The world and the planned giving community will never be the same without Debra Ashton, who passed away in January 2022 after a courageous battle with cancer. It’s been almost two years and my heart is still heavy when I think about my friend.
You can read her article—“Most Nonprofits Still Don’t Get It” — on our blog. If anyone “got it,” Deb did. Many of you are familiar with Deb’s “Blue Book” on planned giving. Some refer to it as the Blue Bible. (I have the last 12 fresh copies.) Shortly before her death, Deb called me and let the know she was bequeathing the rights to the book to me. Such an honor! I’m looking for someone who will co-author the next edition and continue Deb’s legacy.
One of (many!) things I appreciated about Deb is how she made complicated gifts accessible and spoke about planned giving in simple, down-to-earth terms. You know this if you’ve read her book.
Another thing I appreciated about Deb and greatly miss is how she was not afraid to say the hard thing. She once told me to stop pricing my speaking fees so low. She said, “If people pay, they will appreciate you more.”
The other day I had lunch with a colleague (a well-known speaker) who was expressing frustration at how nonprofits want everything for free. I responded to him the way I think Deb would have:
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- If you give it for free, people will not appreciate you
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- If you give it for free, it must not be worth it
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- If you give it for free, someone else must be paying for it
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- If you give it for free, it must be stolen
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- If you give it for free, you will soon be out of business
The nonprofit world needs more Debs—people who say it like it is, who recognize planned giving is for average ordinary people, who aren’t afraid to say the hard things when they need to be said.
