Planned Giving Plans in Bonterra CRM allow you to manage the entire gift planning process from start to finish. These plans help you track and nurture prospects who are considering making a significant future gift to your organization. With Planned Giving Plans, you can market opportunities, track information requests, manage cultivation stages, and maintain detailed histories of communications with supporters. The system also helps you manage follow-up tasks and track details once a planned gift has been established.
Getting Started
To access Planned Giving functionality, locate the Planned Giving section on the right column of the contact record page. Open the drawer to view options for adding Planned Giving information. You can start a new plan by selecting "Start a Plan," which creates a Planned Giving Plan with an initial status of "Identification" (unless you select an alternative option). If a donor contacts you requesting information, you can use "Start a Plan and Add Information Request." For donors who have already committed a gift, you can "Start a Plan and Add a Planned Gift."
Feature Details
Bonterra CRM supports four types of Planned Gifts, each with specific tracking capabilities:
- Bequests - Direct contributions to your organization through wills, bequeathed assets, retirement fund remainders, or life insurance.
- Trusts - Assets managed as part of an external trust, with options to select the specific type (Unitrust, Annuity Trust, Remainder Trust, or Charitable Lead Trust) and category.
- Charitable Gift Annuities - Gifts made to your organization in return for fixed income payments over time, with a tax deduction at the time of the gift.
- Pooled Income Funds - Trusts established and maintained by public charities, where contributions from individual donors are commingled for investment purposes.
After creating a Planned Giving Plan, you can access the full plan to add detailed information, notes, and file attachments. The system also displays key donor information automatically, including vital statistics, highest previous contribution, most recent contribution, and lifetime total amount. For organizations that use WealthEngine with an API key, that information is also displayed on the record.
Feature Navigation
Read more about:
- How do I add a Planned Giving Plan?
- How do I manage follow-ups for Planned Gifts?
- How do I manage key relationships for Planned Giving?
- How do I add a Planned Gift to an existing plan?
- How do I update Planned Giving information in bulk?
Tracking your Success
Planned Giving Plans include tools to help track your progress and success. You can schedule and manage follow-up tasks, ensuring timely outreach to prospects and donors. The Fundraising Optimization Guide helps you track conversion rates for donors who request planned giving information. You can also run Follow-Up Reports from the Report Manager to keep track of pending tasks. These tools help you maintain an organized approach to planned giving cultivation and ensure no opportunities are missed.
Next Steps
Now that you understand the basics of Planned Giving Plans, explore the detailed articles linked above to learn specific processes for creating and managing your planned giving program.