Planned Giving Primer

The concept of planned giving is nothing new — churches began the process many years ago — but too many nonprofit organizations don’t have sufficiently organized planned-giving programs. If you’re one of them, here’s something of a primer.

Planned giving is a generic name for fundraising programs that seek to generate giving from supporters in their later years who will continue to give once they’ve passed away — in the form of estate gifts and other charitable vehicles. It’s the best long-term resource in which a nonprofit organization can invest.

A relatively small amount of money invested now to conduct some basic marketing and education concerning planned giving will result in a windfall for your organization in five to 10 years. All you need is a little bit of skill and a lot of patience.

Different vehicles
The most common forms of planned gifts are bequests, in which a supporter sets aside money for the nonprofit organization in her will or insurance policy. Other bequests can include the donation of land or stocks.

You can promote the concept of bequests through mediums as simple as ads in your newsletters and other publications, or as complex as multi-
faceted marketing campaigns that use direct mail and personal contact. You don’t have to wait for a donor to die before gaining her support through planned giving. As a matter of fact, the cultivation process has to begin well in advance.

Other options include annuities. Annuities involve the donation of a set sum of money by a living donor to an organization, which then pays the donor a specific amount of interest every month during the remainder of her lifetime. When the donor dies, the organization keeps the balance of the money.

Annuities are great because they can help both the organization and the donor.