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September 2018 Newsletter

Newsletter Archives

Planned Giving Mentor

Wayne Olson, JD Consulting Associate (Eastern Division)

S. Renee Brida, JD Senior Associate and Lawyer (Western Division)

Professional Partnerships: Hospice Philanthropy Group L.L.C.

 

Quote for the day: Fewer than 10% of donors with gifts in their will were influenced to take this step by a not-for-profit....Penelope Burk

Quickie quiz:....In 1991, 2% of all bankruptcies were filed by people 65 and older. What was the percentage (%) in 2016?...... 5%, 10%, 12%, 16% or 19%. Answer below.

Senior Spirit.....Click the Senior Spirit link (below left) for a copy of the latest articles from Certified Senior Advisors

Past issues of the Newsletter are available in the Newsletter Archives

To subscribe to this newsletter E-mail and put Subscribe in the subject line

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FreeWill..... a new software offering may be one of the most advanced concepts to effect the planned gift field in the last decade. FreeWill makes it easy for charities to encourage donors and non-donors to care for the people and causes they love by creating valid bequests.

Bequests - the number one planned gift option represents 85% of all estate support. FreeWill makes estate planning warm, accessible, and totally free to your donors.

In the next two decades Baby Boomers will leave behind $35 trillion in assets and FreeWill fills the enormous void created by all those Boomers who think they do not need a will to fulfill their wishes, or are adverse to seeking high paid professional help to plan their estate.

To leave what donor owns to whom he/she wishes, takes a valid will and/or correct beneficiary designations.

Hospitals and hospice organizations are at a pivotal point when donors are faced with health and lifestyle changes, as these events are a stimulus that forces donors back to the planning table to examine their estate plans.

FreeWill develops a custom site and branded page for your charity, which the charity can then offer for free to donors. Charitable bequests are prioritized as a key part of the will-creation process. When supporters create a will through your custom link, your cause is recommended. The charity is notified about bequests so you can steward your new planned gift donors. A package of social media, direct mail, newsletter and web site copy supports the Free Will effort and encourages individuals to explore this extremely valuable will program. The will the donor creates is valid in all states.

I encourage you to see if FreeWill has a place in you planned gift program.

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7 Charitable Strategies to Decrease Taxes and Increase Income.....This is the title of my new educational seminar for prospects and financial advisors. Plan ahead to prepare your prospects for the effect of the 2018 tax laws changes. The seminar covers the recent tax law changes that effect charitable giving, the stages of income and estate planning, reviews good and bad gift assets, and provides 10 examples of gift techniques to increase income and decrease taxes. PowerPoint presentation covered in 49 slides.

The seminar should be scheduled for 1.5 hours to allow sufficient time for discussion and questions.

The cost is $2,500 per presentation day plus a maximum of $500 in travel costs. Individual consultations with prospects may be arranged to follow the presentation or you may secure another consulting day at an additional cost.

To reserve a summer or fall date for this seminar simply send me an E-Mail.

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Clients are still in the dark on charitable giving.....Charitable giving jumped to $400 billion in 2017 and donor advised funds (DAF) are increasingly impoirtant part of that matrix.

Amanda Schiavo discusses how DAFs are growing in popularity. Charities need to respond by making it easier to make DAF gifts from the largest DAF providers.

Full article link

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Marketing Idea #1....Postcard on gift annuity now or later....Duke University is actively sending postcards to donors to show them the benefits of gift annuities now or later. The later annuity is a typical flexible deferred gift annuity tailored to the income and deduction needs of each donor.

One growing prospect pool is what I call the May-December gift annuity. It is when there is a difference between the ages of spouses. Normally the older spouse will establish a flexible charitable gift annuity for the younger spouse to provide payments when the older spouse dies. By doing a flexible gift annuity, should the couple's financial situation change the annuity may be turned on.

Duke University postcard promotion

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Plan your 2019 PG activities using an Excel spreadsheet.....Start the year off right with an adjustable planning calendar for planned gift activities. You can adjust the headings to fit your specific promotional activities. As you develop your calendar consider how many times you will contact your donors and prospects. Do you have a Legacy event? Will you be trying postcard promotions? How about trying a new seminar for your top prospects. Have you tried advertisements in your house publication or local newspaper? Is there a method you could use to piggyback planned giving information in your annual fund appeal?

Download your planning calendar HERE

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Finding planned gift donors. A Primer - Part 1.....1st in a series of thoughts to consider when you are identifying, cultivating and asking for planned gift commitments.

Planned gifts are donations that are decided on in the present and made in the future. Identifying planned giving prospects is not an exact science. There is a certain amount of finesse and intuition involved that come from experience.

In the case of a planned gift the donor chooses to select how they will distribute their net worth (I like to call this their life’s work), and also chooses exactly when those fund will be available to the receiving charity.

It sounds like a simple process. How to we find those individuals to discuss planned gift ideas and options?

Some will come from your simple and sometime creative marketing activities. The majority of future planned gifts prospects you already know. They are your current donors of any amount for any purpose.

Remember a simple maxim: finding planned gifts is a contact sport. A face-to-face engagement with donors where you learn what they care about, what they own, and what they value.

From experience reading donor wills few donors support just one charity. You are a charity among many and have to show you care about the person, as much as, you care about your charitable mission.

