Evergreen Planned Giving Suite Talking Points
Evergreen Planned Giving Suite Talking Points Template
Talking Points on Estate Planning
- Why does someone need an estate plan?
- Everyone should make a will or living trust, regardless of wealth. With a valid will or trust, you can choose who gets your property, name guardians for your children, provide a home for your pets, and more.
- When you have a will, you can choose the person you want to handle your estate, saving time, money, and stress for your loved ones.
- When you create or update your will, you can look after your loved ones and give them an easy map to follow. In short: it provides peace of mind!
- When you write a will, you can preserve your legacy by leaving a part of your estate to a charitable organization and making an impact on the causes you love, for years to come.
- This resource details the 10 most important reasons to have a will.
- What’s included in my estate plan?
- A last will and testament or living trust to list property, determine guardians for children and pets, and name an executor
- A last will and testament generally requires less maintenance and is well-suited for handling the needs of most people. You may want to make a revocable living trust instead to minimize the cost and delays of probate.
- An advance healthcare directive to make your medical wishes known
- A financial power of attorney to authorize someone to manage your finances if you become unable to
- Beneficiary designations for assets like retirement accounts and life insurance policies
- Funeral wishes and specific instructions
- This resource details the 10 most important estate planning checklist items
- A last will and testament or living trust to list property, determine guardians for children and pets, and name an executor
- What should I do before I create my estate plan?
- Take stock of your assets and make a thorough list (e.g. real estate, bank accounts, digital assets, personal property, pets, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, etc).
- Have a conversation with loved ones about who you want to be your executor, who you want to receive your assets, and who you would want to care for children or pets
- Determine what causes you may want to support with a gift in your will
- FreeWill walks you through each stage of the estate planning process
- What should I do after I make my estate plan?
- Print your will and sign it in front of witnesses to ensure it’s legally valid (FreeWill gives you detailed instructions on how to do so in your State!) If you live in Louisiana or you’ve elected to create a self-proving affidavit alongside your will, be sure to coordinate notarization.
- Store your will and other important estate planning documents in a safe place, and notify your executor of where they are located
- If you included a gift to our organization in your estate plan, notifying us of your gift is enormously helpful for our records, and allows us to invite you to join our legacy society
- It’s recommended that you review your estate planning documents every three to five years and each time there’s an important life event. Update your will, as needed, whenever you have a major life change (e.g. getting married, having a child, buying a house, etc.)
Beneficiaries Talking Points
- Do you have an IRA, 401(k), life insurance policy, or additional assets that aren’t covered in your will? To ensure that your assets go to the people and organizations you love, you must properly name your beneficiaries. We’re excited to share a free online tool that guides you through the process of planning for your beneficiaries.
- Assets not included in your will are called non-probate assets. Non-probate assets, such as 401(k)s, IRAs, life insurance policies, and other accounts, must be accounted for outside of a will. Using FreeWill, you can organize these assets in one place and decide who (or which organization) will be the beneficiary.
- You can designate our organization as a beneficiary of your non-probate assets to support our mission for years to come.
- The average middle-aged adult has over five major non-probate assets, and most Americans have not properly designated beneficiaries for one or more of them. If neglected, the consequences can be both serious and expensive.
- When you log your non-probate assets on FreeWill, you’ll receive a printable summary of your beneficiaries and detailed instructions on how to set each one up with your broker or other advisor.
- FreeWill also provides easy-to-follow instructions on how to update your institutions.
- Get started by visiting FreeWill.com/Beneficiaries/{{URL}}. This free online platform will walk you through the process of setting up your beneficiaries today.
Talking Points on Legacy Giving
- Creating a gift in your will to our organization is a powerful statement in your legacy and costs you nothing today. A gift in your will, also known as a bequest, can advance our mission for generations while being a part of your lasting legacy.
- A gift in your will creates a foundation for the future. Our work today is important, but it is equally, if not more important, to ensure our organization can continue our mission well into the future.
- FreeWill makes it simple to include the necessary language to designate a gift in your plans to support our organization
- [IF APPLICABLE]: You will join fellow, forward-thinking donors in our legacy society who have included a gift in their plans.
Talking Points on the FreeWill Tool
- We’re excited to share FreeWill with you as a way to make estate planning easier than ever. FreeWill’s tool allows you to write a legal will online completely for free and generally takes 20 minutes or less to complete. Through our organization’s partnership with FreeWill, you also have the ability to create a revocable living trust, also 100% free, and fulfill the purposes of a last will and testament, along with other helpful advantages.
- Since 2017, FreeWill has raised over $11 billion for nonprofits and has inspired over 1,300,000 people to write their wills.
- FreeWill’s tool is available online, takes less than 20 minutes to complete, and is valid in all 50 states and D.C. If you choose to create a gift, it makes it simple to include the necessary language to support our organization with a bequest.
- If you don’t have a will or your will needs an update, FreeWill’s platform will allow you to create a completely up-to-date plan that protects your loved ones and assets, in addition to defining your legacy.
- FreeWill can also be used with more complicated estates by generating a list of documented wishes that can be brought to an attorney.
- Visit FreeWill.com/{{URL}} to get started today! The giving platform will walk you through creating your will and optional gift, and is designed to make the process as simple and intuitive as possible.
