PlannedGiving.com - Planned Giving

By Matthew Wilson

How do you view planned giving? Is it simple, or complicated?

One of the biggest misunderstandings I see in the non-profit world is the mistaken belief that planned giving is complex and mysterious. Read more »

Did you know that most companies base 80% of their hiring decision on technical skills, yet 85% of turnover is due to behavioral incompatibility?

We’re so hung up on fulfilling technical requirements that we frequently forget we’re dealing with people, and fail to identify or analyze the necessary people skills required. Read more »

By Anne Melvin

Why is it that we so often look at a gift negotiation as a cat-and mouse game — as a struggle between what “we” want and what “they” want?

Perhaps we forget the simple fact that fundamentally, we both want the same thing: Prosperity and growth for the charity. Read more »

Imagine a public radio station cooperating with a music store in a “Public Radio Means Music” combined sale/membership drive. Or a pet store and an animal shelter that join forces to help fund a spay/neuter program while attracting new customers to the store.

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Few non-profits succeed with Facebook. Why? Because they neglect the time and effort needed to do it right.

Successful social networking requires:

• Circular promotions from all venues
• Constant day-to-day monitoring
• Publications to your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn sites
• Embracing the online social networking culture
• Cultivating participation
• Creating engagement activities Read more »

Some organizations have trouble getting out of their own way. Recently, an IT functionary at a large Midwestern institution went over the heads of her planned giving officers to cancel a contract they had just signed for a VirtualGiving website.

Apparently this IT person was feeling territorial and thought, “Why buy a website? We can build one ourselves!” Unfortunately, he didn’t know what he was getting himself and his organization into in terms of time, effort, expense, and more…

…though he may know now.

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By Chase Magnuson

Many charities shut themselves off from this significant source of revenue because they’re leery of getting involved in what they see as a complex area.

The attitude is, “We’re risk-averse. We don’t have procedures in place to deal with gifts of real estate. Plus, we’ve either had bad experiences, or heard of other charities that had bad experiences with real estate. So we steer clear.”

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More than 30 years ago, comedian Steve Martin did a routine that featured the line, “I have four dollars — I guess I’ll throw it in the street.”

These days, four dollars looks infinitely smaller than it looked back then. In 21^st Century America, we’ve been desensitized to dollar amounts up to and including those with 12 zeros after them (i.e. numbers in the trillions).

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The Associated Press is saying it so it must be true: Forty American billionaires have signed a pledge to give at least half of their personal wealth to charity.

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You could say that Johnny Carson perfected the art of being that most peculiarly American type of creature – the late night talk show host. At the very least, we know that he succeeded in entertaining many millions of viewers in the process. And that’s no small accomplishment.

And now we discover he has done something more: He has contributed over $156 million dollars from his estate to a variety of charitable groups.

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