The Case Against Intention Forms
Today I want to talk about the ever-controversial Planned Giving INTENTION FORM.
(An intention form is a form donors fill out to let you know about the details of a gift in Will - it usually asks for information like the estimated value of a gift).
Okay… maybe they’re only controversial among a niche of Planned Giving nerds like me. 😅
They’re probably not something the average fundraiser thinks a lot about - and using it without thinking about it could hurt your donor relationships.
Yes, hurt.
A wide-spread malpractice in Planned Giving is to send an intention form to a donor as soon as a donor informs you of a gift-in-Will.
This turns an opportunity for stewardship and relationship building into a transaction. It’s not a good way to start a lifelong relationship.
Charities who send out these forms tend to only get a small percentage returned. This is for two reasons:
The donor has listed your charity in their Will alongside their loved ones - and may view you in a similar light. If their daughter said “I know you’ve told me I’m in the Will, but could you please sign this form to confirm that, and tell me all the details?” They would be taken aback - and they usually are for charities too.
Donors may have insecurities about your charity counting on a certain amount of funds, especially if they “outlive their savings”. They may also want the flexibility to change the details of their gift-in-Will if their circumstances change.
Here’s the truth - intention forms are to appease finance teams - not relationship builders. For fundraisers, they don’t make much sense. (Except when you're dealing with a complex situation like a gift-in-Will combined with a capital campaign pledge.)
Unless the donor is an outlier with an unusually small or large gift, knowing whether they are giving you 5 or 25% of their estate doesn’t change the fact that you’re going to steward that donor for life - especially because estate sizes wildly vary. A 25% gift could result in $10,000, but a 5% gift could be $100,000 - and that amount could change a lot between the donor writing their Will and the gift being realized.
Plus you can still forecast your estate revenue (and appease your finance teams) using average estate gifts sizes and age ranges.
When To Send an Intention Form:
You do not need intention forms to run a successful Planned Giving program. However, if you want to send one, seek permission from your donor to send it to them sometime after your first thank-you call - and ideally in a conversation.
The way to bring it up could be something like:
“Thank you again for leaving a gift to <charity> in your Will! Would you be open to filling out a short form about your gift intention? It’s just to help us with our records, but also no pressure.”
But it’s not necessary. So if you don’t already have one in your Planned Giving, simply don’t add it! It’s less work - and less stress - for more gifts!
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