The majority of planned gifts are received by non-profit organizations through bequests and over 70% of them are a complete surprise to the non-profit. 

Asking for a planned gift can bring value to the donor and the non-profit in many ways. Here are just a few:

1. Thinking Through Their Legacy: Having this discussion will help the donor think through how they would like their resources to be used. It is not just about how they can help your non-profit, it also helps them clarify how their family will be taken care of as well.
2. Clarifies Impact: A planned giving conversation helps the donor think through what part of your mission they would like to impact while allowing you to talk about organizational priorities. Ask open-ended questions: what of our programs means the most to you? What area of our mission would like to see improved? Their answers will be clues to what they would like to have an impact on.
3. A Window into Donor Priorities: Asking gives you a window into how your core donors view your organization and what they view as priorities. If multiple planned giving conversations focus on priorities that are not in your strategic plan, it could be time to redo or update your plan.
4. Stewardship: This conversation allows you to steward a planned gift donor because you know more about who they are and what they value (there will be a future blog of why it is important to treat a planned giving donor like a major donor!). Also, this gives your organization the ability to have a sense of priorities of those in your planned giving landscape.

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