Planned Giving

Planning for Wealth Transfer, Part 2
March 10, 2009

In a webinar last month titled "Positioning for Wealth Transfer," Campbell & Company Vice President Bruce Matthews talked about the need for organizations to prepare programs that take full advantage of this boon.

Planning for Wealth Transfer, Part 1
March 3, 2009

So you've probably heard talk here or there about "wealth transfer," the prediction that over the next few decades, an estimated $40 trillion or so will change hands as baby boomers and their parents pass on their accumulated assets to their children. But what does it mean for your organization, and how can you prepare for it?

Giving Smarter While Helping Your Estate
February 10, 2009

Investors aren't in a giving mood these days. But the deepening recession presents a rare opportunity for some people: By setting up a special trust, wealthy donors can seed favorite charities, pass money to heirs and shelter potential growth from taxes.

Planned-Giving Donors Need Love Too
March 1, 2008

We all know how important recognition is — it’s an opportunity to acknowledge, thank and celebrate donors for their trust in, and commitment to, your organization’s mission. But recognition of planned-giving donors often won’t happen through conventional donor-recognition channels. That is where a heritage society comes in.

Doing Good and Doing Well
October 1, 2007

From time to time, the worlds of charitable and private enterprise join forces to create financial strategies that result in success for all parties. You can find one such example in the formation of Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs). Besides the charitable benefit to the nonprofit organization and the financial benefit to the donor and the donor’s family, the impact of a CRT is greatly enhanced by the use of an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT). ILITs are funded by life insurance policies, which offsets the loss of the CRT’s corpus asset upon the death of the donor.

Planned Giving: Too Much Information?
June 1, 2007

No area of fundraising intertwines development staff and donors in more personal relationships than planned giving.

In many cases, all a prospective donor asks is that a development executive supply generic information about how a particular gift plan might function, what the payment rates or tax deduction might be, or whether an organization can serve as a trustee.

Helping Your High-dollar Donors to Stand Out
September 1, 2006

The wonders of online marketing give nonprofits the ability to reach out to millions of potential donors. But organizations seeking major and planned gifts often struggle with prioritizing the large amounts of data that result. It’s no great surprise that, after a while, all that data starts to run together and all those donors start to look alike.

Thou Shalt Not …
June 1, 2006

The Seven Commandments of Planned Giving highlight areas to avoid as we interact with donors and ask for planned gifts. By reviewing each commandment, you can develop a road map to assist you as you navigate through the perils of planned giving.

Helping Donors to Look Ahead
October 1, 2005

Having worked with three nonprofits over the past 17 years has taught me the importance of identifying and nurturing one of the most significant resources of any organization — its older donors. Cultivating these donors enriches their lives and allows them to have a positive impact on their favorite charities beyond their cash-generating years.

Driving Home the Point
June 1, 2005

Sitting squarely in the upper echelon of effective and highly respected nonprofit organizations, the Texas-based Mothers Against Drunk Driving celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. For the past decade, the nationally acclaimed drunken-driving education organization has held steady as a $47 million charity fueled in large part by direct-mail fundraising.

An impressive number, by anyone’s standards. But MADD’s top dogs read “steady” to mean “static” and decided a few years ago that the organization needed a major kick in the fundraising pants. Enter Bobby Heard, who took over as national director of programs and development in 2002.