Oh, the Many Hats We Wear Lessons on Including Planning Giving in your Development Efforts from 100+ Years of Expertise Moderator: Amelia Ribnick Kleiman, CFRE, MBA, JD, ARK Consulting Panelists: Roberta Herman, Executive Director, Houston Jewish Comm Fdn Tom Moore, CFRE, Director of Advancement, The Kinkaid School Amy Ragan, Chief Development Officer, Houston Food Bank Mary Kay Wittrock, Director of Planned Giving, Alley Theatre Planned Giving Council 2018 Annual Conference Thursday, April 26, 2018

Earlier today, Kim Sterling talked about building a rainy day fund as most non-profits have less than one month of operating reserves in case of an emergency Our panelist today understand this very well with all the years they’ve been in fundraising We have all also operated mainly in smaller shops where we wore many hats and had more than one responsibility for the organization’s funding So, today, using the many years of experience we’ve had and giving you the best (and worst) lessons from wearing so many different hats, we’ll share with you some thoughts and ideas about how you can and SHOULD include planned giving in your development efforts, no matter how many hats you may wear. ASK HOW MANY YEARS EACH HAS BEEN IN DEVELOPMENT? ADD IT UP! PUT ON ONE HAT AT A TIME, then wear all of them at once.

Let’s ask our panel and see how they do it! In a recent survey, for most folks in FR, we work in development shops with between 2 – 5 people (54% of respondents), or some of us are a one man band (1 person shops = 11% of respondents) With this in mind, that means annual fund, major gifts, corporate giving, events and tours, foundation and government grants, website, marketing, database management, planned gifts, donor retention, donor acquisition, and so much more are all being done by a small group of folks and it seems as if their TO DO LIST is NEVER-ENDING! So, how do we prioritize all of this and how do we include planned giving in our menu of MUSTS???? Let’s ask our panel and see how they do it!

Tell us a little about your job responsibilities within your organization? How does PLANNED GIVING fit in/how much of your time is devoted to it? What kind of budget, if any, did you have when you 1st got started doing PG and how much is included for it in your budget now? Tell us how you sold this to leadership – did you have some successes? Talk about how you find your PLANNED GIVING prospects!

Who are your best PLANNED GIVING donors? Talk about how you market PLANNED GIVING at your organization! Please share with us one of your favorite successes and one of your misses in marketing PLANNED GIVING. What is your biggest challenge to overcome today in doing PG while wearing so many hats? What else do you want to share about making it work to wear so many hats?

A few ideas on how to launch a planned giving program for small shops Consider partnering with a local community foundation to establish an endowment fund Utilize some of the canned planned giving material from groups like Stelter, Pentera, Crescendo, etc. Limit what types of gifts you’ll accept in your program (unless you partner with a Community Foundation which can handle some of the more complex types of gifts). Join your local Planned Giving Council, network, and learn more! Ask, ask, ask – Use your existing marketing material or e-newsletters to include a planned giving ask in the material. (Most donors say they will often include a planned gift to an organization that has included information about this in their marketing materials to donors).

More ideas on how to launch a planned giving program for small shops: Identify your best planned giving prospects (if you have an annual fund, it will likely be donors who have been giving continuously for X# of years at around the same amount each year). Start a society for these loyal long-term donors! Start a legacy society for those who will tell you that they are leaving a legacy to you in their estate plans. (You’ll find this out if you ASK, ASK, ASK)! Begin by asking your board members and leaders to think about endowing their annual giving with a PACE (Perpetual Annual Campaign Endowment) gift since they are/should be your PACESETTERS. GO FOR IT! GOOD LUCK!

Questions or final thoughts? Thank you for your attention! Any questions or final thoughts? Thanks for your efforts out there!