Stop Putting Legacy Giving and Major Gifts in the Same Portfolio
Imagine this: Someone who leads a nonprofit tells a fundraiser who's only ever done annual giving that they now have to manage a portfolio of 50 major donors and raise $1 Million+.
They get sent to a fundraising conference, attend three 50-minute trainings on major gifts basics, and return to the charity. No one in leadership has major gifts experience to mentor them.
Would you be surprised if they didn’t meet their goal?
Probably not - yet this happens all the time in Legacy Giving.
It gets wrapped into a major gifts position with the attitude of "well, it's about the same".
It’s not - Legacy Giving is a completely different form of fundraising, requiring unique knowledge and strategy.
I recently spoke with a fundraiser who had over 10 years of experience and a great track record. She said “My role is major gifts and planned giving, but it’s really just major gifts. I feel like I should be doing more legacy giving, but I don’t really know what to do next, and I don’t really have the time anyways.”
Oof. I could feel the heaviness in her voice - like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
And I’m going to say it plainly - it’s not fair. Experienced fundraisers like this woman I spoke with - like you - DO have what it takes to do Legacy Giving well. They just haven’t been set up to succeed.
When I started as a Planned Giving Officer early in my career I had a boss with extensive experience (she literally taught the Planned Giving course in a fundraising program), a professional development budget, and a 40-hour work week solely dedicated to figuring it out.
I’ve since worked with over 15 charities on their Planned Giving programs, raising millions in bequest commitments, and I’m proud to be Paul Nazareth’s successor in Planned Giving education.
None of that would have been possible without the foundation that early role provided for me.
The good news is you don’t need 40 hours a week to do Legacy Giving well. Here’s how:
Know who your best prospects are - when it comes to gifts-in-Will, that’s any donor who is loyal, regardless of their in-lifetime giving. Picture the retired teacher who gives $100 a year, but whose house is now worth $2 Million in an urban centre. She’s not in your major gift portfolio, but she could easily give you a 6-figure gift in her Will while still providing for her children.
With the understanding of who your prospects are, you’ll start to understand the difference between Planned Giving and other forms of fundraising. The simplest way I can put it is that it’s less 1:1 than major gifts, but more 1:1 than annual. This is a key principle behind legacy giving communications and strategies.
Time block - set aside time specifically for Planned Giving - it won’t get done by putting it alongside major gifts asks.
Bring in expertise if you don’t have it on your team. I see so many smart and capable fundraisers spend years on Planned Giving trial-and-error. If you’re like so many fundraisers I know, you’ve made it far in your career in nonprofits - you’re used to figuring it out with few resources. You probably can be successful without support, but it will take a lot more time.
An expert who provides the right kind of support can take you from 15-hours a week doing what might work, to 4-hours a week of focused learning and implementation to get you gift commitments this fiscal. (if that sounds like what you need, you might want to check out the Planned Giving Lab to see if it’s right for you).
So, if you’re one of the many fundraisers who has been assigned the “major and planned gifts” role, and you’re feeling like that might be too much for just one person, know you’re not alone! You’re great at what you do and you deserve to have the resources to be set up for success.
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