December Newsletter

Tuesday, December 13, 2022Tuesday, December 13, 2022 Sarah Hotchkiss

Gratitude with Purpose

Monday, October 10, 2022Monday, October 10, 2022 Sarah Hotchkiss

by Mark DeWitt, Senior Philanthropy Advisor, Hope College

What is stewardship? There are many definitions that come to the same conclusion: Gratitude with purpose.

Gifts to our organizations requires thoughtful and measured stewardship to express gratitude. Early in my career, my office adjoined the stewardship coordinator and I enjoyed sharing creative ways with her to connect with donors, sometimes in an extremely cost-efficient way, that give great joy to the donor and endeared them to sustain the mission. I’ve learned to lead with stewardship as the resulting joy creates opportunities to discuss the next gift or donor aspiration.

Whether it is a large or small gift, annual or special, planned or estate gift, your stewardship plan should be top of mind as you prepare to accept the gift. Does stewardship begin or end with the letter of acknowledgement and receipt? Certainly, your stewardship should be proportional to the capacity of your organization and the scale and frequency of the gifts. There are natural times throughout the life cycle of the gift, generally throughout the fiscal year, which offer opportunities to engage the donor in recognized and intentional outcomes.

I’m fortunate at Hope College to experience the fruits of giving firsthand. A simple picture of student benefiting from a donor’s generosity can be joy giving. A spontaneous note saying “thank you for making this academic year possible” can also be a reason to reach out. A link to a virtual lecture within the donor’s interests can be appealing. Also, the outcome of a basketball game shows that the donor is supporting a winning team.

How far do you reach back to celebrate gifts? Project anniversaries (5/10/15 year), milestones (Donor Y has been loyal for 5/10/15 years), and beneficiaries (Donor has supported X number of students through their scholarship) are reminders to celebrate impacts and outcomes with our donors.

Our intention is to meet the donor’s expectations and intentions within the framework of your organization’s mission and capacity while aiming to forge mutually beneficial and long-term sustaining relationships with authentic gratitude.

Fundraising & Planned Giving

Saturday, September 3, 2022Saturday, September 3, 2022 Sarah Hotchkiss

Have you ever paused and taken a moment to truly reflect on your professional journey? Where you started and how far you have come over the years…and reminiscing on that point in time were things ‘got real?’

For me, this turning point was in 2011 during my first few months as a newly minted planned giving officer. It was the equivalent of drinking from at least 10 (some days more) fire hoses. I cannot recall how many times the thought of ‘what did I get myself into’ crossed my mind. You get it, I’m sure.

It was sometime in November of that year when I attended my first West Michigan Planned Giving Group event. Figuring this would be a great way to get my feet wet, network, and get more comfortable with things. Lucky for me, the topic of the presentation was ‘The 2011 Year-End Tax Update.’

Deer. In. Headlights.

After the program wrapped-up, a good friend and colleague of mine (who just so happened to be a very experienced and well-respected planned giving professional) caught my eye from across the room. She came over my way and said, ‘You look really overwhelmed…are you okay?’. Honestly, I was really embarrassed that it was that obvious – I like to think I have a decent poker face. I will never forget what she said:

‘Don’t worry about all this technical stuff. It will come with time. You do not need to know everything to get started, in fact, you will NEVER know it all. What you need to focus on are building relationships and connecting your donors’ passions with their philanthropy. And remember, there are always people there to help you along the way. You are never alone in this journey; don’t be afraid to ask for support. Just take it one step at a time.’

To this day, I still call her my gift planning guardian angel. It was exactly what I needed to hear at that very moment. From that point on, I was determined to learn all I could about this thing called ‘planned giving.’ I dug into the basics. I built relationships with professional advisors and other technical experts. I likely may have broken the Google search engine with all of my online research. I attended seminars and webinars. I asked questions…lots and lots of questions. And throughout the process, I implemented. I got out of my own way and got over myself. I took messy action. Progress is better than perfection.

The bottom line is that you will never know what you think you need to know to get started in planned giving (or anything in life, for that fact, am I right?). As development professionals, we aren’t expected to be experts in all-things estate planning, tax, accounting, financial planning, wealth management, etc. Instead, we must strive to learn what we can from the technical perspective and then, and most importantly, focus on connecting our donors to the incredible missions of our organizations. The ‘why’ behind their philanthropy (passion and vision) is 80% of the process. The ‘how’ we make that happen (all the technical stuff) is 20%. Provide donor-centric service and get it right with that 80%, you’ll be on an excellent path the majority of the time.

My best piece of advice…just start. Do not wait for ‘the right time’ and do not worry about ‘having to know it all.’ Picking up the phone and simply THANKING a donor who has made the very personal decision to make a planned gift to your organization takes zero technical knowledge – it takes effort and consistency. An expression of your gratitude for their commitment will go a long way. Yes, you will be nervous through those first few conversations and will be anxiously awaiting a super-complex technical question to be thrown your way. But…when that does happen (and it likely will at some point)…don’t sweat it. It’s perfectly acceptable to say, ‘You know, I’m not sure, but I will find out and will get back to you with the best and most accurate answer.’ Be enthusiastic, grateful, and eager to learn. You have more people in your corner ready and willing to help than you would have ever imagined!

And remember, keep it simple at the start. If you aren’t at minimum thanking your donors or presenting them basic opportunities to make a planned gift to your organization (80%+ of planned gifts are simple bequests!)…someone else will.

Now, let’s go…you got this!

