Safety in Numbers

Mark Twain once said "People commonly use statistics like a drunk uses a lamp post; for support rather than illumination."

But people still love statistics. So here are a few for you — whether you need them for support (to persuade your board to pursue planned gifts), or for illumination (to persuade yourself):

• 43% of bequests and 35% of charitable remainder trusts are created by people age 55 and younger.
• 15% of all planned gifts are made by those 45 and younger.
• The typical planned giving target is 200-300 times the donor's largest annual fund gift.
• Your planned giving pool may be as much as 5 times larger than your capital pool.
• AARP has more than 37 million members.
• There are now more Americans age 65 and older than at any other time in U.S. history. (Over 45 million today!)
• Over 75% of donors give to a cause that has touched them or a member of their family.

The chances of a donor leaving you in their will drops dramatically after age 65.