Building Your Organization’s Legacy Giving Program

Authored by: David Koehler, CAP®, Vice President, Advancement, Madison Community Foundation

October is National Estate Planning Awareness Month. Planned giving as part of estate planning is a powerful tool to build lasting support for your mission and facilitate donors giving perhaps their most substantial gifts to the causes they care about. We asked David Koehler, Vice President, Advancement with Madison Community Foundation to share his expertise on why and how to build or grow your organization’s legacy giving program.

Legacy giving offers nonprofits one of the most powerful opportunities to sustain their mission over the long term. While these gifts may not meet today’s budget needs, they can secure tomorrow’s impact—and transform what is possible for your organization. With a projected $70 trillion transfer of wealth underway in the U.S., there has never been a more important time to build or grow a robust legacy giving program.

But where do you begin? And how do you ensure these future gifts become part of your organization’s philanthropic culture?

Start with Understanding Planned Giving

Planned giving allows individuals to make larger charitable gifts than they could from ordinary income, usually as part of an overall estate or financial plan. The most common types include:

• Bequests in wills or trusts

• Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts or life insurance

• Transfer on Death (TOD) deeds for assets like real estate or financial accounts

• Charitable Gift Annuities or trusts that provide income to donors and a future gift to charity

These gifts are typically received upon the donor’s death, but some can benefit the organization immediately or during the donor’s lifetime.

Despite their power, planned gifts remain underutilized: while nearly half of Americans have a will, only 10–14% include charitable bequests. Many donors don’t take the step simply because they’ve never been asked.

Build Your Legacy Program

Creating a legacy giving program is not a single action—it’s a collection of thoughtful strategies and sustained engagement. Following are a few key practices to consider:

1. Create a Legacy Society

Recognize and celebrate those who include your organization in their estate plans. A named legacy society with a few meaningful benefits helps donors feel seen and appreciated. It also affirms that their future gift—no matter the size—matters.

Recognition increases the likelihood that a planned gift will be fulfilled. It also strengthens your relationship with donors, creating opportunities for deeper conversations and engagement. Added benefit—individuals who have included your organization in their estate plans tend to increase their annual support!

2. Share Stories and Inspire Action

Talk about legacy giving often. Feature stories of legacy donors and the impact of their gifts in newsletters, annual reports, websites, and event remarks. Use photos, quotes, or a simple note from a supporter explaining why they included your organization in their will.

At Madison Community Foundation (MCF), we see legacy giving stories generate real results. Donors reach out to learn more—or quietly add us to their plans. In fact, we have advance notice on just 40% of the estate gifts we receive. This percentage can be even lower for some nonprofits. Many donors prefer to keep their intentions private, so you may only be aware of a fraction of your future legacy support.

3. Offer Tools and Make it Easy

Help donors take action by equipping them with simple resources:

• Sample bequest language

• Your tax ID number

• A non-binding Statement of Intent form (allows donors to express what they want the organization to do with their gift and how they wish to be recognized)

• Checkboxes on donation reply cards or surveys indicating “I’ve included [Org] in my estate plans” or “I’d like more information about legacy giving”

• A page on your website dedicated to legacy giving options

These simple steps lower the barrier to entry and signal to donors that you are ready to support their legacy goals.

4. Talk with Your Loyal Donors

Don’t wait for donors to approach you. If someone has been giving to your organization for years—or has volunteered extensively—they are excellent candidates for a legacy conversation. Especially if they are women (who outlive men), have no children, or are older and thinking about legacy.

You can begin the conversation gently:

“Emily, you’ve supported this work for many years. Would it be meaningful to talk about how that support could continue long into the future through a planned gift?”

To engage a wider pool of potential legacy donors, you can also utilize direct mail as a prompt to begin the conversation.

Most donors say they’re open to these conversations—they’re just rarely asked. 

5. Link Estate Gifts to Endowment Growth

An endowment provides permanent support. Offering the option for a legacy gift to go to your endowment fund can be deeply appealing to donors seeking to leave a lasting legacy. At MCF, we’ve seen estate gifts hundreds of times larger than a donor’s annual giving, often from people of modest means.

Endowment funds signal permanence and purpose—values many donors care deeply about.

6. Have a Policy for Legacy Gifts

Unrestricted bequests can be game-changers—or pitfalls—if not managed wisely. Consider establishing a policy that outlines how your organization will use planned gifts. For instance, some organizations:

• Invest a percentage of all bequests into their general endowment

• Prioritize reserves or unmet capital needs before spending

• Require board approval for using large, unrestricted gifts

This helps avoid windfall-fueled mission drift and reinforces long-term sustainability.

7. Incorporate Legacy into Campaigns

Legacy goals can be added to major comprehensive fundraising campaigns. Offering opportunities to give today and/or in the future broadens the number of people who can participate and increases the amount they are able to give. 

Stand-alone legacy campaigns can also be very successful. MCF’s 75th anniversary campaign had a goal to welcome 75 new legacy commitments. With the help of board volunteers and a challenge match to encourage participation, we secured 101 new legacy members—potentially yielding tens of millions of future dollars for organizations throughout our community. Other organizations have adapted this idea at their own scale with similarly impressive results.

Stewardship: The Heart of Legacy Giving

Legacy gifts are often revocable. That means once a donor includes your organization in their plans, it’s essential to earn the right to stay there. Stewardship is the key.

That includes:

• Personalized notes and calls from staff or board

• Annual updates showing impact and financial health

• Invitations to special events

• Public recognition (when appropriate)

• Celebrating donor milestones—birthdays, anniversaries, or years of giving

Studies show that most legacy gifts are finalized within five years of death. Ongoing stewardship helps ensure your organization remains a priority.

Final Thought

Building a legacy giving program is not about chasing the largest gifts—it’s about honoring your donors’ deepest values and offering them a way to make a lasting impact. Every conversation, every story shared, every acknowledgment plants a seed that may bloom into a transformational gift for your mission.

And in doing so, you build not only financial stability but a legacy of generosity and community that lasts far beyond your time.