Strategic Alliances Between Nonprofit and For-Profit Plannners
Strategic Alliances — For-Profit and Nonprofit Planners
It has been long assumed that planned giving officers and planners in the for-profit community have entirely different motivations and priorities when dealing with their client-donors. Usually, the Planned Giving Officer wants to position the charitable institution to receive current and deferred gifts in maximum amounts. The professional advisers, on the other hand, counsel tax efficient giving, if they suggest any charitable support at all. Even with these different approaches, the client-donor has similar expectations for both sets of advisers and apparently is not receiving the level of assistance needed from either group.
A recently released study by Prince and Associates surveyed donors, professional advisers and planned giving officers employed by nonprofit organizations. The survey results were alarming according to some experts, and disappointing to say the least. The most surprising finding was, in terms of competence and technical expertise, the advisers who claimed planned giving as a major part of their practice generally lacked the necessary background to properly advise their clients. Randomly generated estate planning and planned gifting questions on a self administered exam produced no group average scoring above 70%, the minimum passing grade. Test scores were best among attorneys who practiced in the estate planning arena and worst among the charity’s fund-raising employees, but it’s important to note that all groups performed under levels considered acceptable by the test creators. What this means is that continuing education needs to be an ongoing requirement and different levels of training needs to be available for all those who make planned giving a part of their practices. To provide advisers with an opportunity to review planning techniques, computer software, case studies, new tax law and client-donor presentations we have made several valuable programs available. First on the list is a short program, “Planned Giving for Dummies”, designed for the beginning development officer and for-profit adviser who needs an introductory course to acquaint them with basic planned giving concepts. There are no prerequisites, as we assume no prior knowledge about either estate planning or charitable tools and start the class at a beginning level. Besides this starter course, we also offer 2, 3, 4 and 6-hour programs designed to provide more technical material for professional advisers and development officers. Please contact our office for a list of low-cost programs available in your area for advisers, board members and fund-raisers. Many programs offer Continuing Education credits needed for professional licensing, and may serve as a tool to encourage better communication and may foster strategic alliances between the for-profit and not-for-profit communities.
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What Donors Want in Their Charitable Advisers
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Planned Giving Officers |
Pro- Advisers |
| Expertise in the technical details of executing the planned gift |
16.0% |
97.9% |
| Skill and efficiency in working with the donor’s professional advisers or with the charity |
60.3% |
75.2% |
| Willingness to let the donor set the pace in the planned giving process |
67.2% |
86.0% |
| Help in deciding what type of planned gift to make |
85.5% |
96.8% |
| Knowledgeable about the advantages and disadvantages of each type of planned gift |
94.7% |
99.4% |
| Sophisticated understanding of the donor’s personal motivations to give |
99.2% |
82.2% |
| Effectiveness in getting the charity to treat the donor as he or she wants to be treated |
69.5% |
11.2% |
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Note: 603 donors(*) surveyed(**) |
(*) Donors in the survey had made planned gifts worth at least $75,000 and had a net worth of $5 million or more.
(**) Source: Prince & Associates and Private Wealth Consultants, 1997
Henry & Associates