By Katelyn Quynn
Charitable organizations are quick to recognize that some of
their greatest donors are those who want to make memorial
gifts in honor of a loved one. Professional planning advisors
often play a key role in helping make that happen.
Many future donors who are financially able, and
philanthropically inspired, want to see something good come
from a tragic event. Completing a gift often helps the donor
through the grieving process.
Donors may want to give to a charitable endeavor to remember
a wife or mother who lost her battle with breast cancer, a
loving friend who died in a tragic automobile accident, or a
son or daughter killed during military action. Individuals
who want to make memorial gifts in honor of a loved one
represent some of an organization's greatest potential
donors.
Defining a Memorial
Gift
A memorial gift is a gift
made at an individual's death, that benefits a charitable
organization preselected by the deceased or the deceased's
family or friends. "In lieu of flowers, donations can be made
to the Specified Organization," is a memorial designation
often seen in an obituary. This type of memorial giving
results in small gifts—often $25 to $100
gifts—that are received by the named organization for a
short time following the individual's death. Sadly, after
acknowledgement by the charitable organization and the
family, the relationship often ends.
Less common, but still often seen at many nonprofit
organizations, are gifts created at a loved one's death by a
loving spouse, parent, child, other family members, friends
or groups of grieving individuals, like co-workers.
These gifts are larger gifts ($25,000 to $1 million or more)
that take many forms and require patience, expertise and
savvy by the organization and any affiliated professional
advisors involved in the process.
Donors who make these larger memorial gifts often, but not
always, approach the charitable organization on their own and
have a very specific idea about how they wish to make their
gift. The resulting gift, after discussion with advisors, may
or may not be what donors initially envisioned.
What Else Motivates the
Donor to Give?
Besides wanting to honor the
deceased, a donor can be motivated by other reasons to make a
substantial memorial gift to a charitable organization.
It is helpful to determine what else, if anything, a donor
may hope to accomplish by making this gift. Uncovering
additional motivations helps affiliated advisors determine
the real potential size of the gift, how the gift should be
made, and how best to cultivate the donor and celebrate the
gift.
The following types of donor motivations should be
considered when working with a substantial memorial gift
donor:
-
Purely Philanthropic.
The gift is being made by a
donor who purely wants to remember the deceased and may want
to make the gift anonymously. A rare type of donor, this
person acts selflessly and from the heart. Allied
professionals involved in developing the gift need to listen
closely and follow the donor's wishes regarding the gift.
This type of donor already knows exactly how the gift should
be implemented to meet family wishes.
-
Family Substitute.
The donor is alone in the
world, perhaps as the childless spouse of the deceased. This
person will likely appreciate interaction with the charitable
organization, during the grieving process and beyond, as part
of an extended family.
-
Social Standing/Prestige.
The donor hopes to gain some
prestige, either with one individual or a group of people, by
making the gift. The donor may enjoy some media coverage for
the gift and a celebration that will allow the donor to be
recognized.
-
Assurance Policy.
If a donor seems motivated
by the expectation, then he or she will be assured of special
consideration by the receiving organization. It is an
advisor's role to review any ground rules that apply to VIP
treatment, especially if preferential treatment might
jeopardize some of the tax benefits.
Dealing with Emotions
Associated with Loss
-
Sadness
Professional giving advisors
who deal with individuals and families making meaningful
memorial gifts are likely to encounter a potential range of
emotion and should be prepared to show empathy. Sadness and
grief are the most common emotions. If the advisor has
personally experienced a loss, he or she can build rapport by
sharing his or her personal experiences.
-
Anger
Some donors will want to
share their anger with their advisor—anger over the
loss of a loved one or about the medical care or lack thereof
received by the deceased, especially if the charitable
organization is a hospital. The best way to manage this type
of emotion is to act as a sounding board and then refocus the
donor on the positive, reminding him or her of the good the
gift will do and how it will help future patients.
-
Confusion/Uncertainty
During a time of mourning,
individuals often struggle to adjust to their new
situation—life without their loved one. Depending upon
age, health and relationship to the deceased, some
individuals deal with this better than others. It may be
difficult for the donor to concentrate on the gift options,
especially if not much time has passed since the
death.
Many professional advisors
find that the gift option the donor initially wanted is not the
gift option that is finalized. This seems to be especially true
for naming opportunities. In the beginning, family members
sometimes shy away from having something named after the
deceased. They may feel embarrassed about this idea or might be
unwilling to share their grief in public. Over time, however, a
naming opportunity can be the perfect way to create a lasting
tribute to the deceased, and many locations at charitable
organizations bear the names of loved ones memorialized by
friends and family.
Working With Family Members
In addition to working with a
range of emotions, memorial gifts often include working with
more than one family member throughout the gift process. This
presents an interesting challenge for the most experienced
advisors. They often have to handle multiple personalities,
emotions and ideas for the gift, including type of gift and its
ultimate amount.
Try to include all relevant family members, but first, and
very importantly, determine which individual is the true
decision maker. Work closely with that individual to narrow the
giving decision. Listen as family members express their own
remembrance of the deceased and any symbolism that might be
shown through the chosen gift.
Fortunately, a significant memorial gift can allow
participation from many family members at different financial
levels. If the gift is an outright naming opportunity, all
family members can give at various amounts and with different
assets such as cash, securities or mutual funds. Each family
member can take a charitable income tax deduction based on the
size of his or her gift, and all have the opportunity to be
involved and celebrate the memory of the deceased.
Types of Gifts
A memorial gift takes many
forms and is as varied as each donor who makes the gift.
