Planned Giving Without a Planned Giving Officer: Starting a Legacy Program at a Small Nonprofit

Somewhere on your donor list is a person who has given a modest gift every year for fifteen years. They will never write a large check. They may well leave you the largest gift your organization has ever received, if anyone ever mentions that they can.

That is planned giving, and it does not require a planned giving officer, an estate attorney on retainer, or a glossy brochure. It requires a sentence, a page, a policy, and the willingness to ask loyal people to remember the mission. Here is how a small nonprofit starts a legacy program with the staff it has.

What planned giving is, for an organization your size

Planned gifts are gifts arranged now and received later, usually from an estate. The complex versions, trusts and annuities, need professional administration and are best offered through a community foundation partner. The simple versions are where nearly all the money is for a small organization:

• Bequests. A sentence in a will or living trust naming your organization for a fixed amount, a percentage, or what remains. The most common planned gift by far.
• Beneficiary designations. Naming your organization as a beneficiary of a retirement account or life insurance policy, done on a form with the account provider, no lawyer required.
• Qualified charitable distributions. Donors past the eligible age can give directly from an individual retirement account, up to an annual limit that adjusts for inflation, and the gift is not counted as their income. These are gifts today from the same donors who make gifts later, and the 2026 tax changes left them untouched.
• Gifts of appreciated assets. Stock or property given during life, which many donors find more tax-efficient than cash.

Every one of these can be explained on one page and set up by the donor with their own advisor. Your job is to make the option visible, easy, and welcome.

The largest gift most small nonprofits ever receive comes from a loyal donor, not a wealthy one. Loyalty is the list.

Step one: the sentence and the page

Write the sample bequest language, which your attorney can review once: "I give to [your legal name], a nonprofit corporation located in [city, state], tax identification number [EIN], [a specific amount, a percentage, or the residue] of my estate for its general purposes." Put it on a page of your website titled for the reader, such as "Leave a Legacy," with the four gift types above explained in plain words, your legal name and EIN, a contact person, and a line inviting donors to tell you if they have included you. Then add one sentence to the footer of your newsletter and to the thank-you letter: "You can remember [organization] in your will. It costs nothing today and changes everything later."

Step two: the policy

A short gift acceptance policy, approved by the board, says what you will accept, what you will not, and who decides. Cash, securities, and bequests: yes. Real estate, vehicles, and unusual assets: reviewed case by case. It protects the organization from gifts that cost more than they give and reassures donors' advisors that you know what you are doing. Our article on the deadlines nonprofits quietly miss covers the other governance documents a growing organization needs.

Step three: the ask

Planned giving prospects are not your wealthiest donors. They are your most loyal: people who have given for many years regardless of amount, longtime volunteers, former board members, and program alumni. Pull that list from your records; our article on the donor data you already have shows how. Then ask, personally and without pressure: a letter from the executive director, a conversation at an event, a call. The question is simple. "You have supported this work for a long time. Have you ever considered including us in your estate plans?" Most people have never been asked. Some will say yes on the spot.

The loyal-donor list, the legacy page, the letters, and the follow-up are the steady work our Fundraising department does for organizations without a development team. See how our staff grow donor relationships while you lead.

Step four: the legacy society

Give the people who say yes a name and a place. A legacy society costs nothing to create: a list, a recognition line in the annual report with their permission, a yearly note of thanks, and an occasional gathering. It matters for two reasons. Donors who have made a planned gift are more likely to keep it in place when they feel remembered. And the visible existence of the society tells other donors that people like them do this.

What to expect, and when

Planned giving is patient work. A program started this year will receive its first bequests in years to come, and the largest ones may arrive a decade out. That is exactly why to start now rather than later. In the meantime, the same conversations produce qualified charitable distributions and appreciated-stock gifts today, so the program pays something almost immediately. Track three numbers: donors who have told you they included the organization, estimated value where known, and planned gifts received. Report them to the board yearly.

Questions nonprofits ask about planned giving

Do we need a lawyer to start?

Only to review your sample bequest language and gift acceptance policy once. Donors use their own advisors to make the gifts.

Is it appropriate to ask older donors about their estate plans?

Yes, when it is done respectfully and without pressure. Most loyal donors take the question as the compliment it is. Never tie the ask to a person's health or circumstances.

Can we offer charitable gift annuities?

Annuities carry reserve and registration requirements most small organizations should not take on directly. Many community foundations administer them on behalf of local nonprofits; ask yours.

What if a bequest is restricted to a program we no longer run?

Your gift acceptance policy and your sample language, which asks for gifts "for general purposes," reduce this risk. Where a restricted bequest arrives, your attorney can advise on the options.

Your mission is bigger than this year's budget

The donors who have stood by the mission for a decade are the ones who will fund it after they are gone, and the one thing standing between your organization and those gifts is the ask nobody has made. You do not need to become an estate planner on top of everything else. You need a staff that is already writing the legacy page, already finding the loyal donors, and already sending the letters while you lead the mission only you can lead. Find out what our staff can do for you.

Zoya Syal is Content and Production Manager at Nonprofits Engine, where she leads the content and testimonial work for a team that helps small nonprofits get set up and funded.