The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, manages the National Do Not Call Registry.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and state law enforcement officials will enforce it. 

The registry was created to offer consumers a choice regarding telemarketing calls. The FTC's decision to create the National Do Not Call Registry included a  three-year review of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). The FTC sought feedback from interested parties and considered over 64,000 public comments, most of which favored creating the registry. (View the entire record of the Rule review at .www.ftc.gov/bcp/rulemaking/tsr/tsrrulemaking/index.htm.)

The National Do Not Call Registry is only for personal phone numbers. Business-to-business calls are not covered by the National Do Not Call Registry and your phone number will remain on the registry for five years from the date you register.

By Ken Ramsay, Legacy Leaders

It is timely to pause and take an informed look at the future of Gift Planning in North America. We have all heard about the unique transfer of wealth that is occurring and what effect it could ultimately have on gifts of assets to charitable organizations. However, careful discernment also shows a convergence of significant factors that point to a rapid, prolonged growth in Planned Gifts. 

To Read Further Click Here:

Interview with Debra Ashton

Editor’s Note:  The Planned Giving Pulse interviewed several industry leaders about the future of the planned giving industry.  This interview took place prior to the U.S. Presidential election.

Debra Ashton is author of America’s Blue Bible of planned giving, The Complete Guide to Planned Giving, Revised Third Edition, published in April. She has been the Director of Gift and Estate Planning for four charities in the US:  Boston College, Boston University, Wheaton College, and WGBH/PBS. She started her career in planned giving at Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company in 1975.  In addition to speaking widely to planned giving and fund raising groups in the US and Canada, she has also published articles in many fund raising and planned giving publications. Please visit her website at:  www.debraashton.com

Planned Giving Pulse:  What do you think the Future of the Planned Giving Industry holds over the next decade? 

Debra Ashton:  More government supervision and oversight for both charities and donors is in the future because of abuses by both.   Congress is putting charities and donors under a microscope. 

There have been many changes in the last couple of months with abuse issues with regard to donations, most notably cars and intellectual property.  Congress has figured out that people are trying to scam the government.

To read about some of the other issues in the future of planned giving, click here.

Interview with Judith Nichols

Editor’s Note:  The Planned Giving Pulse interviewed several industry leaders about the future of the planned giving industry. 

JUDITH E. NICHOLS, Ph.D., CFRE: Judith Nichols is a development practitioner, author and consultant with a variety of not-for-profit clients across the USA, Canada, Australia, South America, the United Kingdom, and Europe. She specializes in helping organizations understand the implications of changing demographics and psychographics on fundraising, marketing, and membership. 

Planned Giving Pulse:  Where is the Planned Giving Industry Going in the Next Decade?  Does the next decade belong to gift planners? 

Judith Nichols:  Generally I would say if we learn how to market planned giving it is very positive.  The reason I say that is that, in a sense, it is going to become the only way that people will make major gifts as longevity increases. 

In reality we have used methods for marketing planned giving which have appealed to a very small group.  94% of all planned gifts are straight bequests.  A lot of people aren’t interested in the methods we are promoting.  We have a long way to go.

Frank Minton on the Future of Gift Planning

Editor’s Note:  The Planned Giving Pulse interviewed several industry leaders about the future of the planned giving industry.  This interview took place prior to the U.S. Presidential election.

Frank Minton is President of Planned Giving Services, a U.S. consulting firm that serves clients in both the U.S. and Canada.  He’s been in planned giving for 28 years and has worked at two universities.   In addition to having his own consulting firm for 14 years, he co-authored Planned Giving for Canadians.  Currently he is chair of the American Council on Gift Annuities, and he is a past president of the National Committee on Planned Giving. 

Planned Giving Pulse:  What do you think will be the future of planned giving over the next 10 years? 

Frank Minton:  I think planned giving will continue to be very important.  Bequest giving, for example, has increased at a faster rate than individual and corporate giving. 

The increase in planned gifts partly results from the aging of the population and the concentration of wealth in the older generation.  Also, there is now a better understanding of planned gifts than was the case a few years ago. 

Another factor driving planned giving is the fact that more institutions are interested in building endowments, and endowments are built to a great extent through planned gifts. The "tax climate" in Canada has also become more favorable in recent years.

To read Frank Minton’s opinion about how the U.S. Presidential election will affect gift planning, click here.

A new study, “Pathways for Change: Philanthropy Among African American, Asian American, and Latino Donors in the New York Metropolitan Region” revealed that ethic donors give more than the overall population. 

The study, conducted by the Coalition for New Philanthropy over a three year period (2000-2003), interviewed 150 donors of colour in New York City.  The focus of the study was to understand what motivates African-American, Asian-American and Latino donors and what they hope to achieve with their giving. 

These donors reported annual giving totalling more than $3,000,000 with median household giving of $5,000.  Although they give to community organizations and churches, they are especially interested in educational programs and institutions.  In addition, they are active volunteers and serve as leaders through fundraising and serving on Boards.   

One of the major findings was a generational difference in giving between those born before and after the enactment of the Civil Rights legislation and immigration reform in the mid-1960s.  Donors born before the reforms tend to give to their own ethnic communities, while younger donors give more broadly. 

An Underdeveloped Market

One finding of particular note for planned giving fundraisers is that these donors want to know more about philanthropic vehicles.  There is a large, untapped need for philanthropic advisement. 

To read more about Minority Giving: An Underdeveloped Market for Gift Planners click here.

Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, New York University

Claire Gaudiani is the author of "The Greater Good:  How Philanthropy Drives the American Economy and Can Save Capitalism" and six other books.  She is currently teaching at NYU's Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising and was formerly Senior Research Scholar, at Yale Law School.  She was also President of Connecticut College for 13 years.

Planned giving makes donors investors in the future –the future significantly beyond their own lifetimes and in a manner that benefits themselves as well as others. They become the economic engines of the pursuit of happiness that our Founding Fathers presented as one of the three rights inalienably endowed by the Creator to each person.  Let me argue that planned giving officers can powerfully and legitimately connect their clients to the Founders and enable these donors to see their patriotic role in modern society. 

Generosity toward our fellow citizens feeds innovative risk-taking and economic growth from which we all profit. By releasing new potential in human capital, physical capital and intellectual capital, individuals who have reaped the rewards of capitalism are re-investing in economic growth, democratically. Why is the interplay between democracy and capitalism so delicate and so vital? In the United States, our form of democracy protects the individual from the power of the state, insisting that the state exists to assure the greatest amount of happiness to the largest number of people. 

To read more about this philosophical approach to planned giving and the pursuit of happiness click here.