Our Ask An Expert series features real questions answered by Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE, also known as Charity Clairity. Today’s question comes from a nonprofit employee who wants advice on how to start legacy giving conversations with donors:
Dear Charity Clairity,
I was talking with a donor the other day and he mentioned our organization was in his Will. How do you go about asking for amounts and documenting it? For example, we want to document that he is a legacy giver, and we’d love to enter the amount as a pledge. How do you ask that question/questions? Is this something nonprofits do? Also, we found out about this gift intention fortuitously. I’m wondering if we can proactively start conversations about legacy giving with donors if we don’t yet have any communication materials?
— Willing it To Be
Dear Willing it To Be,
Let’s break this down into:
Some donors are proud to tell you the expected size of their bequest to you, while others can prefer more privacy. There’s room for both; what’s important is demonstrating gratitude and working with what makes your particular donor comfortable. Curiosity and empathy must go hand in hand.
As fundraising departments everywhere become more data driven, it’s not unreasonable to seek to document the amount or estimated value of donor bequest provisions, including whether they are specific, contingent, or residuary, and the date of the Will or trust. Today, the portion of organizations showing the estimated dollar value of bequest intentions on internal management reports may be approaching 50%. For those intentions whose values are undisclosed by the donor, the best practice is to apply a five-year or ten-year rolling average, based on the pool of known amounts.
That being said, it’s important to frame requests for this information in donor-centered terms. Let donors know you’re asking for (1) future planning purposes, and (2) to assure their desires are fulfilled. Compliance should be completely voluntary. There can be a fine line between appearing merely nosey and appearing helpful, diligent, and concerned.
It is not advisable to require donors to report to you the amount of their legacy gift expectancy. What I recommend is asking donors if they would feel comfortable completing a non-binding Letter of Intent. You can find some examples here and here.
Make it optional; people can get a bit leery if you seem too nosy. The basic function of the Letter of Intent is simply to formalize their commitment in some fashion. Just know that once they commit in writing they’re more likely to stick with the commitment — especially if you steward them over time. The written Letter of Intent also serves as a record so future staff will be alerted to the need to continue ongoing cultivation and recognition of these loyal supporters.
PRO TIP: Include a space where donors can write a personal statement about why they are leaving this legacy. Let them know you’ll hope to share parts of this statement with future generations who wonder “Who were Jane and John Doe, and why did they decide to leave a bequest?” Many donors enjoy this exercise, and some will even leave notes to their heirs explaining why they did this. I find it generally makes people feel warm and fuzzy to talk about their values and know they’ll live on.
When donors choose to keep the amount undisclosed, you can still ask them to inform you if they’ve left a specific, contingent, or residual bequest. All of this is for internal planning purposes, and can be helpful not just with financial forecasting but also with plans for future stewardship. Since residual bequests tend to be the largest in size (most people underestimate the value of their estates at death), knowing this may cause you to prioritize these supporters when it comes to ongoing cultivation.
Do not enter a bequest as a “pledge” on your financial ledger because bequests are always revocable. Finance can keep a separate record for internal management and forecasting purposes, but should not book this as a formal receivable. The only reason you’d ever have a binding bequest pledge is if your charity intended to sue the estate for the money after the donor died. This is seldom a good look. As one of my mentors once told me: “If you wouldn’t want to see it on the front page of the local newspaper, don’t do it!”
In your nonprofit CRM you can certainly enter an expected amount in your notes for your own tracking purposes. Just know why you’re doing so and how you’ll use the information you recorded. The most important information for fundraising staff is the “intent to give,” and using this information to include folks in a bequest society and other types of engagement moves and touches.
Don’t fall in to the trap of thinking every “t” must be crossed and every “I” dotted before you can begin to promote legacy giving. You can create basic collateral materials very quickly. You wouldn’t decide not to have a baby just because you didn’t yet have a crib, stroller, and high chair, would you? Those things can come later.
For now, simple messages to let folks know you warmly welcome legacy gifts can be sprinkled everywhere (e.g. Outer envelopes; Email signatures; Business cards; Letterhead; Print newsletter, e-news or blog; Annual report recognition pages; Other donor recognition listings; Social media; Website donation pages; Advertising, or wherever else you can think of.) You don’t need to get fancy.
A message might say:
These simple things let folks know you welcome these kinds of gifts.
I hope this helps you “will it” to be, and encourages more constituents to feel supported by you in leaving a legacy that matches their values and brings them joy.
— Charity Clairity (Please use a pseudonym if you prefer to be anonymous when you submit your own question, like “Willing it To Be” did.)
How does your organization handle legacy giving conversations with donors? Let us know in the comments.
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