I'm excited about this folks, because Marie Ruzek, longtime mentor to me on my planned giving learning journey, has partnered with Carl Newbanks of the Initiative Foundation to share free, helpful info on their pod, A Legacy of Generosity. When they called to see if I'd share how I've built and supported simple, effective planned giving programs it was an easy yes. And of course, I got to learn more from the two of them.
This episode aired on Feb. 22nd, 2022.
We came up with a pretty strong list of things fundraisers can do whether they are a small shop, single-person shop, or large shop and want to begin implementation. I'll be honest, back when I accosted Marie at a networking event it may have had something to do with the letters "J" and "D" behind her name on her badge. I was still pretty new to will and estate giving and it seemed overwhelmingly urgent that I figure out how to learn all that this brilliant lawyer knew! Marie's legal background and experience definitely gives her a deep understanding the details of this type of giving and the many vehicles gifts ride in on.
But you might be surprised to hear that Carl, Marie and I all agree that fundraisers can rest easy in their lane-- the mission lane-- and leave the financial particulars to the donor and their financial planner. No law degree required. Wow, what a huge relief. With a few strong strategic questions, being a non-expert does not mean you need to think small about giving!
One of many things that we didn't have time to dig into was how to track the gifts from wills and estates as they start rolling in. It's actually pretty simple. About a decade ago Marie shared her sample spreadsheet with me to help build up my organizations' program and we've updated it for you to borrow and remix. Send a note through our contact form with "planned giving tracking template" in the message and we'll send it over.
Schedule with us if you'd like to snag some time to start imagining how you can build a planned giving program that works for your org. Get ready for questions about your org values and how/if planned giving fits within them.
Happy listening!