Counting What Counts

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” insisted the CFO, parroting what is often accepted as revealed wisdom and usually attributed to management guru Peter Drucker (although the Drucker Institute insists he never said it). And yet, this “what gets measured gets managed” sentiment persists despite its obvious defect, namely, “But what are we going to count?” No less than theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is said to have stated, “Not all things worth counting are countable and not all things that count are worth counting.” Nevertheless, we in planned giving must hold ourselves and our programs accountable to our organizations and our donors. Doing that requires that we count … count something, but what? Before we delve into an integrated approach to counting planned gifts as a component of all fundraising, let us acknowledge that determining the value of a specific planned gift can be quite difficult. Significantly different values can be calculated for the same planned...

BDQ #9: Can I Pay My Pledge With a QCD? How About With My DAF?

Two questions commonly asked by donors, one simple answer: “Yes. Yes, you can!”Of course, there’s a bit more to it. Let’s take this opportunity to explore a little deeper. Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)Donors can direct a QCD contribution from their IRA to charity as long as it is for a charitable purpose. This includes making a QCD to pay a pledge. There are some limitations: the donor must be at least age 70½ when the QCD is made, there’s an annual limit on QCDs of $105,000 (in 2024, the limit is adjusted for inflation each year), and the distribution must be made directly from the IRA to the charity.

BDQ #8: What Is a DAF? (Hint: ‘D’ Stands for Donor)

Donor advised funds (DAFs) have certainly had their share of headlines recently. Proposed regulations seemed designed to limit investment options and impose excise taxes. Then an extended comment period and a public hearing fueled speculation that this could spell the end of the fastest growing segment of American Philanthropy – or maybe just level the playing field for private foundations by limiting some of the advantages of DAFs. That came atop years-long – and largely baseless – fretting that DAFs are a tax shelter, somehow allowing the wealthy to warehouse vast sums of money and keep it from being used for charitable purposes, and the looming threat of legislative proposals that could radically revamp the landscape for DAFs and community foundations. With all the noise, it’s been easy to lose sight of one the most important players in the DAF story, namely, the donor. In fact, while the charitable beneficiary is the raison d'être for a DAF, the donor is the most important player...

BDQ #7: Why Would an Organization Want to Have a Planned Giving Program?

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already come up with your own reasons why your organization ought to have a planned giving program. But what do you say to your boss? Your board of directors? Your fundraising colleagues? Let’s consider the case for planned giving. A vigorous planned giving program provides many benefits – both tangible and intangible. Of course, the key advantage is financial revenue for your organization.