Legacy Giving Isn’t About Forms—It’s About Follow-Through Lately, you’ve probably seen the headlines:“Half a million wills created.”“Ten billion dollars committed.” The dashboards are slick. The
A few weeks after donating to a youth literacy nonprofit, my friend Elena received a surprising email. It wasn’t the usual automated receipt or slick
While capital campaigns often focus on immediate fundraising needs, integrating planned giving creates lasting impact. A well-run campaign provides the perfect platform to identify and cultivate legacy donors. By including planned giving language in campaign materials, training staff on legacy conversations, launching a legacy society, and sharing donor stories, organizations can secure both short-term pledges and long-term estate commitments. This dual approach transforms campaigns into meaningful exercises in stewardship that ensure organizational sustainability for generations.
Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) offer a tax-efficient method to support charities while preserving income. Donors transfer appreciated assets into a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT) or Unitrust (CRUT), gaining immediate income tax deductions and avoiding capital gains taxes. These trusts provide fixed or variable payments during retirement, allowing donors to maintain their lifestyle. They also enable wealth transfer with reduced gift or estate taxes, making CRTs an attractive option for long-term charitable and financial planning.
Walt Disney built windows lower on Main Street so children could see inside as easily as adults—a detail no one noticed but everyone benefited from. This teaches us about donor relations: Are we building our “windows” at standard height or from our donors’ perspective? Simple changes like talking mission over money, having real people answer phones, and creating memorable first impressions can transform donor engagement and loyalty.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.
Can you name your local community foundation? More importantly: do you know what they really do? Far from being competitors, community foundations are powerful allies for nonprofits. They manage complex gifts, build sustainable endowments, connect you with donor-advised funds, and even handle planned giving for teams without in-house expertise. Think of them as gardeners of local philanthropy – planting, tending, and growing generosity so your mission can thrive for years to come.
If even Abraham Lincoln, Prince, and Picasso skipped writing wills, what chance do the rest of us have without a nudge? That’s why no single message works for every donor. Some need a wake-up call about the risks. Others respond to inspiring visions of their legacy. Still others want practical answers or simple first steps. The most effective campaigns don’t pick one approach—they balance all four: fear, inspiration, education, and simplicity. Because different people need different keys to finally act.
Advances in modern medicine can prolong lives of seriously ill individuals, though not always with hope for improvement. While some view extended life as meaningful, others may see artificial prolongation as extending suffering. The Florida Legislature recognizes individuals’ fundamental right to make medical decisions regarding life-prolonging procedures. Through advance directives like living wills, health care surrogate designations, and anatomical gift declarations, adults can plan ahead for health care decisions and ensure their wishes are respected.
Bequests are quietly transforming nonprofit fundraising—but most organizations are stuck chasing galas, events, and short-term wins. In this sharp critique, we explore why legacy giving is the most overlooked revenue stream and how tools like LegacyPlanner™ remove friction and drive real results. With insights from clients like Smith College and JMU, this piece calls out outdated board thinking and offers practical steps to modernize your strategy. Bequests aren’t gravy—they’re the foundation. Ignore them, and the money passes you by.
Online will makers are everywhere you look these days. From FreeWill, Rocket Lawyer, Trust & Will and GivingDocs to the comprehensive LegacyPlanner, it feels like everyone is offering their own version. And sometimes it seems like they all just appeared overnight, too. But the truth is, the industry has been around for decades — both US Legal Wills and LegalZoom had online versions more than 20 years ago.