Planned gifts tend to be larger, on average, than outright gifts.
Take a look at your own data and evaluate this for yourself. You might be very surprised that you have received bequests without ever asking for them. Then ask yourself how many more you might have received from those who cared deeply about your organization throughout their lifetime, but were never asked for a legacy gift.

If you commit to a planned giving program now and build your endowment when the economy is on the upswing, you will better be able to plan for the future and mitigate your risks through all economic cycles, so that you can continue to carry out your mission.

The Planned Giving Partnership with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

Phase I: your organization/your role

• Identifies and qualifies the donor
• Informs and cultivates the donor
• Explores the donor’s best planned giving option(s)

Phase II: the community foundation /beginning of the partnership

• Consults with you and your donor
• Evaluates your donor’s goals
• Prepares a gift proposal

Phase III: the community foundation/gift acceptance

• Finalizes the gift agreement
• Ensures due diligence with gift acceptance policies of The Community Foundation
• Liquidates assets and provides gift acknowledgement

Phase IV: the community foundation/your organization/ gift management & stewardship

• Invests proceeds from asset sale
• Makes annual distributions from the gift to your organization or in the case of life income gifts, to the income beneficiaries
• Provides ongoing consultation to you and your donor
• Keeps the donor informed about your impact to maintain relationship

Planned Giving Defined

We believe adding a planned giving component to your development efforts greatly enhances your relationship with your donors; your relationship with them is deeper and longer-term and you learn more about them along the way, so you know what to suggest to them and when; what they are more likely to say “yes” to and perhaps which avenues to avoid. Your donor will perceive that your development program is increasingly donor-centric with a focus on fulfilling the wishes of the donor in line with the needs of the organization. It also helps donors know that your organization is thinking (and acting) on a long-term vision with strategies to accomplish it.

"A planned gift is any charitable gift that is not a knee-jerk reaction to an appeal, that involved some level of thinking and planning in its relationship to finances, estate plans, and if applicable, to family, and may require either special handling or special stewardship by the organization that is to receive the gift."

— Dotty Weston-Murphy, CAP^®
Senior Vice President for Development and Donor Services