Planned Giving Prospects: Philanthropy for the Rest of Us

I’m happily married. Thank God for that, because the dating scene looks like a jungle, and I was never Tarzan. I’m more of a nerd. Always have been. Why do you think I’m in planned giving? And while I have yet to be nominated for a Pulitzer in charitable gift marketing—a travesty, really—I persevere.

My friend Sharon, however, thrives in the wild. She’s on dating apps, constantly swiping in search of Mr. Right. One day, she announced her criteria plainly: “I want to marry a rich guy.”

That got me thinking. Sharon’s search has something important in common with the way many fundraisers approach planned giving prospects. Both can become so focused on finding someone wealthy that they overlook a much larger pool of people who may be an excellent match.

Defining “Rich”

Before Sharon can find a rich husband, we need to define “rich.” Income, net worth, and investable assets are different measures, and none tells us whether someone will be a good spouse—or a good donor.

For Sharon, however, let’s assume “rich” means someone near the top of the income distribution. Her dating pool immediately becomes smaller. Then she starts adding requirements. He needs to be single. Geography matters. Availability matters. And, of course, the two people actually need to like each other.

With every additional filter, the pool gets smaller.

That is where the lesson for fundraising begins.

Searching Only for Wealthy Donors Creates the Same Problem

Now meet Fundraiser Fred. Fred wants a wealthy donor—the kind of person who can make a transformational gift and change his fundraising totals with one signature.

There is nothing wrong with cultivating donors capable of making significant gifts. Major gift fundraising depends on identifying people with capacity, connection, and an appropriate opportunity for engagement.

However, Fred makes a mistake when wealth becomes his primary qualification criterion.

A person can have extraordinary financial capacity and little interest in Fred’s organization. Another person may care deeply about the mission but have philanthropic priorities elsewhere. Some already have substantial commitments to other organizations. Others may simply have no desire to make the kind of gift Fred has in mind.

Consequently, wealth screening can identify possibilities, but it cannot establish charitable intent.

Planned Giving Prospects Are Not Defined by Income Alone

This distinction becomes especially important in planned giving.

A donor does not necessarily need an extraordinary annual income to make a meaningful future gift. Someone who appears relatively ordinary from an income perspective may own a home, hold retirement assets, have investments, or possess other assets accumulated over decades.

More importantly, that person may have supported your organization consistently and developed a strong connection to its work.

That combination deserves attention.

Instead of asking only, “Who are our wealthiest donors?” planned giving professionals can ask broader questions:

• Who has supported the organization consistently?
• Who has maintained a relationship with us for many years?
• Who has expressed a strong connection to the mission?
• Who responds to our communications and stewardship?
• Who has expressed an interest in legacy or estate planning?

These indicators do not prove that someone intends to make a planned gift. However, they can help development teams identify supporters worth engaging in a conversation.

Stop Looking for the Perfect Donor

Fred’s search becomes even harder when he adds assumptions about what an ideal wealthy donor should look like, believe, or value.

Fundraisers bring their own experiences and biases into donor conversations. Those biases can affect whom they approach, how comfortable they feel in a meeting, and what they assume about a prospect before the conversation begins.

Instead, professional fundraisers should concentrate on information relevant to the charitable relationship. Does this person care about the mission? What have they supported? What outcomes interest them? How do they prefer to engage with the organization?

Those questions are more useful than assumptions based on wealth, profession, lifestyle, politics, gender, or appearance.

The objective is not to find a donor who resembles the fundraiser. It is to understand the donor in front of you.

Why Planned Giving Expands the Prospect Pool

Planned giving changes the conversation because many planned gifts involve assets rather than an immediate check from current income.

A donor who could never make a substantial cash gift during life may be able to include a charitable bequest in an estate plan. Another donor may have appreciated property or other assets that warrant a conversation with professional advisors about charitable planning.

Retirement accounts provide another example of why fundraisers should distinguish income from assets. The IRS explains beneficiary designations for retirement plans and IRAs, including how account owners designate beneficiaries under the applicable plan procedures.