There are three types of planned gift prospects:

Bequest prospects, charitable gift annuity prospects, and charitable remainder trust prospects. We will be discussing these in upcoming newsletters.

For now look at your current donor list, and pick out the top 25, no select only 10 individuals you can discuss gift options with in the next two months.

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Gift annuity rate update and laminated gift annuity rate charts.....If you would like a laminated rate chart for the most recent ACGA July 1,2018 rates simply request one using the following E-mail request and put Laminated Rate Chart in the subject line and be sure your signature line has your full address. As of this writing the rates have been announced and the charts will be mailed for use beginning July, 2018.

Download a PDF chart of single life $10,000 cash gift and two-life $100,000 security gift for ages 60,65,70,75,80 HERE.

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Ed Slott the nations expert on IRAs discusses advisor concerns over QCDs....By the time you read this it is too late for donors to benefit from a 2018 Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) rollover but not too early to plan for the new donors who will now qualify for the QCD in 2019. Few advisors understand the benefits of a IRA rollover gifts. There is always a last minute rush to get the Required Minimum Distribuiton (RMD) completed before year end.

Consider sharing this reprint with your professional advisors to position your charity as an expert willing to answer questions and facilitate charitable gifts from IRA accounts.

Reprint of article

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Stock market tumbles.... Is gift annuity reinsurance the answer?.....Whenever the stock market tumbles my phone lights up with questions about gift annuity reinsurance options.

What are the benefits of reinsurance? Simply stated it is one or more of the following objectives.

1. The difference between the remaining value of the gift and the cost of reinsurance is released for immediate use. Donor sees benefit of gift while he/she is still alive. Charity sees increase up-front cash flow.

2. Insurance company may make payments directly to the donor, making donors more comfortable with their donations amount. Reduces administrative burdens for charity.

3. Risk of investments and longevity is transferred which free up capital and enables charity to issue additional CGA's.

4. Gift annuities may be reinsured in whole or in part based on your charities rist-tolerance threshold,

5.Lowers the cost of running a CGA program.

6. Donors of a specific age and payment rate may benefit from a reinsurance strategy that returns 100% or more of the gift to the charity upon the death of the annuitant.

For more information or specific questions email: James E. Connell FAHP, CSA

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Quiz Answer....According to the Consumer Bankruptcy Project bankruptcies increased to 16% in 2016 for seniors age 65+.

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News and Notes....

For those who watch the stockmarket.....TOUGH OCTOBER - The S&P 500 lost 6.8% in October 2018 (total return), its worst month in more than 7 years (since a September 2011 loss of 7.0%) and its worst October since the index fell 16.8% in October 2008 at the beginning of the global real estate crisis. The S&P 500 consists of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. It is a market value weighted index with each stock's weight in the index proportionate to its market value (source: BTN Research).

OWNERS AND RENTERS - The 111.7 million households that existed in the United States on 9/30/08 were split 68/32 between 75.9 million owners and 35.8 million renters. The 121.4 million households in the United States on 9/30/18 were split 64/36 between 78.1 million owners and 43.3 million renters (source: Census Bureau).

HOME SWEET HOME - Only 46% of 1,025 retirees surveyed own their home free and clear of any debt. 54% of retirees still have a mortgage or they rent (source: SOA 2017 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey).

SENIOR CITIZENS - 15% of the US population was at least age 65 in 2017. By the year 2030, 20% of the US population will be at least age 65. Over that 13-year period, the number of Americans at least age 65 is projected to increase by +44% while the overall US population is forecasted to increase just +11% (source: Social Security).

DON’T OVERTHINK IT - Harvard University’s $39.2 billion endowment, the largest academic endowment fund in the world, gained +10.0% for the fiscal year ending 6/30/18. The S&P 500 gained +14.4% (total return) for the 1-year ending 6/30/18 (source: Harvard University).

GET READY - A 65-year old American male in 2018 is expected to live another 19.2 years (to 84.2 years old), an increase of 5 years in the last 40 years. A 65-year old American female in 2018 is expected to live another 21.6 years (to 86.6 years old), an increase of 3 years in the last 40 years (source: Social Security Administration)

NO MONTHLY PAYMENT DUE - In 2011, 1 of 3 American homeowners (34%), owned their homes free and clear of any debt, i.e., no mortgage loan or line of credit. In 2017, 2 of 5 American homeowners (40%) owned their homes free and clear of any debt (source: 2017 American Housing Survey).

NEW ESTATE AND GIFT TAX LIMITS: The Internal Revenue Service announced the official estate and gift tax limits for 2019: The estate and gift tax exemption is $11.4 million per individual, up from $11.18 million in 2018. That means an individual can leave $11.4 million to heirs and pay no federal estate or gift tax, while a married couple will be able to shield $22.8 million. The annual gift exclusion amount remains the same at $15,000.

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Kudos Corner - Celebrating gifts of all types and sizes

In this section I periodically highlight some recent gift expectancies and gift program elements I think will be helpful and informative, not all gifts are included.

(Check back next issue for list of achievements)

 

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James E. Connell and Associates is a national consulting service which has been devoted to increasing

resources for charities using the power of charitable estate and gift planning techniques for over 40 years.

Pinehurst office: PO Box 3335, Pinehurst, NC 28374
Phone: 910-295-6800

Northeast office: 20982 Bayside Avenue, Rock Hall, MD 21661

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