A donor just read an article telling her to ask her favorite charity eight hard questions before including them in her will.
She printed it out. It’s sitting on her desk.
And sometime in the next few weeks, she’s going to call you.
The question is whether you’re ready for that conversation — or whether you’re about to lose a gift you never knew you had.
What She’s Going to Ask
She’s going to ask who on your staff is responsible for planned giving. Not who handles it when it comes up — who owns it.
She’s going to ask whether you have a formal gift acceptance policy. In writing.
She’s going to ask you to describe a past bequest in specific terms. Not “we’ve received several generous estate gifts.” A real one. With a name and an outcome.
She’s going to ask about your legacy society, your stewardship practices, your endowment strategy, and what happens to her gift if your leadership changes.
These are not trick questions. They’re basic. And if you can’t answer them cleanly, she’ll know.
The Gift You’ll Never Know You Lost
Here is the uncomfortable reality of planned giving: most of the gifts you lose, you never find out about.
There is no rejection letter. No phone call. No exit survey.
A donor quietly removes you from her will, replaces you with an organization that passed her test, and you never know it happened.
You keep sending her the annual report. She keeps making her small annual gift. And the $400,000 bequest she was considering goes somewhere else.
This is not a hypothetical. It is happening in your donor file right now.
Donors today have more information at their fingertips about our organizations than ever before and are asking informed and challenging questions as a result. I routinely am asked by donors to justify our investment in fundraising and the return on that investment with the donor citing numbers directly from our 990 or ratings such as Charity Navigator. Their financial and legal advisors are asking even more difficult questions. Their level of confidence in making the ultimate gift commitment to our organizations depends on how we respond to these challenging questions.
Where Most Organizations Actually Stand
Most nonprofits fall into one of three categories. Prepared. Planned giving is staffed, systematized, and integrated into the fundraising culture. Legacy donors are identified, cultivated, and stewarded with the same discipline applied to major gifts. Gift acceptance policies exist. Endowment strategy is documented. The organization can answer every question on that donor’s list without hesitation. Aware but unprepared. Leadership knows planned giving matters. It comes up in board meetings. There may even be a legacy society — with a name, a logo, and no active members. But the infrastructure isn’t there. When a significant gift arrives, it creates confusion rather than clarity. Not thinking about it. Annual fund, events, grants. The usual cycle. Planned giving is something to address eventually — right after everything else that feels more urgent and easier to talk about. Most organizations are in category two. Too many are still in category three. Very few are in category one.What “Eventually” Costs You
Planned giving is not something you build after the gifts start arriving. It’s the program that causes them to arrive. Every year without a functioning planned giving initiative is a year your donors are making estate decisions without your guidance. Some of them are including you. Many of them are not. And the ones who aren’t will never tell you. The average bequest to a nonprofit runs somewhere between $35,000 and $75,000. The donor in this article was considering $400,000. Donors like her sit in every file, and losing one costs more than years of annual fund campaigns will replace. You’ll never see that number on a report. But it’s real.The Checklist Your Donors Are Using
Here is what a prepared donor will use to evaluate your organization. Go through it honestly.- Is there a named person responsible for planned giving? If you had to answer this question on the phone right now, could you give a name and a direct number?
- Do you have a written gift acceptance policy? Dated, approved by the board, covering real estate, retirement assets, life insurance, and appreciated securities.
- Can you describe a completed bequest in specific terms? One real example. Name, asset type, how it was used.
- Do you have an active legacy society? Active means members are identified, recognized, and stewarded — not just listed somewhere.
- Do you have a stewardship plan for legacy donors? What happens after someone tells you they’ve included you in their will? Is there a protocol — or does it depend on who picks up the phone?
- Can you support a donor’s attorney or financial advisor? Sample bequest language. Gift illustrations. A staff member who can get on a call.
- Do you have an endowment or a documented plan for one? Something that demonstrates the organization is building for permanence.
- Do you have gift agreements that protect donor intent across leadership transitions? Because donors are not just trusting you. They’re trusting whoever comes after you.
