The Stewardship Playbook: Strategies to Retain and Grow Planned Gifts

When a donor includes your organization in their will, it reflects deep trust and belief in your mission. But being named in a will is not the end of the fundraising journey. It is the beginning of a new phase that requires consistent communication and care.

Donor intentions often change as life events like illness, marriage, or the birth of grandchildren prompt updates to estate plans. Without engagement, even heartfelt legacy commitments can fade.

This stewardship playbook outlines four strategies nonprofits can use to nurture legacy donors, strengthen relationships, and turn future gifts into lasting impact.

1. Keep the Connection Alive

When a donor commits to a legacy gift, it can be tempting to record it and move on. Yet about half of planned gifts are changed or removed before a donor’s passing, and many are added only in the final years of life.

Continued communication is essential. Modern estate plans are updated digitally, meaning older provisions are often replaced automatically unless donors reaffirm them. If your organization is not top of mind, it can disappear from their plan.

How to stay connected:

• Send regular updates about your mission and impact.

• Express gratitude through personalized messages.

• Invite donors to special events or share stories of their potential impact.

Consistent communication keeps your mission front of mind and your organization part of their legacy.

2. Build Trust Through Engagement

After a donor commits to a legacy gift, regular contact is your strongest retention tool. Engagement and gratitude matter. Donors who maintain relationships with the charities they support are much less likely to remove them from their wills.

Ways to reinforce confidence:

• Share updates that show real-world results of donor support.

• Focus messaging on appreciation rather than new solicitations.

• Highlight other legacy donors who have made lasting change.

Your business or finance office should also be involved in estate administration to ensure that donor wishes are honored. This is a responsibility beyond fundraising alone.

3. Help Donors Envision a Bigger Legacy

Once a donor makes a commitment, stewardship can grow their impact. Conversations that help donors reflect on their legacy can inspire greater generosity.

Encourage reflection with questions like: “Would you like your legacy to reflect your values or simply your heirs?” Offer clear, lasting options such as named scholarships, endowments, or funds that connect their story to your mission.

When donors can picture a tangible, enduring outcome, they often increase their gift. This permanence gives donors a sense of symbolic immortality, knowing their values will live on through your work.

4. Bring Legacy Giving to Life

Planned gifts create impact for the future, but they can also make a difference today. Donors who see their generosity in action often strengthen their connection to your cause.

Ways to activate legacy giving now:

• Virtual or “5 & 5” Endowments: Donors contribute 5 percent annually for five years to experience the impact of their future gift.

• Charitable Gift Annuities (CGAs): Provide lifetime income and tax benefits.

• Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs): Offer income now and a lasting gift later.

• Retained Life Estates (RLEs): Let donors gift property while keeping lifetime use.

Encouraging lifetime giving bridges planned and current philanthropy. It allows donors to see their generosity at work while ensuring ongoing support for your mission.

When Legacy Giving Becomes Lifelong.

By combining appreciation, communication, and creativity, nonprofits can transform future intentions into lifelong partnerships. Stewardship connects a donor’s purpose to your mission, building relationships that endure for generations.

Start building your stewardship plan today and turn every planned gift into a partnership for the future.

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