Planned Giving Resources

Here are a few of my top planned giving resources that I have in my personal library. Starting with the least technical, these are all top-notch training and reference materials:

Planned Giving in a Nutshell – Craig Wruck, 7^th Edition
Planned Giving Pocket Guide – The Ultimate Quick Reference – PlannedGiving.com
Visual Planned Giving – An Introduction to the Law & Taxation of Charitable Gift Planning – Russell James, J.D., Ph.D.
PPC’s Guide to Charitable Giving Strategies – Biebl-Ranweiler Portfolio Series, Thomson Reuters CHECKPOINT™
The Right Side of the Table: Where do you sit in the minds of the affluent? – Scott Fithian & Todd Fithian

There are great resources out there specifically for donors who may need some additional support as they are considering their long-term philanthropy and planning and may or may not be working with a team of their own trusted advisors. If appropriate, you can consider gifting books like these to your closest donors. They are also great resources for development professionals to gain a better understanding of donor perspective:

Give Smart – Philanthropy That Gets Results – Thomas J. Tierney & Joel L. Fleishman
Wealth In Families – Charles W. Collier, 3^rd Edition

Finally, if you are looking for an amazing opportunity to truly dive deep and expand your knowledge in the charitable gift planning space, I highly recommend the American College of Financial Services Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®, or CAP®, designation. I’d be happy to share my personal experience with the CAP®. It was the most valuable step, educationally, I’ve taken in my professional career.

Please reach out anytime. Good luck!

Kristin Long MPA, CFRE, CAP®

Lead Foundation Specialist

Spectrum Health Foundation & Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation

Kristin.Long@spectrumhealth.org

616.706.5511

Community in Our Name

Monday, July 18, 2022Thursday, July 21, 2022 Sarah Hotchkiss

Community is Our Name, By Abby Madison Reeg, MA, CFRE

If you work in development for a nonprofit organization, you and your organization could benefit from working together with your local community foundation.

Why do donors support and appreciate the benefits of a community foundation?
• Tangible results
• Trust
• Expert local knowledge, personal service, connections, and understanding of needs and opportunities
• Commitment to improving the community through meaningful philanthropy
• Tax advantages
• Investment performance

A community foundation is a public charity that typically focuses on supporting a geographic area by facilitating, pooling, and investing donations used to address community needs and support local for-impact partners (nonprofit organizations and municipalities). Community foundations offer grant-making programs to improve and enhance the community.

There are approximately 600 community foundations in the U.S. According to a survey by the Michigan Council of Foundations, assets held by the 48 responding community foundations in Michigan range from $4 million to over $1 billion. Community foundations in Michigan grant to dozens of nonprofits with the top three categories including human services, education, and arts/culture/humanities.

Community foundation advancement staff work with donors to create endowed and non-endowed funds that fit with their philanthropic intent. The primary distinction between an endowed or non-endowed fund is that the principal of an endowed fund is preserved forever, with a portion of the earnings available for spending. In contrast, any or all of a non-endowed fund can be accessed. Community foundations offer a variety of giving options to donors and some community foundations may offer unique options that others don’t.

People, organizations, or businesses may give gifts of any size to existing funds at a community foundation (you might have given a gift in memory of a friend or loved one in this way). Donor advised funds are a popular choice for people who wish to donate and grant the funds to nonprofits over time. This acts like a “charitable checking account.” Endowed scholarships are a popular choice for donors who wish to invest in education. Nonprofit organizations start funds to diversify their revenue streams. Every community foundation enjoys the unrestricted gifts that help them rapidly respond to community needs. Finally, legacy gifts may be given to a particular fund or start a new fund. Bequests in a will or trust are the most popular ways donors leave a legacy gift to a community foundation.

Development professionals find it helpful to:

Learn from potential donors about their philanthropic intent (what missions give them joy), the general amounts they give, and how they typically give (cash, Required Minimum Distribution from a retirement account, stock, donor advised fund, etc.).
Ask donors who make grants from donor advised funds if they would consider supporting your organization’s mission. Many donors grant multiple gifts annually from donor advised funds.
Check with your community foundation to see if they have a “for-impact partner wish list.” This list helps fund holders with donor advised funds learn about community needs. Make sure your organization is on the list.
Partner with a community foundation to help a major donor start an endowed designated fund for your organization. This is a great way for your organization to create a forever funding stream.
If writing a competitive grant, follow the organization’s granting guidelines and take advantage of any guidance opportunities the community foundation staff offers along the way. If your mission and project fits within the parameters, it might be helpful to write an outline of your proposal and review it with the program officer. The grants and program staff will be a helpful resource for you and may contact you if they find a future funding opportunity.
Community foundation staff welcome meetings with you, your donor, and their professional advisors if they are considering an estate gift through the community foundation to benefit your mission.

Community is our name. Advancing the wellbeing of our communities is what community foundations strive to do by collecting donations, investing them, and granting to for-impact partners. Connecting with a community foundation will give you more tools for your fundraising tool belt, make a bottom-line positive difference for your organization, help your donors feel great about giving, and make the community a better place.

Abby Madison Reeg, MA CFRE, works for the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation’s Advancement and Donor Services Team. The Grand Haven Area Community Foundation is a place-based charitable grantmaker that cares deeply about Northern Ottawa County.
Reeg has experience leading organizations and growing resources at grassroots and nationally affiliated nonprofit organizations. She is a proud member of the AFP West Michigan Board of Directors and serves as Program Chair.