A Beginner's Guide to Planned Giving

“Planned Giving” or “Gift Planning” as it is now being referred to can be a confusing and overwhelming topic for many. This type of charitable giving need not be scary, nor intimidating, however, and with a little education and information - you may find you are ready to begin making a plan for long-term charitable giving. 

Gift Planning really just means that you are making a plan for a gift to be made to one or more of your favorite charity organizations after your death or in the later years of your life. For many of us, it is hard to imagine that we will be able to leave a bequest or long-term gift to our favorite charity, but you may be surprised how accessible planned giving can be for the average person. 

One of the simplest types of gift planning is a bequest. In addition to your family and personal heirs, it is quite possible to leave a gift to your favorite charity or charities in your will. You can bequest money, personal property items of value (such as an automobile or artwork) or even property to a nonprofit organization. By putting this into a legal document, you can ensure that the organization will see the gift - as opposed to simply asking someone to make sure it happens. 

In addition to bequests, there are other ways to give a long-term gift to charity - you may be interested in setting up a foundation, a scholarship fund or an endowment gift to a particular cause. These can be more complicated, but completely doable. The important thing is to contact an attorney specializing in planned gifts and/or contact your local Community Foundation. Most community foundations will help you to set up a family foundation or scholarship fund and you can either set up your own management of the fund or the community foundation can manage it for you. This is a wonderful way to leave a financial legacy if you feel very strongly about a particular cause and would like to spread your gift to various organizations over time. A well-managed fund will grow over the years and the effects of your gift will be felt for years to come.