I enjoyed speaking during Crescendo Interactive’s 2022 Practical Planned Giving Conference, “Navigating the Path Ahead.” I remember speaking at the conference ten years ago. What I remember most is how kind and sincere the Crescendo community is. It was a marvelous experience and I am delighted to have been invited in 2022.

While the title of the conference might lead you to believe the focus of the event was solely on planned giving, my talk focused on major gift fundraising. I did include planned giving in my presentation, however. Gifts by Will and via estate plan or “bequests” are of growing interest today.

For those of my followers who are unfamiliar with planned giving, it is also referred to as gift planning or legacy giving. In a nutshell, a planned gift represents someone’s intention to contribute a meaningful charitable contribution to an organization beyond their lifetime. So, unlike an annual gift (an outright gift for use now), a planned gift is one made with the future in mind. Because a substantial generational wealth transfer is underway, nonprofits would be smart to invest in promoting planned giving. You might enjoy reading a prior post, “Nonprofit Fundraising: Reasons for Hope” (2021).

Check out my slide deck on ISSUU. I have formatted the slides so they double as “notes” for future reference. ISSUU is a platform that provides a “magazine” format that makes documents and presentations easy to view on any digital device. If you would like to receive a copy of the slide deck via email, use my blog’s secure contact form to reach me. A video of the slide presentation – without my verbal commentary – is shared below.

Carolyn M. Appleton

September 2022