Planned Giving Intensive

We are happy to announce that we are exploring the possibility of offering an intensive program designed to empower nonprofits in enhancing and launching their planned giving development initiatives. This program would bring together select cohorts of nonprofits, invited by Embolden’s community foundation clients, to provide focused support and expert guidance in building planned giving strategies.

Here’s why community foundations want this program:

Embolden clients envision this program serving three purposes, in addition to general education and relationship-building:

  • Reinforce to their existing agency funds why it is such a smart move to work with the community foundation. 

  • Encourage other nonprofits to consider starting an agency fund.

  • Provide helpful information to nonprofits who may not have in-house planned giving staff.

Related, some community foundations have expressed interest in sponsoring this program, rather than having the nonprofits pay for it themselves. In any case, the program will include training on the following:

  • How to build and advertise the nonprofit’s endowment fund at the community foundation

  • Sample bequest language

  • How to identify a planned gift donor

  • What types of gifts to accept or not accept

  • How to measure the success of a planned giving program

Finally, some community foundations have asked if a staff member of the community foundation can participate instead of nonprofits. That is fine!

Here’s how it works:

A select group of community foundations will invite local nonprofits to participate in the program.

Each cohort is limited to 10 participants.

A representative from the community foundation is welcome to attend the sessions, or instead may elect to be kept informed separately by Embolden. Note that community foundations can use this as an opportunity to:

  • Provide a benefit to their nonprofit agency fund holders

  • Encourage nonprofits who’ve not yet established an agency fund to consider doing so

  • Help nonprofits who are not yet working with the community foundation to learn the basics of planned giving

Here’s what happens during the program:

This is an intensive but streamlined program, such that nonprofits participate in three meetings for a total time commitment of three hours, and emerge from the program with a Planned Giving Jumpstart Playbook and an understanding of specific action steps.

Here is the schedule:

Week 1: Kick Off Session

Cohort participants will meet over Zoom for a kick-off session to discuss the following:

  • Must-know trends that will impact planned giving, including the estate tax exemption sunset

  • How to incorporate planned giving into ongoing development work without reinventing the wheel, especially by working with the community foundation on complex gifts and/or establishing an agency fund

  • How to quickly create planned giving materials (emails, articles, social posts) to accelerate donor cultivation

  • Participants’ immediate needs and challenges related to planned giving

Based on the discussion during the kick-off session, Embolden will prepare a Planned Giving Jumpstart Playbook containing written materials, templates, and strategies to meet participants’ needs.

Week 2: Planned Giving Jumpstart Playbook Session + One-on-Ones

During the week following the kick-off session, cohort participants will join a Zoom session where Embolden will present the Planned Giving Jumpstart Playbook and provide an action-oriented tutorial, including how to start deploying the materials, templates, and strategies immediately to engage donors.

In addition, each participant will schedule a one-on-one session with Embolden to work on specific planned giving strategies unique to their organization.

Beyond

Embolden is happy to keep in touch following the program/s conclusion and welcomes updates from participants about what’s working, what’s not working, and where things are getting stuck.

Here’s the timeline and cost:

Based on clients’ needs and schedules, Embolden plans to begin hosting the Planned Giving Intensives in late 2024 or early 2025. Cohort sessions will be set up on the calendar according to participants’ availability.

Embolden is offering this program to each nonprofit invited by a community foundation at a special price of $525 for the program, including the Planned Giving Jumpstart Playbook developed to meet the specific needs of participants.

Here are next steps:

  • Reach out to Embolden to schedule a phone call to review how this works and to discuss the 10 nonprofits in your community whom you’d like to invite. Embolden will help you and your team determine the types of nonprofits who would be the best fit for the program in terms of readiness for this level of work, stage of growth, existing fundraising capabilities, etc.

  • Embolden will provide you with draft email language to send to these nonprofits, inviting them to participate.

  • Committed nonprofits will receive a payment link and calendar invitations from Embolden

  • When the program begins, Embolden will provide nonprofit participants with access to a password-protected page where course materials, Planned Giving Jumpstart Playbook, and other tools will be provided. This page will also include links to optional “homework” for nonprofit participants who want to go deeper before and after the group sessions.