http://plannedgiving.com/blog Planned giving information and resources. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:02:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Bruce L. Blumer of the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation shared this story with us: A donor invited me to visit with him to discuss his estate, so we set up a time to meet at his farm. I drove up to the nice two-story home and knocked on the door. A lady ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2012/01/24/philanthropy-is-where-he-lives/ by Brian Sagrestano With the November announcement that the American Council on Gift Annuities recommended gift annuity rates would be reduced effective January 1, there was a healthy debate in the charitable community about whether to advertise this change to prospects. With the change behind us, it is a good time ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2012/01/02/marketing-gift-annuities-after-the-rate-reduction/ By Viken Mikaelian I don’t think any of us would be in this business if we didn’t believe that philanthropy, giving, the act of charity – no matter how humble – ennobles everything it touches. But I don’t know whether to laugh or cry just now, because I learned recently that a ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2011/12/13/gone-without-trace-man-bequeaths-2-million-to-uncle-sam/ 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 parish gym. At that time — and this was twenty years ago — Jessica was about one year old. Cute kid. An only ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2011/12/02/jessica/ Suggested payment rates for charitable gift annuities will decline effective January 1, 2012. Many fundraisers are viewing the drop as a marketing opportunity – a chance to prod their prospects into locking in current higher rates by making a gift now. If you’ve been trying to get this message out to ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2011/11/20/new-annuity-rates/ E-Marketing Is Not the Answer by Viken Mikaelian If you really think you can run a planned giving program on autopilot with outsourced help that supplies electronic tools online such as tax reference libraries for prospects and financial advisors, articles on gift laws, automated email blasts, complicated calculators, etc., this article is ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2011/11/04/monkey-see-monkey-do-fundraising/ By John Foster Not so long ago, fundraising reflected the sunny optimism of the overall economy.  Our donors had secure, well-paying jobs; the value of their McMansions and vacation condos was projected to follow an endless upward arc; and when they opened their retirement-plan statements, the ending balance was always gratifyingly ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2011/11/04/you%e2%80%99re-late-for-the-new-paradigm/ By Viken Mikaelian I was invited to speak at a national charity conference with over 800 attendees. I know some of them were Directors of Operations and Chief Executive Officers. So where the heck were they hiding? The conference featured something for everyone, topic-wise — from operations and finances to strategies and fundraising ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2011/11/03/headless-fundraising-where%e2%80%99s-the-leadership/ The folks at Pingdom put most of these survey numbers together based on estimates for 2009, and you know what? If you were expecting miracles from e-mail, you’re going to be disappointed. That is to say, in spite of the fact that almost inconceivably-huge numbers of e-mails are generated and sent ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2011/10/20/survey-says-snail-mail-speaks-louder-than-e-mail/ Is Your Planned Giving Website Senior-Friendly? Some new survey numbers indicate it better be. The new Nielsen Norman Group “Web Usability for Senior Citizens” survey not only notes that more than 12 million Americans over the age of 65 use the Internet, but that the numbers are increasing. But dig this: • ... http://plannedgiving.com/blog/2011/10/09/is-your-planned-giving-website-senior-friendly/