Planning for Good – because sustainability is a gift -
is designed to help organizations develop the
capacity for creating their own
sustainability through robust
planned giving programs
Planned Gifts play a significant and vital role in an organization’s sustainability
Planned gifts – typically absorbed into endowment funds – generally involve more complicated gift arrangements than current gifts of cash or marketable securities. They also typically begin at the 6 figure level, involve gift, estate and/or income tax benefits to their donors, and can increase significantly the financial resources of non profit organizations for their long-term operation.
Many larger organizations – especially colleges, universities and hospitals – have staff within their development departments dedicated solely to planned giving. Often they include professionals with accounting, trust and legal expertise, as well as experience in fund development.
However, the powerful benefit of having a planned giving program to build endowments that can provide the highest level of sustainability for an organization is not reserved exclusively to organizations of this larger size.
As noted by the National Committee on Planned Giving on its web site, www.ncpg.org, in the article entitled Are you Ready for Planned Giving ? A Guide to evaluating Organizations Readiness for Non Profit Executives and Voluntary Trustees:
Many small and intermediate-sized charitable organizations realize they can share in some of the major resource development opportunities heretofore enjoyed by larger organizations. In the semi-annual Philanthropic Giving Index prepared by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, small and medium charities consistently rate planned giving as a fundraising strategy that has been most successful for them or that they are most interesting in pursuing.
Philanthropic Giving Index can be found at www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/Research/giving_fundraising_research.aspx#PGI
Endowments: The key to sustainability
Creating a compelling case for donor support of endowments is straightforward. In their Journal of Gift Planning article Endowments for Small Charities: A Luxury or a Necessity? Vol 11(2007) Laura Hansen Jean and Kathryn W. Miree elucidate the elements, including that an endowment gift allows a donor to:
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make a permanent contribution to – or investment in – the community’s future
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target a specific area of mission important to the donor
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perpetuate his or her annual gift
make a permanent contribution to – or investment in – the community’s future
target a specific area of mission important to the donor
perpetuate his or her annual gift

