It's Never Too Early to Plant Seeds for Planned Giving

Millennials and Generation Z are already focused on retirement, and 30% of them are setting their sights on becoming millionaires to achieve their goals. What this means for you and other charitable organizations is that it’s likely a smart move to expand your planned giving outreach strategies to include younger donors, as well as the traditional audience of generations who are retired or approaching retirement. Indeed, many of your younger donors are increasingly becoming investment savvy and will understand the value of planning ahead. 
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Because younger generations are often motivated to give online and inspired by social media, your planned giving strategies should be tailored accordingly. Many planned giving techniques are complex, which is understandable considering the various legal and tax considerations that factor into structuring a bequest, charitable remainder trust, or beneficiary designation of a retirement plan or life insurance policy. Try to do whatever you can, though, to keep your language and promotional materials simple to match the preferences of this audience and the channels where they receive information.

For example:

• When you use social media, try to keep your language short, sweet, and to the point. Instead of throwing out terms such as “bequest” and “charitable remainder trust,” tap into younger generations’ motivation to make a “lasting impact” by “getting organized” and “planning ahead.” 
• You can appeal to younger generations’ desire to be financially savvy by referencing various ways a young donor can use techniques to make a difference in the causes they care about and tap into tax savings strategies at the same time. 
• You might also consider publishing stories about younger donors to your organization who’ve already structured their estate plans to make sure they’re taking care of your organization and others they care about. 
• Recognize that young people may start new jobs frequently, and this gives you an excellent opportunity to mention the benefits of naming your endowment fund at the community foundation as the beneficiary of an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan or rollover IRA. 

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As always, please reach out to the team at the Community Foundation. We are here to help you grow your endowment and reserve funds in whatever way we can to keep your mission strong and thriving for generations to come in our community.