Because it is ultimately about death, planned giving can be overlooked.
Many of us avoid legacy conversations both because having them can be awkward and uncomfortable, and because they are conversations that require trust to be authentic. But a bequest left in a donor’s will is the ultimate gift: A statement of their values and their choice to support your mission even after they’re gone.
In spite of this, legavy giving is often overlooked. Perhaps because it takes time. Perhaps because it’s deeply emotional. Perhaps because it asks us to speak death aloud.
This interactive and slightly unconventional workshop will reimagine planned giving as something that is a key part of the entire donor journey, not a niche add-on or a conversation reserved for later. Together, we’ll map how legacy giving can be integrated across stewardship, communications, annual giving, major gifts, and long-term sustainability, building trust over time rather than treating planned gifts as a separate programme. The session will also open up space for the sometimes awkward but deeply human conversations about death, inheritance, and remembrance, exploring how gifts-in-wills show up differently across cultures and global contexts.
You will leave with practical tools, donor-centred language, and the confidence to start legacy conversations that feel human, hopeful, and even a little bit life-giving.
Learning outcomes
- Understand planned giving as an integrated part of the full donor journey and recognise legacy gifts as the ultimate outcome of long-term trust, stewardship, and belonging
- Identify practical ways to weave planned giving into everyday fundraising work, including donor communications, relationship management, and sustainability planning, rather than treating it as a separate or siloed programme
- Learn to approach legacy conversations with greater confidence and cultural awareness, applying ethical, donor-centred language and recognising how gifts in wills and attitudes toward death differ across global contexts