Copyright Policy

We Don’t Like This Notice …

… and technically, we’re not required to, as all original materials are automatically protected by copyright law as soon as they’re created.

However, our content is some of the best and most sought-after in the industry — and our lawyers have noticed that it is frequently “borrowed” from us without permission or payment.

Consider this fair warning, then: Whether you are a nonprofit or another vendor, know that we’ve started taking extreme measures to prevent this from happening. Please do not copy our content — you don’t want the legal hassle, and neither do we. The savings you realize by stealing will be more than negated by the fines and legal fees you incur. Trust us on this.

The Legal Stuff

All of our materials are copyrighted, whether digital or in print form. This includes postcard copy and taglines; brochures; fliers; webinars; courses; e-broadcasts; gift illustrations; video content; and any content on planned giving websites, micro-sites, landing pages, and more.

If you are a client, licensing is issued for use by a single organization (unless stipulated otherwise). In addition, each product has its own licensing period.  

If you are not a client, you need permission to use any of our content. Some of that content may be in the public domain: If you are not sure, jucst ask.

In Short:

  • You may not copy our content without obtaining a license from PlannedGiving.com. This applies, but is not limited to, content that appears on this website as well as on majorgifts.com and plannedgiving.wiki; and content that appears on samples we may send out for your review, purchased products, pocket guides, planned giving websites, brochures, direct mail pieces, solicitation letters, webinars, client hours, and more.
  • You may not use our materials beyond your licensing period (where applicable).
  • You may not give or loan our materials to anyone else — they are for use only by the nonprofit to which they’re licensed.
  • You may not take our materials with you if you change jobs. Their use does not carry over to another organization.
  • You may not give your login information to anyone else.

We Make a Living on Our Content

Copy/content, graphics, interactive tools, tax information — all of our materials carry an immense expense in their production, and are made available to clients who pay royalties. Royalty rights are considered assets. Therefore, in addition to violating copyright laws, copying our materials is also considered theft.

Our Enforcement Protocol

We take our content seriously. We use bots and other tools to search for unauthorized use of our content, and then take appropriate legal action where needed. 

In Closing to Our Clients

The purpose of this notice is to protect your investment in our services and not be placed at an economic disadvantage by those pirating our materials.

We appreciate your business and loyalty.

Below are two samples of our assets and what it costs to create them from scratch. Do not let these numbers be your liability figures.

Planned Giving Websites

$280,000

Taking your hours into account, an average planned giving website costs about $280,000. Here are complete details. In summary:

  • You’ll need a professional graphic designer/illustrator for all gift diagrams
  • Writing, editing, reviewing pages and pages of content. Then having staff members do it. This includes:
    • Gift descriptions (about 15)
    • Benefits charts
    • FAQs
    • Donor profiles for each gift
  • Countless of hours of IT work developing interactive tools
  • Programmers and actuarial specialists to create the calculators
  • Logistics, SEO and more

Planned Giving in a Box

$300,000

Brian Sagrestano, Esq., Viken Mikaelian, Camilyn Leone, Esq., Jim Pierson, Patrick O’Donnell and Gretel DeRuiter and various support staff (designers; branding experts) have spent over 2000 hours on this resourceful product. There’s a value for their time, as well as a value for their expertise. Here’s an informative article if you plan to develop these tools in-house.

Planned Giving Wiki Logo

Planned Giving Wiki

This is the definitive resource for professional gift planners. It covers all of the relevant information you’ll ever need as far as technical details go.