Study Shows Strong Annual Donations From Planned Givers

Forty five percent of donors who have established a planned gift also increased their annual giving to the recipient organization, according to a study from Giving USA. An additional 47 percent maintained their annual giving rates from before.

The study confirms what most fundraisers already know: Planned-giving prospects are also among the most loyal donors during their lifetimes.

Giving USA joined with 25 organizations to distribute a survey to their planned-giving donors. More than 860 donors responded, including those who have already established a planned gift and those who plan to do so.

The report also notes that 78 percent of the respondents have a history of donating to that organization over the preceding 20 years, with nearly 90 percent saying they had given in the past two years.

More than half of the respondents said their planned gifts were the largest charitable-giving activities they will undertake. The most common amount for a planned gift was $100,000 to $250,000. About 90 percent of respondents who established a planned gift said they would donate more than $25,000.

The survey also found:

• 36 percent of respondents who had established a planned gift were alumni of the organization, 26 percent had volunteered with the organization, 14 percent had been board members, and 11 percent were former staffers.
• 83 percent of respondents with a will have named at least one nonprofit as a beneficiary.
• The average age for creating a first will was 44. Among respondents who established a planned gift, 53 percent did so when they created their first will.
• Among respondents who had established a planned gift, 58 percent had established a bequest, 30 percent had identified a charity as a retirement-plan beneficiary, and 19 percent had a charitable trust.
• 41 percent of donors said they had learned about planned giving through marketing from a nonprofit. The most common reported outreach was in-person visits (59 percent), followed by mail (40 percent). Twenty-five percent first learned of planned giving from a financial planner, and 22 percent through their financial advisers.
• 78 percent of respondents who had already established a planned gift said one of their top three reasons for doing so was because the cause was personally important to them, while 76 percent cited a belief that “the nonprofit makes a significant impact.”