Planned Giving Insights and Information

Beware CGA Rate Shoppers

The rate to be offered to your interested donor, per your organization’s policies, is 6.5%. So what do you do if your donor asks if you can go a little higher, maybe a rate of 6.8%? And then lets you know that another charity is willing to offer that? How do you suppress the urge to waive your policy in order to not “lose” the gift, particularly since these situations often arise in the context of an exceptionally large contribution amount – which is precisely when you don’t want to increase the risk to your organization? To help stamp out the urge to participate in rate shopping, it helps to understand how policy decisions affect your program, and the impact bumping up your rates can have on its success.

Year-End Reminder - What a Difference a Day Makes

What prompts the flurry of calendar year-end gifts?  That all important – to many of your donors – current year charitable deduction.  A day late, a gift made on January 1st rather than December 31st, and the deduction is “lost” for a year.  Of course, a day can make a difference throughout the year, by changing what discount rate is used for calculating the deduction or in determining the amount of a first gift annuity payment. But it is of particular significance at year-end.

Hidden CGAs: A Cautionary Tale

There are two scenarios for how the funds from a gift annuity issued by one organization might ultimately be directed to another organization. In one situation, Charity A either doesn’t issue gift annuities at all or doesn’t issue them in a particular state, but knowingly directs a donor interested in a gift annuity to another charitable organization (Charity B) that will issue a gift annuity to the donor. In this situation, Charity A has the opportunity to proactively look into Charity B, the issuing organization, and to understand how the gift will be managed and distributed.

Don't Let Your Program Audit Become a “Ramp to Nowhere”

When construction was undertaken, the “ramps to nowhere” in the below picture had a purpose, to connect with an anticipated highway that would run nearby. With the highway having long ago been scrapped, the ramps have stood as is for 50 years, at least finding use as diving platforms and a “canvas” for artwork.