You know the saying, “The only two things certain in life are death and taxes.” Even after your lifetime, there are many taxes you can avoid. We call these funeral expenses.
June 22, 2020 Read more
Relationships
In 1900 they predicted that C, X and Q would vanish from our alphabet. 10 years later it was predicted we would have flying bicycles. The U.S. Congressional Calendar predicts that philanthropic incentives may be legislated out of existence sometime soon.
June 14, 2020 Read more
As nonprofits share best practices and reveal their most coveted success stories, you don’t often hear the word “competition.” Wake up. Competition is here and it is only going to get more intense.
April 27, 2020 Read more
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. ~ Martin Luther
“But we want the cash, now,” we often hear. Well, we would have had the cash now if we had not deferred it in the first place.
February 23, 2020 Read more
Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately experience comes through bad judgment.
January 25, 2020 Read more
Like cell phones, social media and text messages, acronyms have taken over our lives. But we had planned giving acronyms long before the birth of texts. What else does a CRAT stand for? Read and find out.
November 18, 2019 Read more
Study shows what successful people have in common: they spent a lot of time with someone who had been successful. In other words, they learned how to be successful. They had friends, mentors, influencers and coaches.
November 10, 2019 Read more
Again and again, Dr. Russell James found that formal and technical terms reduce the chances that a prospective donor will be interested in making a planned gift. And we’ve been saying that since 1998. Yet, many nonprofits still do not take the advice.
July 31, 2019 Read more
Planned giving productivity. It’s not about learning calculators, CRUTs and CRATs. Here are 5, simple helpful tips for you career — and mental health.
July 23, 2019 Read more
People often ask me about my life. What’s my background? Where’s my accent from? Where did I grow up? Where did you meet your wife? One of these days I’ll get around to answering all that… But the most common question I get is, “Viken, how did you get into planned giving?” Answer: By Accident.
July 15, 2019 Read more
What kind of “asker” are you? Confident, well-dressed, professional? Or more of a beggar? Someone apologetic, mincing their way through the ask? One type is going to succeed often, and the other will almost always fail. Can you guess which is which? You’ll find the answer — and other great advice on making the ask — on our blog in a guest post from author, public speaker and planned giving specialist Dr. Rebecca Price Janney.
July 4, 2019 Read more