AFP – 27 years in fundraising – MEF Exec Director and consultant for the last 5 years

I Wish I’d Thought of that 10 Years Ago – Launching a Legacy Program – Ligia Pena
In the Take I webinar with – she provided a Bequest Pipeline Matrix – that walks you through a “if this, then this” scenarios. The matrix is kind of a best practice for responding to individuals requesting additional information about planned giving options.
• Good tool – if you need guidance about how to introduce planned giving options with a benefactor
• But – we all know that the scenarios can veer in more directions than can be put on one sheet.,
• Can’t predict reactions by benefactor or ourselves.
• This Take 2 is not about best practices for planned giving.
• It is less about what I wish I had thought of 10 years ago, but what I wish I could tell myself about planned giving. The distinction being – a lot has changed in all aspects of fundraising in ten years – but there are some important things that you learn about the profession that make you re-think the way you do things. I’m going to share with you the things I wish someone had told me – or rather – told me and I believed and practiced. 
So… I want to begin with the root of what we do as development professionals - -