Ultimately, the charitable organization wants to make the donor
feel good about the gift and how the deceased is honored. The
following are a few examples of typical memorial
gifts
-
Naming
Opportunities
Many donors like to honor a
loved one by placing the deceased's name on a plaque in a
location that will memorialize him or her in a permanent,
public way. It is not atypical to name a building, center,
wing, floor, elevator, waiting room, patient room, classroom
or other space. Naming a building, wing or floor is usually
the highest-value gift option at most charitable
organizations, and the actual level varies with each
organization. With such a permanent remembrance, the donor
and family can revisit the location and witness the good the
gift has done
-
Chair or
Professorship
At academic institutions, a
chair or professorship is often one of the highest honors and
levels of gift options, usually in the $2 million to $3
million range. Donors who make significant memorial gifts can
name a professorship and have it benefit a department or area
connected to the deceased. For example, if the deceased was a
classics professor, a chair could be created in the classics
department, focusing on a particular area of study. Or, if
the deceased respected a physician in the hospital's cancer
center, a chair could be created in the cancer department,
named for the deceased and held by the physician being
honored for the benefit of his or her area of
research.
-
Endowed Funds
Endowed funds are wonderful
gift options to suggest to a donor who is interested in
creating a memorial gift. An endowed fund can be created for
various amounts depending on the organization (e.g., $10,000,
$25,000, etc.), can be named for the deceased and continues
in perpetuity. It can benefit any area at the charitable
organization and typically pays about 5 percent of the
principal amount in the fund to the recipient. Once the fund
is created, family members and friends can add to it at any
time and may want to build the fund by making an additional
gift on the anniversary of the deceased's death or in lieu of
holiday presents or other significant dates in the family.
Endowed funds help keep a memory alive and can keep a family
together over time.
-
Other Options
The development officer
should offer a variety of gift options to the donor and work
with him or her to find an option that accomplishes the
donor's wishes in a tax-efficient manner.
The gift can take the form of an outright gift of cash,
securities or mutual funds. Or it may be a life income gift
such as a charitable gift annuity, deferred gift annuity or
charitable remainder trust. Other gestures could include a
bequest in the donor's will, a private foundation named in
memory of the deceased that makes gifts to a favorite
charitable organization of the deceased, a supporting
organization that benefits select charities or a donor
advised fund that benefits a number of public charitable
organizations.
The type of gift option the donor chooses will be based on
the size of the donor's gift, the number of charitable
organizations the donor wants to support and the donor's
potential need for income or more lasting control over his or
her money.
Celebrate the Gift
Many memorial donors are
comfortable with having the charitable organization celebrate
their gift. Even though the gift was made in honor of someone
no longer living, the gift can bring a sense of togetherness,
closure and satisfaction to a donor and family. A tasteful
ceremony held by the charitable organization can serve to
remember and celebrate life.
Real-Life Examples
Philanthropic gifts made in
memory of a child are particularly memorable. One gift involved
a student studying abroad for a semester who was killed in a
plane crash. The student's uncle represented the family, as the
parents were too grief-stricken to talk with the receiving
organization. The uncle acted on their behalf to create an
endowed fund. Once advisors involved in the process were able
to meet directly with the parents, the gift was completed. This
is an excellent example of learning to identify the real
decision maker who is most able and willing to complete the
gift process.
Another memorial gift was made by the wife of a young father
who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City.
The bereaved widow decided to name a reading room in the local
library for her husband as a way to memorialize him for his
young children. The gift allowed the widow to make a meaningful
contribution to the town and connected her more closely with
the community, which helped her to adjust to widowhood. This
donor found so much satisfaction in making her gift that she
now plans to create a private foundation that helps families
affected by acts of terrorism.
Throughout the process of establishing memorials with a
lasting influence, the caring planning advisor must be
conscious of the emotions and intentions involved. This can
often come at a difficult time in a donor's life, and extreme
sensitivity is required. But the end result is one of
generosity and satisfaction that a loved one's legacy will be
passed to future generations and transforms the blow of a
painful loss into a sense of calm and peace through the spirit
of giving.
About the Author
Katelyn Quynn is the executive director of development,
planned and major gifts for the Massachusetts General Hospital
and the director of planned giving for the Partners Healthcare
System acting as a consultant to the system's eight affiliate
hospitals.
Katelyn is a past president of the Planned Giving Group of New
England and served on the Board of Directors of the National
Committee on Planned Giving where she was one of the founders
of the NCPG Journal of Gift Planning. Katelyn is a board member
of Charitable Gift Planning News and Charitable Accord and
testified before the United States Congress for the successful
passage of the Philanthropy Protection Act of 1995. She was
named Planned Giving Professional of the Year by Planned Giving
Today. In 2003, she received the David M. Donaldson
Distinguished Service Award from the Planned Giving Group of
New England.
Katelyn is co-author of Planned Giving: Management, Marketing
and Law, Second Edition, published by John Wiley and Sons,
winner of AFP's 2000 Staley/Robsham/Ryan/St. Lawrence Prize for
Research and CASE's John Grenzebach Research Award for 2000.
And she is author of Wiley's Invest In Charity, A Donor's Guide
to Charitable Giving, Planned Giving for Small Nonprofits, and
Planned Giving Workbook.
She holds a bachelor's degree from Tufts University and a law
degree from Boston University School of Law.
Please call Jeff W. Anderson, J.D. at 423-439-5352, or
e-mail us at
andersjw@etsu.edu, for
more information.
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