1. What is the average age of United Methodists?
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2. 58
Facilitator 1 58

3. What percent of Americans do not have a will
What percent of Americans do not have a will? What percent of Americans with children do not have a will?
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According to an article on Forbes.com , a recent survey showed that 65% of Americans do not have wills and an alarming 50 percent of Americans with children don't have a will.
NOTE
Written by Tali Z. Klapach Tuesday, 16 March :58 Click title to view full blog post.

4. What percent of Americans do not have a will
What percent of Americans do not have a will? 65% What percent of Americans with children do not have a will? 50%
Facilitator 1
According to an article on Forbes.com , a recent survey showed that 65% of Americans do not have wills and an alarming 50 percent of Americans with children don't have a will.
NOTE
Written by Tali Z. Klapach Tuesday, 16 March :58 Click title to view full blog post.

5. What is the average age of persons who make their first charitable Commitment in their will?
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Here is the question of the day again. Any guesses?

6. 40 - 50 Facilitator 1 40 – 50 years of age.
This may be a surprise to us since we normally expect the older members of our congregation to be the ones most interested in making a charitable bequest.
People in this age group are most likely to begin thinking about the need for a will and thinking about the possibility of a bequest.
NOTES

7. In Michael Rosen’s article on Myths, Marketing and Facts of Planned Giving, what 8 simple words does he recommend to be used as a tagline as often as possible?
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Any guesses?

8. “Please remember us in your
will and trusts.”
Add this to your signature block, business cards, letterhead, newsletters, website, and anything else your church prints This simple sentence will allow you to plant the idea about planned giving and will keep the message ubiquitous.
Facilitator 1
“Please remember us in your will and trusts.”
Add this to your signature block, business cards, letterhead, newsletters, website, and anything else your church prints. This simple sentence will allow you to plant the idea about planned giving and will keep the message ubiquitous.

9. How much of our nation’s wealth is in cash?
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So here is our question: How much of our nation’s wealth is in cash?

10. 5%
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Since 5% of the nations wealth is in cash, that leaves 95% of the nations wealth available for a planned gift.
Plannedgiving.com newsletter fall 2012

11. A generous church member left a $750,000 bequest to the Decatur First UMC endowment fund for scholarships for students affiliated with the church. How much would you estimate has been given to student scholarships in the last 3 years?
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Scholarships is one of the more common uses for endowments. This is a wonderful ministry of a church but generally is not considered appropriate for the annual budget. It is also something that will continue to exist as a need in the future. What better way to support our young people than with scholarships?

12. $90,000 +
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13. What percent of donors “indicated they believe it is appropriate for nonprofits to ASK for legacy gifts?”
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Here’s the question again. Anyone have a guess?

14. Remember, if you want the gift, you have to ask for it.
88.7%
Remember, if you want the gift, you have to ask for it.
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Researchers have found that it’s a high number %. It is a myth that planned gift marketing should be passive. But there are many ways to ask. There has never been a better time for churches to engage in planned giving. We are at the leading edge of the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in world history. And, the current economic climate makes it more advantageous for many donors to make a planned gift. So, virtually all churches should engage in some type of planned gift marketing.
NOTES : Except when working with major donors, many organizations believe that planned gift marketing should be relatively passive. In other words, planned gift donors should self-identify their interest before they are asked for a gift. Organizations that would never think twice of picking up the telephone and soliciting annual fund gifts would never use the telephone to solicit gift annuities. After all, if someone is interested in a gift annuity, she would respond to the advertisement in the newsletter.
The reality is that those organizations that are proactive in their marketing are enjoying greater success than would otherwise be possible. Planned giving is fundraising. The same fundamental principles apply. Researchers Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay found that 88.7 percent of donors to nonprofit organizations “indicated they believe it is appropriate for nonprofits to ask for legacy gifts.” There has never been a better time for nonprofit organizations to engage in planned giving. We are at the leading edge of the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in world history. And, the current economic climate makes it more advantageous for many donors to make a planned gift. So, virtually all nonprofit organizations should engage in some type of planned gift marketing. Remember, if you want the gift, you have to ask for it.