- If you’ve already made a will and included a gift in your estate plan to support our mission, you can visit FreeWill.com/Record/{{URL]}} to tell us about your gift, so that we can properly thank you!
Strategy Notes
Unsure of how to introduce planned giving to your audience? Below are some strategy notes and suggestions to introduce planned giving in an effective, straightforward, and sensitive way.
Who to ask:
- For 1-1 conversations, look for key characteristics. Things to look for:
- Major donors with deep or long-standing connections to your organization
- People with fewer family attachments (people without children are 2x more likely to make a bequest in their wills)
- Pet owners (55% more likely to create a bequest)
When to ask:
- If a donor has expressed that they want to continue supporting your organization but may not have the financial means to do so, mention that other donors in similar situations have used planned giving as an option to further their support, at no cost today.
- If a donor has expressed an interest in planned giving but notes that they don’t have an updated will/do not have the resources to create a will, offering FreeWill can be a simple way to get started.
- If a donor has lapsed, FreeWill can be framed as a stewardship/re-engagement opportunity
- If your organization is offering a donation match that counts/accepts planned gifts, offer planned giving and FreeWill as a simple option to contribute
- If a donor has mentioned a major life event (e.g. a new child, a family member or friend passing away, a recent move, etc.), assure them that your organization is there to support them, and that FreeWill is an available resource to reflect that life milestone in their plan and get peace of mind
- Use a timely estate planning season (e.g. Make-A-Will Month in August, National Estate Planning Awareness Week in October, an organization holiday/anniversary, etc) to introduce the topic
How to ask:
- Ask the donor if they would consider creating a legacy with our organization
- The first and most important step to receiving a planned gift is to ask!
- Ask questions about the donor’s interest and connection to your mission
- To what extent does our organization's mission connect with your beliefs?
- What motivates you to give to our organization?
- How would you like to become more deeply involved with our organization?
- Explore gift options including a primary bequest or beneficiary designation
- Did you know that you can support our organization for years to come without paying anything today? Gifts in your estate plan or by beneficiary designations are high-impact ways to invest in our mission.
- Have you made gifts using assets other than cash? Have you explored doing so?
- Following a gift commitment, ask how the donor would like to be recognized, if you offer benefits for legacy society donors
- Use simple, relatable language and avoid jargon
- Opt for “a gift in your will” as opposed to “bequest”
- Don’t mention death — focus on planned giving as a smart way to give and extend a legacy of impact
- Use social proof by mentioning how other supporters are contributing
- E.g. “Many of your fellow supporters have created gifts in their estate plans to support our mission. Will you join them?”
- Mention a legacy society and its benefits if your organization has one
- Frame FreeWill as a resource for your donors
- By offering FreeWill as a service or benefit to your supporters, you can avoid the sensitivity of planned giving asks
- When a broad range of supporters engage with this tool, you might be surprised by who you'll create a relationship with!
- Use a preferred communication method for that specific donor.
- A phone call may be the most direct option, but tailor your outreach to how a donor likes to communicate (e.g. phone, email, in-person)
FAQs
What is FreeWill?
FreeWill makes estate planning warm, intuitive, and totally free, so that you can more easily care for the people and causes you love. Nearly 67% of American adults don’t have a legal will, likely because it has traditionally been considered complex, scary, and expensive. FreeWill’s goal is to make estate planning accessible and cost-free for all, and raise $1 Trillion for charity. To date, it has empowered over 1,300,000 Americans to write their free wills, and raised more than $13 billion (and counting) in charitable gifts to nonprofit organizations.
Is it legal?
Yes! FreeWill is legally valid in all 50 states and D.C., with language specifically tailored to your jurisdiction. Every aspect was developed with the help and expertise of legal advisors, including a variety of practicing attorneys and academics who support FreeWill’s mission to increase Americans' access to law and enable charitable giving. However, if a user would prefer to finalize their will with an attorney, they can use FreeWill to create a list of documented wishes, making the process of working with an attorney more streamlined and cost-effective!
Is it really free?
Yes! The no-cost estate planning tools are made possible by the support of hundreds of nonprofit organizations that work on meaningful issues.
Is my information safe?
Yes! FreeWill takes data security very seriously, and provides several layers of protection. First, they make sure to encrypt any data entered on the website. Then, they sanitize all data to prevent code injection and XSS attacks. Finally, they do not collect the most sensitive information like Social Security numbers, and instead require users to handwrite this information on all forms where such information is needed so it is never stored online. Feel free to read more about FreeWill’s security protocols here.
Why has {{ORG}} partnered with FreeWill?
Many people choose to create a legacy gift to support the causes they care about. This platform makes it simple and cost-free for our supporters to protect the people and causes they love, and support our mission.
What are people saying about FreeWill?
FreeWill has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, and was one of Oprah’s 31 Best Ways to Make a Difference. They have an A+ accreditation with the Better Business Bureau and a 4.9/5 rating on TrustPilot.
Important Disclaimer:
FreeWill offers online self-help solutions for common estate planning needs and related educational content. Estate planning may implicate both state and federal laws, and estate planning needs will differ based on personal circumstance and applicable law. FreeWill is not a law firm and its services are not substitutes for an attorney’s advice. The information here is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be construed as providing legal or tax advice. This information is general in nature and is not intended to serve as the primary or sole basis for investment or tax-planning decisions.