Note: Andrea Kihlstedt is a good friend, trusted colleague, and co-founder of Train Your Board. This guest post is adapted from Capital Campaign Masters, where she shares lots of wisdom about capital campaigns. Check it out!

Does planned giving always fall to the bottom of your to-do list?

Yes, you know it’s important. But planned gifts (also called legacy gifts or deferred gifts) are unlikely to meet your fundraising goals for the current year, so it’s hard to dedicate the time needed to build your program.

Here’s a great fundraising idea that can serve both masters: using planned giving to bolster your annual fundraising. Thanks to the enthusiasm of one generous donor, this strategy is catching fire. 

A planned giving challenge boosts annual donations

Big Apple Greeter is a small organization that pairs volunteer greeters with people from all over the world who visit New York City. For a few hours – and for free! – greeters share their passion for New York, giving visitors a unique, personal experience.

Bob Ross loves being a Big Apple Greeter. Last year, he found a terrific way to help with fundraising, launching a special campaign to encourage other volunteer Greeters to remember the organization in their wills.

Bob wanted to keep it as simple as possible. The terms of his challenge are easy: his family foundation, the Janet Ross Fund, will immediately contribute $500 to Big Apple Greeter whenever someone names the organization as a beneficiary in their will. The only requirement is that the donor submits a planned giving pledge form indicating their commitment.

With this straightforward offer, these planned gifts create an immediate cash return that counts toward the current year’s fundraising goals.

A simple idea generates powerful results

Big Apple Greeter welcomed Bob’s idea. The organization started small, encouraging board members to participate. Then they sent an email to their 300 volunteer greeters, inviting them to join the challenge.

During the first month, 23 people returned pledge forms. Those early responses generated $11,500 from the Janet Ross Fund for Big Apple Greeter’s operating budget.

The long-term income from these legacy gifts are harder to calculate. However, if the bequest commitments average $25,000 each, these early responses will total more than $500,000 in long-range donations.

Alicia Pierro, Executive Director of Big Apple Greeter, believes that the early responses are just “the tip of the iceberg.” The organization has strong, long-term relationships with its volunteers, and she’s confident that more people will step up to meet Bob’s challenge.

FYI, there’s a lot of data linking volunteerism with giving. People who donate time are also likely to contribute money – but they have to be asked to give.

Inspiring others to give

Bob Ross became a full-time philanthropist when his wife Janet died of brain cancer. They had managed their money carefully, and Bob’s philanthropy now follows the same pattern. He does everything he can to maximize his philanthropic investments.

Bob believes that people who remember Big Apple Greeter in their estate plans will be more likely to give in other ways. He plans to encourage each participant in his bequest challenge to become an annual donor, too. That’s one reason he’s so committed to seeding his bequest challenge fund.

For more information, you can contact Bob Ross at robcurtross@hotmail.com.

Adapting this strategy for your organization

How might you use this approach to jump-start your planned giving program, while also increasing your annual fundraising? How can you make this strategy work for you?

Feel free to leave a comment below. Now, let the challenge begin!