You’ve grown your legacy program, you have an impressive pipeline of donors interested and considering leaving a legacy gift to your wonderful organization and now comes the big moment: THE ASK!
There is a big misconception that soliciting for a legacy gift is the same as asking for a major gift. Nothing could be further from the truth. While there are some similarities, the approach, lead up, and what happens next is quite different.
This program is designed to strengthen the financial resilience of nonprofit organizations in North Carolina. Intended for both funders and nonprofit leaders, the program will begin with an introduction to the concept of “full cost” funding and budgeting as strategies to support nonprofit financial health. Full cost goes beyond programmatic budgeting to include things like having working capital to pay bills on time and having reserves to manage risks or opportunities.
Alyson Stoffer, Director of Development, TLC and President, AFP Triangle
Eight months ago, I became a new director of development. The timing was great. I had a month and a half under my belt at the beginning of a pandemic where the next days and months were certain and manageable. Just in time to start putting together my first budget, inclusive of what to do about our organization’s largest source of philanthropic dollars: in-person events. Everything was fine.
Planned giving programs can be a sustainable long-term component of your nonprofit's fundraising strategy. But with a confusing array of jargon – charitable gift annuities (CGAs), charitable remainder annuity trusts (CRATs), actuarial determination, and so on – knowing where to start is daunting. Below are resources explaining the types of planned giving programs, how to market planned giving, and sample appeal letters to get your organization on the path to fundraising for the long-term.
Start a Planned Giving Program
This Nonprofit Learning Lab* resource entitled, Creating a Fundraising Plan: Step-by-Step Guidebook, offers an in depth review of the process to create a fundraising plan, fundraising strategies, details on how to draft a plan and sample templates. This guidebook also includes activities and worksheets to help staff, board members, and fundraising committee members with developing their fundraising plan.
Marie-Line Germain, HR Consulting Initiative
Through the HR Consulting Initiative at Western Carolina University, some of our nonprofit clients (including Center Members) have sought advice on how to recruit employees more effectively. To recruit (and to fundraise), Artificial Intelligence has proven to be effective.
Jeanne Tedrow, President and CEO, of North Carolina Center for Nonprofits.
Imagine a customer walking into a pizza shop to order a pizza, then only wanting to pay for the ingredients – flour, sauce, toppings, cheese. (See Pizza and a Laugh ‒ A Reminder about Your Nonprofit Financial Stress Level, Nonprofit Quarterly, December 18, 2018.)
In the nonprofit arena, charitable solicitation licenses are a necessity for certain fundraising efforts. If you are an organization or individual that asks the public for contributions or donations to support a charitable purpose, a charitable solicitation license ("CSL") is needed, unless specifically exempt by law. As many states have laws regulating the solicitation of funds for charitable purposes, it is important to check the requirements for each state your organization operates in to ensure compliance.
Your Form 990 asks whether a nonprofit has a "gift acceptance policy" that requires the review of any "non-standard gifts" (gifts other than cash or check). Additionally, a written gift acceptance policy can help manage the expectations of donors, (while treating them with respect) and also serve as guidance for board and staff members who are either on the asking, or receiving, end of contributions.
When well-crafted, Request for Proposals (RFP) can introduce an organization to high-quality vendor-partners and consultants from outside their established networks and ensure that a project is completed as planned. In An Overview of the RFP Process for Nonprofits, Charities, and Libraries, TechSoup offers basic considerations for each phase of the RFP process.