Planned Giving Without a Planned Giving Officer
You do not need a J.D. to start a legacy program. Bequests, beneficiary designations, and the marketing that surfaces them.
Through the Healthcare lens
A hospital foundation without a dedicated planned giving officer, common at smaller community hospitals, can still run this module's two-instrument program well, since grateful patients and families are already primed to think about beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, one of the simplest and most tax-efficient gifts this module describes. The legacy society here often carries a name tied to the hospital's founding era or a beloved physician, and marketing it quietly through patient newsletters reaches donors at the moment gratitude is freshest without ever targeting anyone based on a diagnosis, the boundary this module insists on absolutely. The conversation guide's caution about not raising the subject based on illness or age matters with particular weight in a healthcare setting.
Continuing education
1.00 points
Securing the Gift · Relationship Building
Learning objectives
- Explain why bequests and beneficiary designations make up most planned gifts by count and describe who tends to leave them.
- Build a bequest prospect list from tenure and engagement rather than capacity.
- Launch a legacy society in one season: the name, the membership sentence, the enrollment form, the charter letter, and the records that outlive the staff.
- Raise legacy giving inside an ordinary donor visit, receive an intention with gratitude, and stay within the boundaries that keep the fundraiser out of legal and tax advice.
- Set up the standing channels and the annual letter that surface intentions, and run the response protocol within a week of each raised hand.
Designed for CFRE continuing education. Not yet accepted; no CFRE points can be claimed.
Lessons
- 20 min
Video lesson
The 80/20 of planned gifts
II See · Securing the Gift
- 22 min
Template· DOCX
Legacy society starter kit
V Receive · Relationship Building
- 17 min
Field guide· PDF
Bequest conversation guide
IV Invite · Securing the Gift
- 15 min
Field guide· PDF
Marketing planned gifts quietly and well
VI Accompany · Relationship Building
This is members-only material.
Members get every lesson, template, and worksheet in all eight tracks, plus the support to put them to work in your shop.
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Boards, Teams & Leadership
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