Whereas each donation is impactful on your nonprofit, it takes greater than small presents to fund your work. Particularly, your group wants sustainable, long-term funding sources to make an enduring distinction on your trigger. Legacy presents present loads of alternatives to earn long-term funding, however many nonprofits hesitate to advertise deliberate presents and different legacy giving choices as a result of they require a extra delicate strategy.
Nonetheless, donors could be extra receptive than you would possibly suppose! You may faucet into this impactful fundraising avenue by explaining the mutual advantages of legacy giving and making it straightforward for donors to offer. To assist your group earn extra legacy presents, we’ll cowl the next:
Understanding these advantages is step one to cultivating substantial legacy presents on your nonprofit. Let’s discover how one can pave the best way for incomes extra sustainable funding with legacy giving.
What’s Legacy Giving?
Legacy giving, also called deliberate giving, is a kind of donation that’s meant to help a nonprofit, college, or different group past the donor’s lifetime.
That is accomplished both by setting apart a donation to be given after the donor passes away or by giving a present throughout their lifetime that continues to develop following the donor’s passing. Legacy giving can take a wide range of kinds, together with:
- Bequests: NXUnite defines bequests as “a legacy present the place the donor features a nonprofit of their will, leaving a portion of their property to it.” Relying on the donor’s needs, your nonprofit could obtain funds, shares, or a share of the property itself.
- Life insurance coverage: Donors can checklist your group as a beneficiary on their life insurance coverage coverage. They’ll additionally donate any unused retirement belongings to your nonprofit.
- Endowments: If a donor desires to offer each throughout and after their lifetime, they’ll present a named endowment fund to your group. Donors can add to the fund, watch it develop all through their lifetimes, and relaxation assured that it’ll proceed to develop and go away a charitable legacy after they go away.
Whereas not generally thought-about legacy presents, donor-advised funds (DAFs) additionally present donors with the potential to create an enduring legacy of giving all through their lifetimes. These funds are much like endowments, besides they’re managed by the donor and their DAF supplier as an alternative of gifted to a particular nonprofit. This manner, DAF-holding donors may give to a number of nonprofits all through their lives as an alternative of only one.
Advantages for Nonprofits
Initially, legacy presents present extra monetary assets on your nonprofit to make use of to additional your mission. Not solely are legacy donations sometimes bigger, however additionally they assist you plan for the way forward for your nonprofit’s fundraising. Bequests act as future income you possibly can challenge, and endowments present sustainable, predictable funding that grows over time.
Plus, soliciting legacy presents permits your group to have interaction donors and deepen vital relationships. The work you place into cultivating relationships with potential legacy donors will profit your group now and sooner or later.
Advantages for Donors
The most important good thing about giving a legacy present is the power for donors to make a considerable, lasting impression in your nonprofit’s trigger. Infinite Giving’s nonprofit endowment information explains that legacy presents allow donors to increase their private impression past their lifetimes and financially help your group for generations. Each donor desires to make a private distinction, and legacy giving is likely one of the greatest methods to take action.
Moreover, legacy presents supply donors:
- A neater solution to give a significant present. Some supporters could need to make a significant donation however don’t have the means to take action attributable to different monetary obligations. Since most deliberate presents don’t have an effect on the donor’s present funds, this presents a neater solution to give a big donation with out hurting their price range.
- Tax advantages. Similar to every other donation, legacy presents supply tax advantages like charitable tax deductions. For example, any time a donor provides funds to their endowment or donor-advised fund, they obtain fast tax deductions.
- Household legacies. Though the donor could not see their present’s impression themselves, their relations will. Deliberate presents and named endowments assist the donor’s youngsters and grandchildren bear in mind them fondly and rejoice their life.
With legacy giving choices like endowments and bequests, donors even have the power to limit their donation—that means they’ll resolve how they need the present for use. Whereas this isn’t a requirement (and it’s usually higher on your group if the present is unrestricted), having the liberty to decide on how their funds are used could be an incentive for donors. Donors may also go away their presents unrestricted however nonetheless notice preferences on your nonprofit to honor.
How one can Faucet Into Legacy Giving
Now that you just perceive the advantages for each you and your donors, you’re prepared to begin selling legacy giving and tapping into the chance.
To earn any legacy donations, you first must develop a advertising and marketing technique that makes donors conscious of the choice. Create a web page in your web site that explains what legacy giving is, the related advantages, and the way they’ll study extra about donating. Then, attain out to particular person supporters who could also be and talk the benefits to them.
Together with selling the choice, you possibly can higher faucet into legacy presents by investing in software program that makes donating simpler. For instance, you would possibly put money into nonprofit endowment software program so you possibly can simply:
- Create a branded donation web page or widget that lets donors give endowments and different non-cash presents like shares, DAF grants, and cryptocurrency.
- Simplify the giving course of for donors by letting them give a legacy present proper out of your donation web page. They enter their monetary data, then the software program notifies you of the donor’s intent and begins the endowment creation course of for you.
- Monitor every part in a complete dashboard the place you possibly can monitor the expansion of endowment presents and let donors see their impression.
Lastly, contemplate doing prospect analysis to find out which of your present supporters often is the most eager about giving a legacy present. Search for markers in your database that point out particular person donors have demonstrated a ardour on your trigger and a dedication to offer over time. This analysis will assist you focus your outreach efforts and enhance your possibilities of success.
Legacy giving could appear to be a troublesome avenue to pursue, however these impactful advantages make it worthwhile. If you clarify the main distinction a legacy present could make for each your nonprofit and the donor, chances are you’ll be stunned by what number of supporters have an interest.
In regards to the Writer
Karen Houghton
Karen Houghton is the CEO of Infinite Giving, a relationship and expertise pushed Nonprofit Funding Advisor. Karen leverages her deep nonprofit experience to carry a contemporary and curated funding expertise to nonprofit organizations all around the US. She advocates for organizational sustainability via higher monetary administration, strategic entry to curated funding practices for diminished administration charges, and elevated asset giving.
