Some organizations say they can’t wait for an estate gift, that their human and financial resources would be better spent developing annual and capital gifts to meet expenses of current programs.
If you've been reluctant to start a planned giving program, here are some things to consider:
1. An estate gift is likely to be much larger than annual or capital gifts.
2. Many persons are prepared to consider estate gifts in addition to their annual and capital gifts.
3. Low-cost awareness programs can uncover prospective estate gifts.
4. Once established, a planned giving program can produce a dependable amount of expected income every year, often referred to as expectancies.
5. A planned giving program is opportunity to help meet the needs of donors.
6. A planned giving program enables additional recognition of donors.
7. A planned giving program keeps constituents involved with your organization.
It is easy to start a planned giving program. Simply let your constituents know you are prepared to receive gifts from wills, known as bequests. At the bottom of your stationary and on the back flap of your envelopes print a statement similar to this: Please remember Name of Organization in Your Will or Life Insurance. Stories of how bequests or other estate gifts your organization received have benefited your programs should be printed in your newsletter or magazine.
More complex estate plans include gift annuities, annuity trusts, unitrusts, and lead trusts. These can come later in your program and should be set up with the help of an attorney who has experience with them. State and federal estate tax laws change, so you need a knowledgeable person on-call or on-staff to keep up with the changes. A staff person does not need to be an attorney, but does need to be trained and needs to have an attorney available for consultation.
Encourage prospective estate donors to take care of family first and to discuss their estate plans with their financial and tax advisors and with family members.
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