The Pentera Blog
5 Key Strategies to Keep Your Program Strong
Charitable giving by bequest continues to be one of the easiest and most popular ways to leave a legacy gift. In fact, Giving USA 2024 reported that charitable bequests grew by nearly 5% in 2023—surpassing growth rates in giving by individuals, foundations, and corporations.
As the population ages and the oldest Baby Boomers reach their late-70s, it is especially important to remember some key strategies to keep your bequest program strong and growing. Five tips from the Giving USA article include:
- Make donor stewardship a top priority by inviting donors to join your legacy society and attend special events. Staying in touch with your donors helps to ensure that their legacy intentions remain in place over time and eventually benefit your organization.
- Make it easy for your donors to include you in their estate plans by featuring sample bequest language as well as your federal tax ID number on your planned giving website. It is also important for this information to be included in all of your donor communication and marketing materials.
- Be sure to thank and honor your loyal annual donors. Countless studies have shown that longtime donors are more likely to make legacy gifts to an organization that has been important to them during their lifetime.
- Educate your donors and prospects on the ease and tax benefits of making your organization the beneficiary of donors’ retirement plans. As the Giving USA article notes, “a bequest to a charity from a retirement plan avoids all potential income tax that would have been owed by children or other heirs,” and they can generally be accomplished with a single form.
- Educate yourself and your staff about planned giving now, including the basics of bequests, qualified charitable distributions, and potential changes in the estate tax.
Other tips include being prepared to welcome noncash gifts, such as real estate, mineral rights, personal property, and closely held stock.
Furthermore, it’s important for nonprofits to continue donor stewardship even after a planned gift is made. Keep in mind that many loyal donors stop volunteering and making annual gifts in the last years of their lives. It’s very important to remain in touch in these quiet years. In short, don’t forget them just because you’ve stopped hearing from them.
