Give & Take

The No. 1 enemy of a social media program is figuring out how to monetize it. How do you measure ROI, when — as is the case with planned giving — you might not ‘see’ results for years? That is not a question we can easily answer — at least, not honestly — because it depends on factors unique to your organization.

We’re looking to compile the largest-ever collection of bequest-related stories — and give you and your nonprofit some publicity at the same time. In short, we want any bequest-related stories you think are important, interesting, amusing or informative.

While the planned giving world isn’t exactly the wizarding world of Harry Potter, believe it or not, there really are some magic words — “power words,” if you prefer — that can make bringing home the endowment bacon a lot more likely.

Before she became ill, I used to see Jessica every Sunday night when her parents came to play in the little mixed-couples pickup basketball league at the gym. At that time — and this was thirty years ago — Jessica was about one year old. Cute kid. An only child who was barely talking yet.

[An Interview With Viken Mikaelian.] After seeing vendors like Freewill, Nonprofit Docs, LegalZoom and other vendors popularize an online will planning module, it just made sense for us to develop our own. After all, we’re in the planned giving marketing business, and this is just one more way we can help our clients succeed.

I’ve always felt that encouraging donors to create a will is in the best interests of any nonprofit. After all, they can’t leave you a planned gift without one.

Many nonprofits have found a welcome source of revenue through monthly donors in the years since the pandemic. These repeat donors are your best planned giving prospects. Why? You are always on their minds.

My Dad never wanted to talk about creating a will. “Don’t worry,” he’d say, “It’s not like I’m going to die tomorrow.” Then he’d change the subject—usually to the tomatoes he was growing—because he found talking about planning his estate too uncomfortable. Guess what? My Dad died without ever making that estate plan.

It has taken nearly twenty years of persistent lobbying by a handful of key players in the nonprofit sector, and in the end they had to accept some steep compromises, but as of January 1st, if you are age 70-1/2 or older, you can make a direct "rollover" from your traditional IRA into a charitable remainder trust or a gift annuity contract.

If you’ve named a charity as the beneficiary of an asset such as an insurance policy or retirement account, you know that the beneficiary designation forms typically request that charity’s name, address and tax identification number (TIN).  And if there's a mistake?

Do you know what CGA's are? Is your non profit offering them? The donor benefits are even more attractive than before, so if your nonprofit is not currently offering CGAs, now is the time to start!

In this fast-paced ever-changing world, the nonprofit landscape can ebb and flow on a year-to-year basis. So how does your nonprofit remain relevant while navigating the internal and external opportunities and pressures that impact the organization?