The Top 10 Things Your Organization Must Do to Receive Planned Gifts
By Guest Blogger Scott Park, Senior Planned Giving Officer, Genesis Health Services Foundation and Genesis Philanthropy
“Start at the very beginning…a very good place to start!” Maria Von Trapp
Nonprofit leaders and staff continuously struggle to prioritize their activities to ensure that they focus on those areas that will have the greatest return for their organization. In doing so, more often than not, pursuing planned or legacy gifts gets cast aside as “too hard!” “too time consuming!” or “it takes too long to get a gift!” These and similar reasons become justifications for not having planned giving conversations with your donors.
With these thoughts in mind, I offer the following 10 things your organization must do to receive planned gifts and help you begin to tap into the tremendous wealth that is available to support your cause. More importantly, these tips give you and your organization an opportunity to develop more meaningful relationships with your donors and a deeper understanding of their motivations. Maybe most importantly, they allow you to follow Maria Von Trapp’s advice!
To get planned gifts, you have to ask for them. And then ask again. And then ask again. And then...keep asking. And don’t forget to include stories in those asks.
Include “soft asks” (e.g., “Please consider remembering our organization in your will or estate plan”) in ALL of your donor communications.
Familiarize yourself with the two most prevalent types of current planned gifts: Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs (for donors 70½ years old and up) and distributions from Donor Advised Funds. Then ask your donors for these gifts (where appropriate).
Make suggested bequest language available to your donors so they can include it in their estate paperwork.
Give your donors a way to notify you of their intention of leaving you in their estate (Estate Gift Intention Form).
Realize that once notified that your donor has left a provision in their estate plan for your organization, your work has just begun. You must continue to steward these prospective donors and treat them like the VIPs that they are.
Encourage beneficiary designations on financial accounts (IRAs, life insurance policies, bank accounts, certificates of deposit, etc.). They are better than being included in a will or a trust as it costs the donor nothing to change beneficiaries on these accounts as opposed to paying an attorney to change a will or trust. And your organization will receive the money faster.
Know your Tax Identification Number (TIN) and be prepared to share it with your donors when they ask for it.
Be sensitive to the fact that some donors may wish to remain anonymous; make sure that you respect that wish.
Accommodate your donors whenever possible. Don’t forget that the “donor is always right” … even when she isn’t!
I hope that you take this list, implement it, and begin to reap the benefits that come with these types of gifts.
A few final thoughts…
Planned or legacy giving can be a complex area that requires a commitment of both time and effort. Only you know if your organization is worth it. Just one legacy gift can bring in more money than all of your events!
Remember, donors must believe that your organization will be a viable entity after they are gone before they will consider leaving a gift to your organization in their estate plan. (Do you have your grandparents listed as beneficiaries of your will?)
Please feel free to contact me if you would like some examples of suggested bequest language or an estate gift intention form. I encourage questions, comments, suggestions, or if you just want the opportunity to talk about Planned Giving.
Scott Park
Senior Planned Giving Officer, Genesis Health Services Foundation and Genesis Philanthropy
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