Planned giving: Overcoming board members’ skepticism

“Our board members tell us that they are very skeptical that planned giving is something our team can just ‘run with.’ They are concerned that we’re simply ‘not ready.’”

Does this sound familiar? We suspect so! It’s understandable that a volunteer board of directors, few of whom have even a basic level of experience with charitable gift planning, would find it daunting or even seemingly unwise to encourage donors’ complex and legacy gifts.

But don’t let that skepticism stop you. Instead, focus on educating your board on the importance of a planned giving strategy to your organization’s future—especially right now in this environment of changing tax laws and evolving patterns of donor behavior.

Against this backdrop, Kitsap Community Foundation stands ready to serve as a sounding board and partner. Here are a few ways we can help:

We’re happy to join a board meeting.

Our team would be happy to drop by one of your board meetings to deliver a brief, informal presentation. During our remarks, we will demystify planned giving and review the many benefits it offers. Through tangible examples such as gifts in a donor’s will or through a retirement plan beneficiary designation, we’re able to help connect the dots from opaque legal concepts to concrete outcomes that your organization has likely already experienced.

We’re happy to share research and resources.

We know it can be hard to articulate the return on an investment in a planned giving program. Even though planned gifts don’t always result in immediate dollars, their long-term value can be substantial, and that’s a key point that Kitsap Community Foundation, as a trusted resource, can clarify for your board members. We’ll also share research on planned giving trends, especially studies illustrating that donors who make planned giving commitments actually tend to increase their annual giving—creating a true win-win.

We’re happy to serve as your planned giving back office when opportunities arise.

Your board may be concerned that your organization will be faced with the prospect of receiving a large, complex gift or bequest and won’t know what to do. Many board members are reassured to learn that Kitsap Community Foundation offers expertise, infrastructure, and administrative support needed to accept and steward complex charitable gifts. Furthermore, if your board of directors would like to allocate planned gifts, such as bequests, for instance, to an endowment or reserve fund, remember that KCF can professionally invest and manage endowment and reserve funds with a long-term perspective, ensuring prudent oversight, spending discipline, and transparent reporting.

We’re happy to recommend educational resources and implementation tools.

The KCF team is happy to recommend resources that offer practical tools and talking points that board members can use when engaging prospective legacy donors. Even beyond engaging board members, our team can point you in the right direction for bequest language, checklists of types of planned gifts, and simple messaging that emphasizes legacy and impact (rather than legal or financial jargon). Knowing your organization has tools and resources often can make board members more comfortable with your organization undertaking planned giving as a priority.

The bottom line is that Kitsap Community Foundation is here to help! We look forward to hearing how we can assist with your planned giving program, whether you’ve recently launched a program, know you need to get a program started, or have a longstanding program in place that needs a little dusting off. By partnering with KCF, your board members can feel more confident in making planned giving a priority for your organization.