Have you seen another nonprofit receive a huge estate gift from one of your donors? Or have you participated in webinars or conferences where you’ve heard about the importance of legacy and noncash gifts, but you’re just not sure where to start?
If you’re worried about missing out on these often significant gifts, and if you haven’t had the time or resources to invest in a planned giving program, then you’re not alone. Of the estimated 1.5 million nonprofit organizations across the U.S., the vast majority do not have a formal planned giving program.
The reasons for this can be obvious: annual operating costs must be covered first to keep the doors open, current and short-term program needs tend to take priority over long-term financial goals, and even though planned giving fundraising can be simple and straightforward, and many nonprofit professionals shy away from it because they believe they have to be “subject matter experts” before cultivating legacy gifts from donors.
While one or more of these may be true for your organization, the good news is that you can start a planned giving program without negatively impacting annual or major gift funding. In fact, donors tend to give even more during their lifetimes after they include your organization in their estate plans. And because you don’t need specialized knowledge for the most common planned gifts, your team can begin securing these today.
Of course, as with any kind of fundraising, the more you put into your planned giving program, the more you’ll see in return. But that doesn’t mean you need to make a great investment of time or resources to get started.
Below, you’ll find 3 easy steps to quickly and easily establish your organization’s planned giving program:
1. Include Planned Giving On Your Website
If you want to have a planned giving program, you can simply say that you have one. Including planned or legacy gifts on your website shows donors that you accept them. You might be shocked to learn that many donors still choose not to include a given nonprofit in their estate plans because they’re unsure if it can or will accept these kinds of gifts.
By adding a “Gift in Your Will” section to your “Other Ways to Give” page, you can ensure that your donors and others know that you welcome these often valuable gifts.
2. Offer Basic Information
If someone sees your website and calls to ask about planned giving, it’s helpful to have some basic information on hand to share with them. Again, this does not–and should not–involve technical information or anything that could be construed as legal or tax advice. Instead, it could be a simple brochure (or one-pager) that encourages donors to make a gift in their will to your organization.
If possible, it’s useful to have what’s called “recommended bequest language” available to share with potential legacy donors. This is the sentence or two that the donor will share with their attorney to add the gift to your organization in their will or trust. It usually includes the nonprofit’s full legal name, address, and tax identification number. You could find a template online, seek an example from your local Charitable Gift Planners chapter, or even ask for the assistance of an attorney board member to have your own recommended bequest language available.
3. Create a Legacy Society
As with an overall planned giving program, you can also create a legacy society by simply deciding that you have one. In most cases, a legacy society is what’s known as a “recognition society,” meant solely to steward donors. There are no ongoing meetings for members to attend or participation requirements. Typically, a person can become a member of a legacy society by notifying the organization of their planned gift, regardless of its size. How you choose to communicate with and thank these valued donors is then up to you. Again, greater efforts in each of these areas often yield greater results, but having a recognition program in place and including legacy society members in ongoing stewardship efforts can go a long way in encouraging more of these gifts.
I Can Help You Get Started
As you can see, any nonprofit organization can start a basic planned giving program by taking these simple steps. But if you have any questions about the recommendations here, or if you’d like to discover how a few additional, cost-effective enhancements can jump-start your program and bring tangible results even sooner, contact me to learn more today!
Kelly Gicale, JD, CFRE 