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 Without Vision How Can You Plan a Future?
Most of the responses to my LinkedIn question were similar to what I usually hear: current funding is the most important now, or planned giving costs today and doesn't pay until tomorrow. Some said we don’t have enough staff or time and others were concerned about not having enough technical knowledge. But one answer really resonated with me because it’s the one I know to be absolutely true: If the executive director had a mandate from the board to implement planned giving...then there would be planned giving.
Board
members need to be educated about the value of planned giving. These
are the people who guide the nonprofit’s mission. But it seems many are
operating without vision; a big problem because these people are the
leadership who must show the way into the future. They’re in
charge and ultimately responsible for the nonprofits role in the coming
years.
What
if parents didn't save for their children's education? What if no
one saved for retirement? It happens I know. Today's
expenses are so important and pressing that we can lose sight that at
some point tomorrow becomes today.
So, parents need to pay the household expenses, and care for their children’s current well-being, and
also save for their kids’ education – their future. Parents know
that without an education, their children may struggle through
life.
People
who don't plan for retirement ahead of time will miss being with
their friends on the golf course or a cruise because they'll either
still be working (oh no!) or too broke to have some quality leisure.
Raising money for today can't be at the expense of planned gifts for tomorrow.
When
nonprofits with planned giving campaigns benefit from their endowment's
growth or matured estate gifts that can supplement annual
income and replace revenue shortfalls, the nonprofits that don't have
planned giving to secure their future will be financially troubled and
fall behind...or just fall apart. Planned giving makes a
nonprofit appear economically savvy when prospects look
for financial stability. It’s a sign of a smart board with a plan
behind their vision.
Without funding for the future, a vision is just a hallucination.
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