Implement a planned giving program at your nonprofit in 16 easy steps

1. Develop draft of a planned giving case statement.
2. Form a planned giving committee able to meet about four times a year, with major focus on one-to-one meetings with prospects.
3. Ask board members to approve case statement and make their own planned gift commitments.
4. Make a motivational presentation to Board of Directors with volunteer/planned giver as main speaker.
5. Set up system of technical support to allow you to provide information on the tax and financial consequences of charitable trusts, life estates, bargain sales and other gift strategies of a technical nature.
6. Hold in-person conversations, preferably with volunteers involved, with planned giving prospects, inviting them to become members of Legacy Society and describing methods of joining.
7. Make planned giving presentation to volunteer groups.
8. Provide Planned Giving Committee and Board with an orientation to planned giving ethics and techniques.
9. Begin publishing planned giving information, especially donor case histories.
10. Develop planned giving Legacy Society recognition program.
11. Explore possibility of estate planning seminars.
12. Develop prospect list and set up one-to-one meetings.
13. Present Committee and Board of Directors with planned giving activities and goals for the year.
14. Review five-year donor patterns with committee.
15. Survey a few other comparable institutions and ask what they’ve done that has promoted planned gifts successfully.
16. Evaluate planned giving program: (a) Was the plan for the year implemented? (b) How many new members in Legacy Society?

These tips come from Planned Giving Coach Philip Murphy, who sold out Friday's Development Executive Roundtable's luncheon workshop held in San Francisco. He emphasized that you don't have to be an expert on all the various planned giving vehicles available to start your program, for the skills you already have as a fundraiser are 90% of what you need to know to be successful. The rest you can develop or rely on outside support.

Philip began his fundraising career in 1973, and since 1979 has been focusing on planned giving. He's simply the best at what he does, so if you want to build your planned giving program into the best it can be, check out his website for more resources, plus information about his services.