Frequently Asked Questions About Planned Giving Programs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What is the goal of a planned giving program?

There are three goals of a planned giving program:

• To reach a specific dollar goal in terms of identified bequests and signed trust agreements. This will vary from institution to institution.

• To build an established base of funding for the future of the organization. This will reduce its dependence upon the annual funds drives and events, the results of which fluctuate from year to year.

• To build a closer connection between donors and the organization by providing a needed service with real benefits to the donors. Planned giving donors become better current donors as their stake in the institution increases.

What are the ingredients of a successful planned giving program?

There are three ingredients of a planned giving program:

• Building a base. This consists of protecting the program against legal challenges such as undue influence and conflict of interest, or financial pitfalls such as accepting a gift that costs the organization money. Proper guidelines for the program will prevent these and other problems.

  The proper vehicles for a planned giving program need to be in place. Depending upon the nature of the organization's constituencies, these may include a pooled income fund and gift annuity program, both of which require some effort on the part of the charity.

  A training program for Board, staff and interested volunteers needs to be carried out.

  The donor list will need to be properly researched and segmented for a successful marketing effort. A proprietary questionnaire will assist in segmentation, program design and the provision of leads for immediate follow-up.

• Marketing. This is the science of saying the right thing to the right person at the right time. The program needs to deliver the correct blend of mailings and seminars to the appropriate audiences in order to produce a manageable number of prospects for planned gifts.

• Following-up with prospects. Identified prospects need to be given the information and assistance necessary to complete the planning process. Estate and financial planning contain a great potential for procrastination. It is the function of the planned giving officer to enable the prospects to complete the process for their benefit and that of the institution.

	Can existing staff initiate and carry out a planned giving program?
	A full scale planned giving program demands a combination of fiscal awareness and financial and marketing skills in a specialized area. It involves continual education to keep up with changing regulations and planning options. The time requirements of marketing and follow-up are significant. Most development directors in smaller and intermediate sized organizations need to attend to donor cultivation and the planning and implementation of annual funds drives, special events, foundation grant requests and the periodic capital funds drives. While they can make donors aware of the need to consider planned giving, they generally have no time to do a full-scale planned giving program.

Planned giving involves a current expenditure of funds for a future return. Can we afford to do this?

There are really two answers to this question:

• If the organization has a small donor base and needs more donors and current funding just to keep operating, it would be a mistake to divert attention and resources to a future oriented program.

  Given an established organization with a strong donor base that needs to do current fund raising to maintain strength or add to program, a planned giving program needs to be looked at on the same basis as a business decision regarding the investment of capital. Given the income available to the organization, where will it be best to "invest" it. Direct mail and events may be necessary to maintain strength, visibility and involvement, but they do not always provide as good a rate of return as a planned giving effort.

• If your organization does not ask your donors to consider giving these assets, other organizations will do so to their profit and your loss.

	We are a local organization. Shouldn't our planned giving representative be a local resident, or at least involved in the local community?
	A good planned giving program is integrated into the local professional community (lawyers, accountants, trust officers, insurance and securities brokers, etc.). It does this by offering two things to the community: Educational opportunities where these professionals can see the benefits to their clients resulting from the inclusion of the charity in their client's plans. Participation in the development of gift proposals involving the sale of a product to their clients. This is a frequent aspect of our work with financial and life insurance professionals. The planned giving representative should join local professional groups and be asked to address the local estate planning council, realtors' groups, insurance representatives' offices, etc. He or she must be seen as the local planned giving "expert" by the professional community.

	How can we best utilize volunteers to assist in carrying out our program and maintain a connection between our agency and the program?
	Volunteers are vital in supporting the marketing of the program. They also should be encouraged to use their peer group and professional contacts to enable the planned giving representative to meet new prospects. Their role should not be to complete gifts. Planned gifts take time to conclude. Frequently, this time commitment is beyond that available from even a highly qualified professional volunteer. It can be compared to the time needed to sell a high priced intangible such as a major insurance policy.

	There are professionals who offer to do a planned giving program for "free." They will derive their income from the product or service they sell the donor. Are these programs advisable?
	Generally, charitable institutions want their donors to see them in a charitable light, not as a lead generation program for a financial product or service vendor. To turn over any aspect of your development effort to a "for-profit" company is to risk loss of control over donor contact and possible donor confusion and unhappiness.