Joe heard our presentation on the power of planned giving. At first, he couldn’t believe it.

Is it really possible? How long have I been able to do this? How come I haven’t heard about this before? all flashed through his mind.

He took action and added three planned giving techniques: a charitable income trust, an IRA beneficiary designation and a bequest… at the age of 81. You have to give him credit.

As a result, he avoided capital gains taxes on the sale of a significant stock holding, created a huge income tax deduction, and increased his income by over 24 percent. Very attractive to an eighty-one year old – having an income he couldn’t outlive.

He said it helped him sleep better at night. Planned giving relieved his biggest concern about running out of income.

By the way, he also doubled his annual gift to the nonprofit (his favorite) that introduced him to the concept.

Two years later, he died unexpectedly of a stroke.

Three nonprofits received legacy gifts. His favorite nonprofit received by far the largest gift. Today, a medical clinic bearing his name carries on his passion by providing free preventive, primary, and urgent health care to the homeless and uninsured.

Hard to believe… huh?

Do you have a donor that has a passion for your mission… and yet doesn’t believe in the power of planned giving?

Give them a call and tell them a Joe story… help them believe… and experience it for themselves. 

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”                       

Dr. Suess, from The Lorax

When Scott Keffer, the Creator and CEO of The Donor Motivation Program™, and his son, Josh, made their very first trip to Mexico to build a housing structure for a family in need, Josh was only 10 years old.

The structure was for George and his wife, hard-working parents, who wanted the best for their children, like Scott. Yet, opportunity is not the same everywhere.

People there lived on plots about the size of a postage stamp and put something on it to live in: a cardboard box, a piece of a trailer, a discarded garage door, whatever; it became their “house.”

House, huh. Here, we’d call it junk. There, a house.

In America, we live with a higher standard of living than 95 percent of the world.

You don’t have to leave the country to experience this, either. I’m fortunate. My kids are fortunate.

Most folks around the world are not as fortunate. Many times, it’s not a result of anything they’ve done, just when and where they were born.

“To whom much is given, much is expected.”

Here’s the really great thing – around the world or around the corner, just a “little” can mean a lot.

It’s the same with planned giving. Planned giving allows a little to become a lot… for a long time. Remind donors that planned giving gives to them… and to you!

“The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.”  

Albert Einstein

Giving returns a bigger benefit to the giver than the receiver. It expands our hearts… our capacity to love and be loved.

Givers always receive the greater blessing. Think about that. From the physical to the spiritual, the benefits are amazing.

It transforms the giver… their family, their business and their community. The receiver is blessed as well, receiving gifts of donor’s money and time… more importantly, their heart and spirit and support of you, the organization and the mission.

You will never wonder who benefits the most: the giver always does!

We should never apologize (even to ourselves) that we are essential in making giving happen.

So, who can YOU bless today… by creatively, passionately and whole-heartedly introducing them – or reminding them – of the power and pleasure of planned giving.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Book of Acts 20:35

The Chinese ask and answer a series of questions to illustrate this point. It goes something like this:

“When’s the best time to plant a tree?”

“Twenty years ago.”

“When’s the second best time?”

“Today!”

When’s the best time to start giving back… start giving more… more time, money, energy and influence?

Twenty years ago.

Second best time: Today!-

Quote

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Lao Tzu

In 1885, Commodore Vanderbilt’s grandson William, an heir to $60 million in 1885, declared, “Inherited wealth… is as certain death to ambition as cocaine is to morality.”

Today, the Vanderbilt’s once great fortune is just about depleted. The money, designed to be a blessing, became a curse instead.

How do you avoid the potential dangers of inherited wealth?

Giving back can equip inheritors of wealth with the skills to keep wealth a blessing! Philanthropy can unify a family around shared ideals and values, helping the members to maintain a grounded identity apart from their inherited money.

Giving back is the perfect inoculation against what’s been called “affluenza.”

Pass on your wealth… and this miracle cure along with it.

“If you haven’t got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.”

Bob Hope