Therefore, development teams should be careful about dismissing loyal supporters simply because they do not appear wealthy.

Some of your strongest planned giving prospects may be people your major gifts program would never identify solely through income or visible lifestyle.

Look for Loyalty Before Luxury

A luxury car is easy to notice. Decades of consistent giving may be less dramatic, but it can tell a development professional something far more relevant.

Long-term donors have repeatedly chosen to support the organization. That history can provide a natural reason to learn more about what the mission means to them.

For example, instead of opening with a technical discussion about trusts or tax planning, ask about the relationship:

• What originally inspired you to support our organization?
• What part of our work has been most meaningful to you?
• What changes have you seen during your years as a supporter?
• What would you most like to see this organization accomplish in the future?

Then listen.

The answers may lead nowhere near planned giving. That is fine. The purpose of the conversation is to understand the donor rather than force the donor into a predetermined gift strategy.

Planned Giving Is About Relationships, Not Stereotypes

Planned giving marketing sometimes makes the opposite mistake from major gift prospecting. Instead of focusing exclusively on visible wealth, organizations create a stereotype of the “perfect” planned giving donor based on age, family status, or assets.

Those characteristics may help with segmentation, but they cannot tell you what an individual wants to do with an estate.

A donor’s family structure does not establish charitable intent. Owning a home does not mean the property is available for philanthropy. Having retirement assets does not mean the donor wants to designate them to a nonprofit.

Use data to decide whom to engage. Then use conversation to learn who the person actually is.

For organizations building a more disciplined program, the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners’ National Standards for Gift Planning Success provide an external professional resource for developing and sustaining gift planning programs.

Make Planned Giving Accessible

Broadening the prospect pool also requires organizations to communicate planned giving in accessible language.

If your marketing sounds as though planned giving is exclusively for multimillionaires with teams of attorneys, many loyal donors will conclude that it has nothing to do with them.

Instead, explain straightforward opportunities such as charitable bequests and beneficiary designations. Describe what they are, why donors sometimes consider them, and where professional advice may be appropriate.

Tax language deserves particular care. The IRS Publication 526 explains federal rules concerning charitable contributions, including qualified organizations, deduction limitations, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. Fundraisers should provide general information without promising a particular donor a specific tax result.

Then give interested supporters an easy way to continue the conversation.

Complex gift arrangements have their place. However, complexity should follow donor circumstances rather than lead the marketing strategy.

Build Professional Knowledge Around Planned Giving Prospects

Fundraisers do not need to become tax attorneys to have productive planned giving conversations. They do, however, need enough knowledge to recognize opportunities, ask appropriate questions, and know when to involve specialists.

The National Association of Charitable Gift Planners’ education resources provide professional development for fundraisers working in charitable gift planning. In addition, development teams should establish relationships with appropriate legal, tax, and financial professionals.

The fundraiser’s role is to understand the donor’s charitable interests and explain the organization’s opportunities. When individualized legal or tax questions arise, the donor should consult qualified professional advisors.

The Better Match Is the Donor Who Cares

Could Sharon eventually meet a wealthy husband? Certainly. Could Fred cultivate an exceptionally wealthy donor capable of making a transformational gift? Absolutely.

But neither outcome provides a sensible model for an entire fundraising strategy.

Major gifts teams should cultivate qualified donors with significant capacity. At the same time, planned giving programs should recognize that charitable legacies are not reserved for people at the very top of the income distribution.

Your database may contain longtime supporters whose annual gifts look modest but whose commitment to the organization runs deep. Some may eventually want to include the organization in their estate plans. Others will not.

Your job is not to predict the decision from someone’s apparent wealth. Your job is to create opportunities for the right conversations.

That’s the beauty of planned giving. It can expand philanthropy beyond the people who look wealthy today and include supporters who want their relationship with an organization to continue into the future.

And unlike Sharon’s search for Mr. Moneybags, you do not need the perfect match. You need to pay attention to the people who already care.