“Leaving a Legacy: A New Look at Planned Giving Donors” is a new 96-page Special Report from Giving USA specifically on planned giving—an area that the annual Giving USA report does not traditionally address in extensive detail. It states in the foreword that, “While planned giving has been a staple of philanthropy for decades, there has been very little data unpacking the donor’s view of the decision to make a planned gift and the dynamics impacting such a gift.”

It should be noted that despite this lack of a widespread report by a body such as Giving USA, there have been a number of insightful books, academic papers and social studies conducted by notable academics such as Dr. Russell James.

This new Special Report aims to address this deficit of widespread data through surveying and interviewing a number of planned giving prospects and donors. The results shed light on key trends: gift types and the breakdown of bequests compared to retirement plans, trusts etc.; demographics of most likely planned givers and insights into their motivations; common misconceptions about planned gifts and how to correct them. Visit the Giving USA store to order your copy and see the details.

Giving USA states that this report is needed now because a number of signs indicate that planned giving has a high potential for growth in the near term—the expected wealth transfer in the next 10 years and macro-economic trends such as an increase in mega-donors, the seemingly never-ending bull market of the last decade, and demographic shifts such as the increase in childless couples.

The report has a number of practical recommendations for organizations to increase their planned giving efficacy and make sure they don’t miss out on this expected boom in legacy giving. One of the key things that organizations can do is to increase the synergy between major giving and planned giving fundraisers. Particularly by arming major gift officers with just enough information for them to be able to understand their donors’ situations and recognize which vehicles might be right for their individual circumstances and so, in their role as expert philanthropic advisor, facilitate a connection with their planned giving colleagues.

This is where the stars align with our work here at Advancement Resources: In 2017 we designed a half-day workshop to provide major gift officers the knowledge and confidence they need to excel at identifying planned giving opportunities and making connections to their planned giving specialist colleagues. The workshop, Creating Connections for Planned Giving, explains planned giving vehicles and complex estate information in a donor-centric way that is intuitive for major gift officers and empowers them to offer their donors and potential donors with even more opportunities to have an impact with their wealth.

To learn more about Creating Connections for Planned Giving contact us today.