned giving into all your communications.

Offer planned giving educational opportunities (seminars, workshops, wills clinics, etc.).

Form a planned giving advisory council. This planned giving advisory council would meet 2-4 times per year to cultivate estate lawyers, CPA’s, bank trust officers, investment counselors, realtors and other allied professionals. It would help them upgrade their competency on various issues plus expose them to our planned giving program and charity

Have a message to promote your planned giving program on all printed materials, including your website, business cards, letterhead, etc.

On all your communications material and website have a line that asks something like: “Have you considered leaving a gift to (name of your charity) in your will, trust or estate?”

Ask your planned giving donors to provide testimonials.

Make it easy to begin planned giving dialogues.

Let donors take the lead in choosing how their funds will be allocated.

Remember: planned giving is not just for large organizations. Any nonprofit can introduce simple planned giving elements into its fundraising and use the counsel of professional advisors (e.g., attorneys, cpas) and encourage donors to do the same with their estates.

P.S. Anything Else That YOU Would Add?

The Author, Dr. John B. Charnay, CEO Of Charnay And Associates In Greater Los Angeles, Is A Top Nonprofit Fundraising Advisor Who Has Raised Over A Quarter Of A Billion Dollars During His Distinguished Career. He Has Been In Charge Of Numerous Major Fundraising Special Events. He Often Strategically Advises Board Chairs And Facilitates Board Fundraising Retreats And Has Trained Numerous Boards And Development Directors And Their Staffs In Fundraising. He Has Extensive Experience Teaching At The Graduate And Undergraduate Levels At Leading Universities Throughout The Greater Los Angeles Area, Including USC, UCLA, CSUN, FIDM, Woodbury And Pepperdine And Others. Additionally, He Is An Award-Winning Public Relations Professional. He Has Been A Strategic PR Advisor To Many Famous Celebrities And Fortune 1000 CEOs. Additionally, He Serves As A Trusted Strategic Philanthropic Advisor To Numerous High Net Worth Individuals & Families & Family Offices. To Meet Him And Ask For His Support, Invite Him To Be LinkedIn (Email In Profile) And Contact Him Today!