THE BIDEN TAX PLAN: Nonprofits That Are Best Prepared to Succeed

by Eddie Thompson | Feb 15, 2021 | Charitable Estate Planning, Development Management

There has always been a balance between government’s responsibility to provide a safety net and the mandatory redistribution of personal and corporate wealth by means of taxation. On the one hand, no one wants to return to the harsh and heartless days of Victorian...

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 and...

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...