The Pentera Blog
Rev Up Your Planned Giving Program
Presenters shared an abundance of useful insights at CGP 2023, including tips to keep your planned giving program humming in top gear. Here are some highlights:
- As all nonprofit leaders know, successful planned giving needs the support of your organization’s board of directors. If your board needs a refresher on why planned giving matters, remind them…
- Planned giving does not cannibalize annual giving. On the contrary, the two strengthen each other.
- The largest gifts many nonprofits will ever receive—and most of us will ever give—are planned gifts. For many organizations planned gifts are not just occasional windfalls, they are a large and consistent part of the annual operating budget.
- A planned giving program requires more than three years to show a return on investment (ROI). This is especially true for organizations with younger donor bases. A three-year ROI framework may work well for many initiatives but is not suitable for planned giving.
- It pays to invest in evergreen planned giving print materials to keep on hand and distribute during donor, alumni, legacy society, and other get togethers.
- You should make space on your website promoting planned giving, including pages for your legacy society and for donor stories. Donors sharing why they support your organization inspires others to do the same.
- Include planned giving updates in your annual reports and other communications.
- While bequests are the most popular form of planned gift, it’s necessary to invest in the infrastructure you need for handling gifts other than bequests—including charitable remainder trusts, IRA rollovers, and gift annuities.
- Marketing your planned giving program can have a 5:1 ROI over time, and both print and electronic are effective ways to promote your program.
- Enlist professionals when needed to handle planned gifts, including attorneys and CPAs.
- Review planned gifts with donors to ensure the gifts continue to reflect their priorities and institutional needs. This is also a good way to stay in touch with donors, which is also essential.
- Last but not least, always thank your donors. As one presenter said: people may have a limited capacity to give, but they have an infinite capacity to be loved.
Planned giving may lack some of the headline-grabbing appeal of annual campaigns, but it is an equal partner—and, in many cases, a more-than-equal partner—in the life of a successful nonprofit.
Thanks for the above tips to CGP presenters Thomas Horton, Wanda Cockey, Michael George, Jason Shuba, and Perry Monastero.
