Estate Plans More Likely to Include Planned Gifts

New research findings show that it is more crucial than ever for planned giving professionals to encourage estate planning. According to updated statistics by planned giving researcher Russell James of Texas Tech University, the use of wills is continuing its decline in the United States while the use of funded trusts is up - and most important, those who do have an estate plan are more likely to include a charitable beneficiary.

The New Gender Gap Among Highly Educated Donors

It’s not surprising that new research substantiates that highly educated Americans are more likely to be philanthropic. But it is surprising who these highly educated Americans are most likely to be:

Beneficiary Designations Not Always Simple for Donors

Some Americans are using beneficiary designations in lieu of wills for their estate planning. But what can seem like a simple process can lead to difficulty, according to a Department of Labor report on beneficiary designations for retirement plans and life insurance.

Charitable Boom Is Coming, But Not for Several Years

Demographics point to a significant boom in charitable planning beginning in about five years—and that eventually should mean a healthy increase in planned gifts received by charities.

Webinar offers "Cliff's Notes" on Simple Gift Plans and How to Help Donors with Assets

Pamela Jones Davidson, an attorney and experienced planned giving consultant who has presented nationally, will conduct a Pentera Webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 30, providing a “Cliff’s Notes” version of gift plans.

Turning Obstacles into Golden Opportunities

Most planned giving professionals frequently face obstacles in pursuit of their goals. For instance, a long-time donor may fail to properly execute his or her will before death; family members may dispute a donor’s charitable bequest; a loyal donor may suddenly stop supporting your organization, and so on.

Five More Legacy Dreams to Explore With Your Donors

PART II

Continuing our exploration of donor legacy dreams from last week, here are five additional motivators to explore with your potential donors. Take some time to discover what drives donors’ philanthropic planned giving and how your organization can help them satisfy those goals.

Four Vital Tips for Cultivating Women Donors

Women’s experiences in planned giving often differ from those of men. For instance, many women from the Silent generation or Baby Boomer generation may not be directly involved in financial planning until a crisis—such as the death of a spouse or parent. But according to financial experts, waiting until a woman is widowed or in the midst of a crisis to plan her estate is too late. Smart estate planning is on-going.

That’s where planned giving professionals can be of service. Follow these four tips to better cultivate your women donors:

Three Secrets Behind Successful Legacy Society Names

While the name of a rose may not change its sweet scent according to Shakespeare, the name you select for your legacy society can significantly impact how donors respond—or fail to respond—to membership invitations. Below are three secrets behind successful legacy society names.

The Right Way to "Echo"

The term “echo e-mail” has a negative connotation for some, and for a reason: The Urban Dictionary defines it as “when you receive copies of e-mails that you previously received because those people who were cc'd on the original send them to you thinking you never received the first one.” The dictionary adds, “very annoying as it needlessly floods your inbox.”

LOBBY CONGRESS TO SAVE THE CHARITABLE DEDUCTION

Hundreds of leaders of charities are descending on Washington, D.C., on December 4th and 5th to lobby Congress to retain the current charitable deduction that motivates donors to support colleges, hospitals and other nonprofits.  Find out how YOU can contact your congressional representative to help save the charitable deduction!

Get Women Together to Turn Potential Donors into Actual Donors

Barbara Stanny grew up wealthy—her dad was the “R” in H&R Block—so she assumed she would never want for anything, and she let her husband take care of all the finances. Big mistake. She says that in 15 years her ex gambled away all of her wealth—which she discovered when she tried to get $60 at an ATM and found there was no money left. In her colorful retelling of the story, she relates that she went to her father for help but he told her she needed to solve her own problems. She had three kids and was more than $1 million in debt.

Navigating the Gender & Philanthropy Landscape

Enormous progress has been made in gender equality in terms of women’s education, wealth, and employment opportunities. Yet, women are still reporting that they encounter outdated attitudes and stereotypes that hamper their full and equal treatment. In the planned giving field, there’s no room for these kinds of preventable errors with prospective female donors. Gender tips to keep in mind:

Tips for Understanding Donor Fears about Money

In the planned giving field, much more goes into obtaining donor gifts than simply “the ask.” You have to know your donor’s ability to give, their interest in giving, and their blocks to giving. While planned giving professionals often explore a donor’s ability and interest in making a charitable gift, understanding a donor’s fears related to money (both rational and irrational) is also crucial. Such insight helps you adequately address those fears, rather than simply ignore them. Once you identify the blocks to giving, you can then work toward planned gift arrangements that best meet your donor’s financial and philanthropic objectives.

Tips for Getting a "Yes" From Your Planned Giving Prospects

Planned giving professionals understand that extensive time, patience, and effort normally must go into cultivating donor prospects and transforming those relationships into loyal planned giving donors for their charitable institutions. However, that difficult work can be made easier. Below are three essential tips for increasing your chances of arriving at a “Yes” when asking for planned gifts.

Get Results: Using Landing Pages to Convert Website Visits into Donor Leads

If your planned giving office is keeping abreast of today’s fast-paced technology, then your organization likely already has a professionally designed website and, hopefully, a planned giving website geared specifically to potential donors. Once you have people visiting your planned giving website, now what? How do you convert those visits into donor leads?