2014 AJAS Annual ConferenceAre Your Residents, Clients, and

Families Remembering Your Organization in Their Wills?

How to start and/or improve your

Bequest & Gift Planning Programs and have families support the gifts.

Freddi HoffmannStrategic Marketing, Sales & Fund Development Specialist

Why?• To provide sustainable funding for your organization

– the uncertainty of the future is the best reason to start or jump start your planned giving program

• To let your donors know you can accept bequests and that you welcome bequests

• Without a prominent program, they will not think to put you in their plans…people give when they hear of others who have given.

Why? An Untapped Well of Good• Only 8% of people have wills that leave a gift to charity. • Only 4.6% of people with a bequest to charity have them

realized after debts and other beneficiaries are given their inheritance.

• In 1996, 82 percent of the nation's wealthiest individuals ($600,000+ estates) left nothing to charity.

• Generally, it is women in their late 70’s and 80’s who realize bequests to charity (otherwise the surviving spouse receives the estate) That’s who we serve!

• We need to increase the number of people with wills and who remember their favorite charities.

Step One

• Have the Board agree on a simple Gift Acceptance Policy - go www.pppnet.org Resource Center for samples plus

• A very helpful Guide to Evaluating Organizational Readiness for Nonprofit Executives and Volunteer Trustees

– The guide states that it is important to have a strong fund development and public relations program in place as a foundation upon which to build a gift planning program, but this is not always true.

Policies should state

• Bequests and Planned Gifts will be used for

–Endowment or–Capital improvements

• Bequests will not be used for normal operating expenses

Why planned gifts must not go to operations…

This is important because people want to know their gift • Will make a difference in the organization• Will have a sustaining influence to make the

organization better• Will not be spent to cover a deficit• Will be used in a similar way as they have used it -

They are giving their capital – not income – vs. an Annual Fund gift.

• Will be a legacy gift!

Steps today and into the futureThe PPP Readiness Guide lists three distinct, but inter-related phases in the development of an effective gift planning program:

• Phase One, the Bequest and Beneficiary Designation Program is quite basic, but the results can be very rewarding

• Phase Two, the Life Income Gifts Program. The nonprofit organization which has successfully initiated Phase One may be ready to proceed with a life income gifts program.

• Phase Three, the Charitable Gift and Estate Planning phase, is the most pro-active option. This is the level at which organizations engage in professional gift planning and counseling with prospective donors. It involves well-trained third parties, such as attorneys, accountants, financial planners and other members of the planning team in the dialogue with prospective donors.

Step TwoEstablish a Legacy Society – a donor recognition society for bequests and planned gifts.Have the Development Committee (or Executive Committee if you do not have one) name it:

• after someone who has put your organization into his/her estate plans

• if you do not have anyone – cultivate someone who is willing to step up and lead

• the original benefactor – The Senator George P. McLean Society

The Legacy Society

• the starting date of your organization – The 1888 Club

• a symbolic meaning – The Good Samaritan Society

• a generic name such as Hope, Beneficiaries

• What will tell a story that is compelling to your donors?

– Announce it to the full Board encouraging them to think about a bequest

Develop a SimplePlanned Giving Marketing Plan

• Honor the Members

– In the Annual Report– At a special event annually (roses)

Invite legacy society members, Board members and family members of those who have passed away in the past few years and left your organization a bequest…you are hoping the charity will be the recipient of multi-generations legacy gifts.

– Mim is a perfect legacy story…

The Atwater Memory

Care Assisted Living

The Simple Planned Giving Marketing Plan…

• Honor the Memberson a plaque in a prominent place on your organization’s campus or in a public area in one of your sites (not a board room –this is a marketing tool!)

The Simple Planned Giving Marketing Plan…

• Send a personal Welcome Letter when you are notified of a bequest intention

• Better yet, go visit them…St. Jude's only visits legacy donors…and it works for them in larger realized gifts

• Consider designing a special gift of appreciation –bookmark, coasters with a leaf imprint for a sanctuary, society pins, coffee table book of photos of your clients…

The Simple Planned Giving Marketing Plan…

• Honor the members of your Legacy Society on your website• Once you have a planned giving budget, consider adding a

comprehensive planned giving section to the website – Virtual Giving Co.

• Most important, clearly list information on how to leave your organization gifts – attorneys look for this on website because often the donors do not want to tell your organization while they are alive and living with or being served by you!– Who to contact for information on giving opportunities– What the name legal name and address should be on a will– The IRS 501.c.3 number

Send Quarterly or Semi-AnnualWills and Bequest Mailings to

– Consistent Donors - 3 or more years– even very small gifts They are your best bequest prospects! Three-quarters of bequest donors are annual fund donors per PPP!

– Board members - past and present– All residents, clients, family members unless you are sure

they have no assets to leave – do not assume. Even if they have a small income, they may have a home or a life insurance policy.

– Planned giving donors– Major donors– Volunteers - big untapped resource for gifts in many of our

organizations.

Quarterly or Semi-AnnualWills and Bequest Mailings

– Start with a pre-printed one from Stelter, Sinclair, Townes & Company, or The Planned Giving Company. If it is a brochure, send it with a cover letter from a Board member or donor. Postcards are becoming popular and effective.

