Facing Fundraising Realities: Is It Possible to Start a Planned Giving Program?

Does this sound familiar? Your Board continually reminds you that your organization needs to get a planned giving program started, but no provision is made for extra budget or staff. At the same time, you are reminded of the pressing need for current funds for operations, programs, and services. You want to politely remind the Board that cloning humans is still illegal, and as much as you would like to get a planned giving program started, your time and your staff's time is completely consumed by filling the coffers for money needed NOW. Furthermore, neither you nor anyone on your staff knows what is required to start a program from scratch. You don't have time to do the research and you certainly do not have the knowledge or time to administer an ongoing program.

Anyone who has ever worked in a nonprofit organization understands what it means to "fully utilize" financial and human resources. Charities, with few exceptions, get more accomplished with fewer resources than most for-profit companies can imagine.

When you are in a leadership position, you know that nothing gets accomplished without careful planning and budgeting. It is often easier to continue doing things the same way because it requires less time and effort. But taking the time and making the effort to develop a planned giving program as part of your fundraising plan can pay huge dividends in the future. And that's the rub! It is not easy to convince the Board, or the staff, that spending time and money now to attract gifts that will not be realized until sometime in the future is a good idea.

My suggestion would be that you first identify why you need a planned giving program. Look into the future and think about what you could do with the additional funding. Consider what new programs or projects your charity needs but cannot fund under your current operational budget.

Does your Board understand the value of having an endowment or significantly increasing your endowment? Planned and deferred gifts can allow you to create and build an endowment fund that helps supplement critical programs and services, thereby reducing the need for current funds for those programs and services in the future. An endowment serves as an important "cushion" when traditional funding sources dry up. We need only look to the impact of recent events on our normal fundraising efforts to realize that having a little money in the bank would allow us to continue our normal operations and continue providing services.

Establishing a planned giving program allows you to attract new sources of funding and identify existing planned gifts that you do not yet know about. There are many people who may be committed to helping your nonprofit and often do with small but consistent gifts. While they may want to give more to your charity, their income may be limited. Often, these donors have income producing assets that they need for support but they may be willing to give some of those assets to your charity thorough an estate gift. Bequests continue to be the most common estate gift, but we need to educate our donors about other charitable gifts that can provide a life income to the donor.

So, if we assume you and your Board agree that you need to have a planned giving program, where do you find the time, resources, and money to start? Sometimes taking baby steps is the only way to start the process. At a minimum, someone on staff must be given responsibility for beginning and continuing the process. That person should have some understanding of taxes and financial planning techniques, but they do not have to be an expert. They will, however, need to be able to answer basic questions from donors and know where to direct the donor for more information. Basic planned giving training is available through a number of sources such as CASE and AFP.

I often say that educating donors is the most important part of a successful planned giving program. Some simple steps to consider as you start educating your donors about planned giving:

• Every newsletter should include a straightforward request that donors consider a bequest to your charity.
• Your gift receipts should include check boxes where donors can indicate they have already included your charity in an estate gift or would like more information about how to do so.
• Have a one-page handout available that explains how to include your organization as the beneficiary of a charitable gift in a will, a retirement account, or an insurance policy.
• Ask an attorney associated with your charity to present periodic workshops on wills in which donors are told how to include a charitable gift to your organization.
• If your organization has a publication sent to donors, periodically include a profile of a donor who provided an estate gift and what that gift enabled your charity to do.
• Publicize the names of donors (with their permission, of course) who notify you that your charity is included in an estate plan.

Perhaps as planned gifts start materializing, funds can be found to expand your planned giving program. I know of charities that have received grants to start a program, allowing the organization to hire a planned giving professional part-time. There are no easy answers to finding room in your budget for another program. However, starting and continuing to keep planned giving concepts in front of your staff, Board, and donors will eventually pay off.