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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Research Articles : Feature Article |
Have a plan to encourage bequestsAugust 29, 1994; Canadian FundRaiser
Planned Giving frightens development officers, said Frank Minton, president of Planned Giving Services, Seattle WA, but it is just gift planning. Anyone can do it. Both science and art, it involves empathy, tact, vision, diplomacy, and of course some technical knowledge. Any charity, he told CAGP delegates, can attract planned gifts with a modicum of effort.
The dramatic growth of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners is the evidence that planned giving is on a roll in Canada. In the U.S.A., the situation is the same. The prolonged recession has forced reductions in government allocations, leading to a growing awareness of the fact that the greatest potential to fill the gap lies in planned giving.
Charities are striving to build their endowments, and planned giving will continue to outgrow other forms of fundraising, due to the ageing of the population, and the concentration of wealth in the older generation. A recent U.S. survey identified seven categories of philanthropy:
You need both humanistic and technical skills to succeed in planned giving, Minton said. Don't simply refer anything slightly beyond your comfort level to the experts. You have a crucial role to play as the planned giving officer, and shouldn't allow yourself to be squeezed out of the loop. Establish your credibility by becoming familiar with gift instruments and, if you see the donor's advisor giving what appears to be wrong advice, raise your concerns with the advisor privately and tactfully.
- Communitarians: Mostly community-minded, male business leaders interested in establishing contacts with similar leaders of other charities.
- The Devout: Those who give out of religious faith to various religious causes.
- Investors: They have no strong loyalty to any charity. They are very interested in tax advantages, and approach their donation as a business transaction.
- The Socialites: These are primarily active, affluent, involved women, who will often serve on a number of charitable boards.
- The Altruists: The smallest group, they often give anonymously to a variety of social causes to help the truly needy.
- The Repayers: They give out of a sense of loyalty, obligation and gratitude.
- The Dynasts: They give from a base of family wealth, continuing a family tradition of giving.
As an absolute minimum, he stressed, every charity should put in place a program to encourage and recognize bequests, still the source of more significant gifts than all other instruments combined.
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