– Send out a kick-off letter with the first brochure– Create your own brochure once you have some

good stories– Keep the message simple – about wills (sign up

for Tom Aherns’ newsletter - www.aherncomm.com for lots of ideas on how and what to say)

More Notes on Marketing Your Bequest Society

• Good programs are not only getting more bequests – they are getting larger bequests because of cultivation. St. Jude’s is the perfect example of this and of the value of visiting legacy donors.

• Have your bequest society and compelling stories on your website. Update these often.

• Send out press releases when you receive realized bequests. Some attorneys love to help with this…did you hear on NBC Nightly News this past fall about the teacher in CT who left to McLean?

• Be sure to have taglines and check boxes on all donation cards such as Annual Fund reply cards – remember you want to count the gifts on your spreadsheet and cultivate the donors to have the intentions realized!

[ ] I have put Federation Homes in my will[ ] Please send me more information on the community’s Legacy Society – The 1888 Club

More Notes on Marketing Your Bequest Society

• In every Annual Report, be sure to let people know the legal name of the organization for their will.

• If you get a call from an attorney, give him the legal name, address and the tax ID number to list on a will.

• And explain the Legacy Society to the attorney and how much his client would appreciate being honored during his/her lifetime. Sometimes the attorney can get them to let you know. Then you can honor them, cultivate them, and be sure the will is not changed later!

More Notes on Marketing your Planned Giving Program

• Add a P.S. to letters you send out - rotate them– $10,000 (20 times the amount of the AF gift) in your will could perpetuate this

wonderful $500 annual fund forever….Please Leave a Legacy to XX Homes.– Did you know you can easily make XX Homes one of the beneficiaries of your IRA – no

lawyer, generally you do this on-line.

• Add a P.S. after your signature on your e-mail – Have you considered leaving a bequest to the XX Home? Then link it to the gift planning section of your website.

• Recruit loyal donors to chair your Legacy Society and/or Planned Giving Committee

– They can host an event at their home for members, Board members, and volunteers.– They can sign welcome letters.– They can be your cheerleaders with the Board and others.

A rising tide lifts all boats…the more organizations that promote legacy gifts…the greater number will be made and help all of us meet our missions.Generally your Board must approve membership – a great opportunity to inform them or remind them of the promise of a strong bequest program!

Visit www.leavealegacy.org for guidance, forms, media, sample newsletters and inspiring stories…and visit your state Leave a Legacy site. The PPP state chapters sponsor Leave a Legacy and have excellent in-service programs for all levels of fund development professionals and for CEOs, board members and volunteers.

Sample Letter of Intent for a Future Estate Gift

One of the common tools used in any gift planning program is a “Donor Letter of Intent for a Future Estate Gift.” A pledge form - not legally binding in most states but records the intent of the donor(s) at the time they are making the commitment to join your Legacy Society. The letter is designed to capture five essential pieces of information:1. The formal indication of the donor(s) to include your organization in their Estate Plan.2. The type of planned gift being donated (e.g. a simple bequest, a gift from a Retirement

Account or Trust, Charitable gift annuity etc.).3. Where the donor(s) would like to have the money spent in support of the organization (i.e.

the specific endowment fund(s) they want to support).4. The approximate amount or value of the gift if known. Can be a $ amount or %.5. The donor(s) permission to publicly list their name(s) in your Legacy Society or if they wish to

remain anonymous.Visit www.pppnet.org for a more complex Model Long-term (Endowment) Gift Agreement.

Letters of Intent forFuture Estate Gifts

Having this information on file is helpful for managing and tracking your Gift Planning / Endowment program. Among other things, this information will • Allow you to follow-up with family members and/or professional advisors of the

donors upon their death (i.e. to secure the gift from their estate). This is a vital step many fund development people do not do aggressively and effectively. Often an intent will be fulfilled if your reach out! Read the obits…

• Give you a rough idea of how much money you can expect to receive from planned/estate gift donors who have joined your Society (commonly referred to as ‘planned gift expectancies’).

• Allow you to count the gift in your annual matrix of goals!

• You need to be reporting your gift planning efforts in a measurable way to your CEO/President and Board.

Counting the Planned Gifts…

Visit www.pppnet.org for Guidelines for Reporting and Counting Charitable Gifts. It outlines three categories of goals report on and how to count gifts:1. An outright goal for gifts that are usable or will become usable for institutional purposes during the “campaign” period (whether one or more years).2. Irrevocable deferred gift goals, for gifts committed during the “campaign” period but usable by the organization at some point after the end of the campaign period.3. Revocable gift goals for gifts solicited and committed or pledged during the “campaign” period but in which the donor retains the right to change the commitment and/or beneficiaryKeep a spreadsheet of the three types of gifts – use this in your annual evaluation! Count the number of people added to the legacy society, and the gifts by each category above. Have a 3 – 5 year running tally.

Discussion and Sharing Stories

Thank you…

Freddi HoffmannStrategic Marketing, Sales & Fund Development SpecialistSage Age StrategiesBluffton, SC860-841-8586Freddi@sageagestrategies.com