The Planned Giving Pulse interviewed John Elbare to get his opinion on where the planned giving industry is headed over the next 10 years.

PGP (PGP) – What do you feel the trends are going to be over the next decade?

More Planned Giving

John Elbare (JE)- I think one of the big trends is that more and more charities are getting involved in planned giving. It had been the domain mostly of universities and hospitals and I am seeing lots of social service and community organizations start to launch serious planned giving programs. It is becoming accepted as an important component of a fund development program. It used to be seen as a sophisticated “add on” that you could do if you had a big staff.

Increasing Regulation and Donor Scrutiny

Over the next 10 years we are going to see much more attention and scrutiny over how organizations manage money and how donor restrictions are honoured. The process of managing the funds after they have been raised. The public has seen that some charities don’t do a very good job of managing the money. There will be a lot more standardization of what people expect when they transfer a large asset to a charity.

There is going to be a lot more scrutiny of charitable organizations by regulators and donors themselves. We’ve had a pretty long tradition of, “Well, if it is charities, they must be doing things right” but there have been enough cases of fraud that regulators and donors are taking another look. Donors are looking at ratings of charities and their reporting such as cost to raise a dollar. This is an important trend that charities need to present themselves to donors and regulators as being well-regulated and operating with integrity. A lot more charitable organizations are moving towards transparency, putting financial plans and strategic plans on their website etc., and allowing donors to see what exactly is going on in the organization. This is especially important with regard to planned giving because, although they may not be too concerned when writing a $50 cheque, when donors are making a gift of $50k or $100k, they are going to examine it more. That will be a distinguishing feature.

PGP - What else do you see happening?

Increased Competition among Charities

JE - I see a lot more competition with charities when making their case for support. They are realizing that it is essential, not only in capital campaigns, but also with planned gifts. Donors making large gifts need reassurance that gifts will be used in a way that is aligned with their values and is something that they want to invest in. Whereas we always had organizations that raised money through alumnae societies etc., it is becoming much more driven by what donors really care about. This is a good thing for organizations because it compels them to articulate their vision and mission clearly for people to support them. It is still surprising that I see a lot of people that say, “Please donate to us because we need the money.” The more those organizations can help their donors see how they are going to use the money to help carry out their mission in the community, the more likely it is they will be successful in planned giving.

Stewardship of Online Donors

PGP – What impact do you feel the recent natural disasters have had?

JE - The natural disasters have gotten people accustomed to giving online. That is a remarkable opportunity for charities. A lot of people who would arrange their donations in the past by sending a cheque or going to an event, are just making donations online. Many organizations are not well-equipped to provide the right type of stewardship in the electronic world to move those donors along to potential planned gift donors.

PGP – What other trends do you see?

The Continuation of the Wealth Transfer

JE - With the baby boom moving into retirement years, there is a huge amount of money potentially available to charities. Charities need to get them involved and to the point where they are ready to arrange a large gift.

Professional Training

JE - Development Directors are going to have to be better trained in the future to develop donors’ interests in planned gifts and to answer basic questions about them. We are seeing this big shift away from the idea that planned gifts are a specialty, into one in which every development director can and should be talking about planned gifts with their donors. If they don’t, they are going to miss out on potential gifts. Although the technical side of planned giving is important, it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with talking with people about giving a gift at the end of life. Development Directors need to start going to financial advisors and attorneys about how to arrange the gift.

The Line Between Major Giving and Planned Giving Will Blur

JE - Over the next 10 years, we will see the artificial demarcation between major giving and planned giving go away. That is a dividing line that doesn’t make any sense. Organizations are going to look at donors in terms of the various types of gifts they are capable of. Directors that are relationship managers, rather than experts in a specific area will excel. There will be more Generalists. I think that’s going to be a big handicap for organizations if they continue in the old style, if you have people relating to them in relation to the type of gift they are seeking. Really what we should be doing is getting to know the donor and exploring all the different ways they can give.

About John Elbare: John Elbare began his career in the charitable sector working the developmentally challenged. He then learned fundraising in his 10 years at the University of South Florida as a major gift officer, in the College of Medicine and as a Director of Planned Giving at the University. Subsequently, John developed his consulting business. John works with charities to develop better fundraising models and to improve their planned giving programs. John’s past experience includes work with the Suncoast chapter of AFP and Past President of the Tampa Bay Planned Giving Council.