Updated January 6, 2026
Reality Check: It Takes More Than You Think
Some organizations have trouble getting out of their own way. In one case, an IT functionary at a large Midwestern institution went around the Development team to cancel a contract they had already signed with our firm. In another, a Development professional thought, “Why buy a planned giving website? We can build it ourselves.”
What wasn’t fully considered was what that decision actually commits an organization to—time, internal friction, hidden costs, regulatory and legal considerations, and prolonged distraction.
What’s often overlooked is that a planned giving website is not just a technical asset. It’s a public expression of credibility—one of the first places donors, advisors, and families look when assessing an organization’s seriousness and staying power.
…which usually becomes clear later.
Credibility is evaluated silently—often online, and often before a conversation begins.
Video: Why a Planned Giving Website Matters for Credibility, Compliance, and Donor Confidence
A short explanation of why donors and advisors increasingly evaluate planned giving programs online before making contact.
Here’s what building it yourself really involves:
- Copy must be written, edited, reviewed (by peers and counsel), revised, and re-revised—often across multiple departments.
- The site must be structured logically, with clear navigation and donor-friendly wayfinding, then tested and debugged repeatedly.
- During development, steady demands are placed on your designer and webmaster—who already serve every other department in the organization.
- Once the site is live, the work doesn’t stop. Rates change. Tax law changes. Content ages. New donor testimonials are needed to keep the site credible and relevant.
Opportunity Costs
These tasks don’t just incur direct costs. They create opportunity costs—calls not made, visits postponed, prospects not advanced, and gifts delayed.
When you build a site internally, you turn your planned giving professionals into part-time web managers. That may feel economical, but it rarely is.
Organizations often underestimate this commitment. Some well-regarded fundraising operations have spent six to eighteen months getting self-designed sites operational—only to be underwhelmed by the outcome. That’s a long time to divert skilled staff from donor-facing work.
We handle the entire process
- Designing websites that attract and motivate planned giving prospects is our core business. We know how to write copy that informs without overwhelming, how to guide readers through complex decisions, and how to extend engagement.
- Each site is customized. We reflect your brand—or, if appropriate, create a distinct visual identity for your planned giving program. Content is legally sound, marketing-focused, aligned with your gift acceptance policies, and tailored to your minimums and trustee preferences.
- Your site stays current. We monitor tax law and rate changes, rotate donor profiles, and keep staff contact information accurate and relevant.
PlannedGiving.com delivers planned giving websites faster than internal development, at a lower total cost than hiring outside developers, and with better fundraising outcomes than sites built by designers unfamiliar with donor psychology.
The result is simple: you stay focused on raising money, not managing a web project.
In short, you do your job—and avoid becoming an accidental web developer.
Our planned giving websites are part of a broader, Web-centric marketing approach designed to strengthen prospect communication and follow-through. And if you don’t need a full package, you can select individual tools a la carte.
A Reminder
Making calls. Writing letters. Scheduling visits. Staying visible to donors—these remain the fundamentals.
Have a gift in progress? You’re coordinating with advisors, handling details, issuing checks, managing stewardship, and preparing for the next Legacy Society touchpoint.
Development teams have always operated under competing demands. Today, they also answer to management focused on measurable productivity. That makes the time required to build and maintain a planned giving website in-house even harder to justify—and harder to defend.
