If you fundraise for a resource-strapped organization, you already know the daily reality: there are too many tasks and too little time to launch complex new initiatives. Between pulling off your next big campaign and making sure your current supporters feel appreciated, securing future revenue streams can easily fall by the wayside.
However, legacy giving (also called planned giving) isn’t just for massive institutions with dedicated departments and large pools of major donors. In fact, your everyday, loyal supporters are likely eager to leave a lasting mark on your cause. You just need to market the opportunity, speak to their motivations, and provide helpful estate planning tools.
This guide covers how smaller organizations can build a sustainable pipeline by centering their strategy around practical, time-efficient tips. By focusing on straightforward steps, your development team can secure future funding while maintaining current operational bandwidth.
1. Focus on bequests first.
Planned giving encompasses a wide range of financial vehicles, but small nonprofits should start with the simplest, most popular form: charitable bequests.
Bequests—gifts left in a will or trust—are the most straightforward and accessible entry point for both your organization and donors. Focusing your early efforts here secures immediate wins and establishes a strong foundation for future growth.
For one, starting with bequests removes immediate financial barriers for supporters who want to give but lack current liquidity. Think of it this way: bequests allow supporters to promise a substantial future gift without impacting their day-to-day cash flow or current standard of living. FreeWill’s planned giving guide highlights these additional benefits:
- Financial flexibility: Donors can commit to giving a specific dollar amount, a percentage of their total estate, or whatever remains after all obligations are met.
- Estate tax benefits: Charitable bequests are typically tax-deductible, reducing the tax burden on the donor’s heirs.
- Universal accessibility: Bequests are easy to arrange and update, making them an attractive option for supporters at every income level.
Plus, discussing a simple addition to a will is far less intimidating for donors than navigating complex trusts. While trusts and annuities are appealing options, encouraging bequests first gives your program the momentum it needs to expand later.
2. Define your ideal legacy giving prospects.
Blanketing your entire database with legacy asks wastes valuable time and risks alienating supporters who are not in the right life stage to consider estate planning. Instead, create your ideal legacy giving prospect profile before conducting outreach. A targeted approach ensures your resources yield the highest possible return.
When identifying candidates, prioritize these key indicators:
- Consistent giving history: While major donors are strong prospects, focus on long-term loyalty over large one-time gifts. DonorSearch explains that you’ll gain a fuller picture of donors by considering their philanthropic tendencies and affinity for your mission. Frugal, lifelong savers are often prime candidates for bequests.
- Volunteer engagement: Supporters who give their time demonstrate a deep personal investment in your mission. For example, a dedicated volunteer mentor is often a strong legacy prospect.
- High engagement with communications: Supporters who consistently open newsletters, reply to emails, or take surveys are actively following your journey and care about your long-term future.
- Life stage and family dynamics: Research indicates that individuals without children are statistically more likely to include nonprofits in their estate plans and that people aged 45-84 account for 72% of all bequest dollars committed. Tracking these details helps you create more targeted outreach.
Your prospect research doesn’t necessarily require expensive wealth-screening software right out of the gate. Simply filtering your existing constituent relationship management (CRM) database for individuals who have given consecutively for five or more years often reveals a highly qualified segment of legacy prospects.
3. Commit consistent and manageable time blocks to planned giving.
Running a successful legacy program doesn’t necessarily require a full-time planned giving officer, but it does require discipline. Massive, one-off campaign sprints lead to burnout and inevitably stall out when other priorities arise. Small nonprofits can run a successful program by committing a small yet consistent amount of time each week to keep the program moving forward.
To maintain steady momentum without overwhelming your schedule, take 30-60 minutes each day and break your planned giving workload into manageable, recurring tasks:
- Identifying new prospects: Spend a few minutes reviewing your CRM to identify two or three new candidates who match your ideal legacy donor profile.
- Executing personal outreach: Make a phone call, send a handwritten note, or draft a personalized email to a top prospect to thank them for their loyalty or share an impact story—no immediate ask required.
- Sending timely follow-ups: Promptly reply to donors who have expressed interest, clicked on a planned giving link in a recent email, or requested more information.
- Integrating marketing: Drop a “soft” legacy mention—such as a donor testimonial or a brief reminder about bequests—into your upcoming newsletters, social media calendar, or event scripts.
Treat these time blocks as non-negotiable appointments on your calendar. Consistency builds a rhythm that normalizes legacy giving within your organization, transforming it from a daunting project into a standard practice.
4. Integrate the ask into existing marketing workflows.
You don’t need to reinvent your communication strategy to launch a planned giving program. Small development teams save substantial time by weaving planned giving marketing messages into existing communication channels, preventing extra work. This approach organically introduces the concept of planned gifts to your audience.
Maximize your current reach by integrating the planned giving ask into these established communication channels:
- Website: Add a clear planned giving option to your “Ways to Give” page on your nonprofit website, and create a dedicated microsite that explains each type of planned gift.
- Email newsletters: Featuring recurring legacy mentions in regular communications. Include a postscript (P.S.) about legacy giving in your general fundraising appeals, share legacy donor stories in your newsletters, and run a dedicated campaign during National Make-A-Will Month in August.
- Donation receipts and thank-you letters: When acknowledging a current cash gift, use the footer or a P.S. to plant a seed for the future. A soft message like, “Did you know you can ensure our work continues forever? Learn about legacy giving,” works perfectly.
- Social media: Social platforms help reach all demographics. Share educational content about the ease of estate planning or highlight a story about the real-world impact of a specific bequest.
- Annual reports and impact reports: Since these documents already focus on your organization’s financial health and long-term vision, they offer the ideal place to recognize your Legacy Society’s current members and share the enduring impact of bequests.
When promoting your program, repurpose content when possible to save more time and maximize impact. For example, a compelling donor story originally drafted for your annual report easily adapts into a blog post, a social media highlight, and an email newsletter spotlight.
5. Leverage purpose-built technology to punch above your weight.
Small teams need the right infrastructure to efficiently manage donor data and properly steward gifts. Trying to track planned giving conversations using basic spreadsheets creates bottlenecks and risks losing vital donor history. Meanwhile, modern technology empowers a lean staff to operate with the efficiency of a much larger development department.
A robust planned giving platform helps secure long-term support by guiding donors through complicated processes with ease. Here are a few areas where dedicated software can help:
- Providing free will-creation tools: Remove the friction and expense of estate planning by giving donors access to secure, legally binding online will-writing services directly through your site.
- Standardizing document collection: Make it incredibly easy for donors to officially document their legacy commitments by providing digital Letters of Intent (LOI) and secure upload portals for estate documents.
- Automating data capture and CRM syncing: Ensure that every downloaded guide, declared intention, and outreach email is automatically logged in your database. This preserves vital institutional memory, even if your team experiences staff turnover.
- Generating automated stewardship triggers: Alert your team when a prospect takes a significant action (like lingering on a bequest page or downloading an estate planning guide), so you know exactly when to reach out with a personalized follow-up.
By investing in these specialized digital tools, your nonprofit can elevate the donor experience while keeping administrative overhead low. Ultimately, automating the heavy lifting allows your lean team to focus on what matters most: cultivating the meaningful relationships that inspire lasting legacy gifts.
Final thoughts
Building a successful legacy giving program doesn’t happen overnight, but taking small, consistent steps today will yield a sustainable financial foundation that allows your organization to do the most good tomorrow. You don’t need a massive development team. You just need discipline and the right infrastructure.
To move from planning to execution without overwhelming your staff, treat legacy giving as a marathon, not a sprint. Get started by drafting your ideal prospect profile internally before rolling out any outward-facing marketing or communications.
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