15. Using a C-------- G---- for a legacy gift appeal can create urgency leading to action.
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Anyone have any guesses?

16. Using a CHALLENGE GRANT for a legacy gift appeal can create urgency leading to action.
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Challenge Grant: For instance, after your Legacy Committee has made 100% commitments, you could challenge other groups to do the same in a 3 month period. This challenge serves to challenge both groups – one to make the challenge, the other to meet it.
NOTES: 20 Facts about Planned Giving
There is no such thing as a single-type of planned giving program. The reality is that there are an infinite variety of such programs. They come in various forms in varied degrees of sophistication. Planned giving programs vary by organization type, donor population, organizational budget, and a host of other factors. Yet, despite the differences from one planned giving program to the next, there are a large number of points of commonality. This list of 20 facts about planned giving has been drawn from my book Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing:
1. Bequests are the most common form of planned gift.
2. Almost everyone has the ability to make a planned gift.
3. Bequests are the major gift of the middle class.
4. The average age of someone who makes their first charitable bequest commitment is
5. High-income women are more likely than men to use complex gift planning tools.
6. Women are more likely to give a bequest to religious, health, human services, and environmental organizations than men.
7. Those without children are far more likely to make a planned gift.
8. Only 5.3% of those over 50 have made a charitable bequest commitment.
9. 33% of Americans are willing to consider a charitable bequest.
10. While 1% of Americans have created a Charitable Remainder Trust, 5% are willing to consider one.
11. Once donors name a charity in their will, they almost never remove it.
12. Only 37% of those over 30 are familiar with the term “planned giving.”
13. Among those over 30, only 22% say they have been asked for a planned gift.
14. Real donor stories work much better than fictional, composite stories.
15. For ads and letters to those over 40, a larger font is needed to get them read.
16. Using a challenge grant for a planned gift appeal can create urgency leading to action.
17. Donors usually give to things or causes that are important to them, not for the benefits.
18. The best source for information about a prospect is the prospect.
19. Tax avoidance is NOT a powerful motivator for planned giving.
20. Organizations will not usually get the gift unless they ask for it. So, ask!
Michael J. Rosen, CFRE, President of ML Innovations, Inc., is the author of the new planned-giving bestseller Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing. Michael can be reached at mrosen [at] mlinnovations.com

17. What is the highest predictor of a donor’s propensity to make a planned gift?
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Any ideas?

18. Institutional loyalty
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Institutional loyalty. Your best prospects are not necessarily your wealthiest donors, but your most loyal donors.
Although 69% of planned giving donors make a high gift of $1,000 or more to the annual fund of the organization they eventually benefit, only 6% of them are wealth-ranked.
This is the reason why when jumpstarting your endowment program, we will request commitments from the leadership of the church.

19. Potential For Planned Gift
>$25,000
$25,000 –
$49,999
$50,000 –
$74,999
$75,000 –
$99,999
$100,000+
Gift In Place %
Consider
Gift
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Back to the questions. Anybody want to guess at the difference between the families?
What percent difference is there between the families
> $25,000 and families with $75,000 - $99,000 of income …
In the percent of Gifts in Place? ________
In the families who would Consider a Gift? ________

20. Potential For Planned Gift
>$25,000
$25,000 –
$49,999
$50,000 –
$74,999
$75,000 –
$99,999
$100,000+
Gift In Place
6.6% 7%
7.6%
6.5%
10%
Consider
Gift
28.4%
34.6%
28.8%
26%
35.6%
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Here are the answers. It surprises everyone to see how little difference income makes in making planned gifts. I think the natural inclination is to not consider lower income families as good candidates. But there is not a large difference in both groups of those who have a gift in place and those who would consider a gift. That’s the opportunity. Remember the highest indicator of a person making a gift is loyalty to the church.
What percent difference is there between the families
> $25,000 and families with $75,000 - $99,000 of income …
In the percent of Gifts in Place? %
In the families who would Consider a Gift? 2.4%

21. What is John Wesley’s directive?
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Here is the question for this month. Can you recall this quote from John Wesley?
What is John Wesley’s directive?

22. Facilitator 1
John Wesley said, “ Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”