IN HONOR OF: The Best Predictors for Memorial Gifts

by Eddie Thompson | Nov 18, 2019 | Charitable Estate Planning, Donor Communications

Recently, I scheduled a conversation with Dr. Russell N. James III for our podcast series on Conversations with Industry Icons. Russell is Professor & Director of Graduate Studies in Charitable Financial Planning at Texas Tech University, a diligent researcher...

PERPETUAL NAMING RIGHTS: Three Cautionary Tales and One Essential Piece of Advice

by Eddie Thompson | Oct 17, 2017 | Charitable Estate Planning

Two separate $100 million gifts to New York City’s Lincoln Center illustrate the naming rights dilemma that many nonprofit leaders face. The first mega-gift came in 2008 when billionaire David Koch (pronounced “coke”) donated $100 million, the largest single donation...

THE FAMILY STORY: Recognizing Our Opportunities for Legacy Gifts

by Eddie Thompson | Dec 13, 2016 | Charitable Estate Planning

Charles W. Collier was Senior Philanthropic Advisor for Harvard University, having served the institution of twenty-five years until his retirement in 2008 for health reasons. In his most notable book, Wealth in Families, Collier talks about three important...

TWO HURDLES: Overcoming Donors’ Greatest Anxieties with a Blended-gift Approach

by Eddie Thompson | Nov 17, 2016 | Charitable Estate Planning, Donor Communications

Several years ago I posted a blog about the two big questions donors need to answer before pulling the trigger on a major gift, bequest, or planned gift. The first question regards what they would need to live on for the rest of their lives. Since most donors...

BEATING THE ODDS: Five Donor-Relations Strategies That Impact Bequest Fulfillments

by Eddie Thompson | Oct 17, 2016 | Charitable Estate Planning, Donor Communications

In the previous blog I explained why the fulfillment rate of donor bequests was either good news or bad news, depending primarily on whether your organization has a progressive or regressive approach—that is, whether or not organizational leaders truly believe they...

NONPROFIT BATTING AVERAGE: Increasing Your Organization’s Bequest Retention Rate

by Eddie Thompson | Sep 13, 2016 | Charitable Estate Planning

Several years ago I worked on an estate plan for a gentleman with a fifty-plus million-dollar estate. His intention was to leave a sizable percentage to charity and much of it to a nonprofit he had once served as a board member. In the planning process, he notified...