Asking for the Largest Gift of Your Career: A Bequest

Did you know that most people give a larger gift to their favorite charity through their estate than all their lifetime gifts to that charity combined? Asking for a bequest, by definition, will help you secure some of the largest gifts you'll ever bring in. Are you doing this? Many gift officers are terrified of the bequest ask. They fear a bequest conversation means talking about death, dying, and cutting the kids out of an inheritance. Who wants to do that? This session will help you reframe your understanding of the bequest ask, learn ways to talk about bequests, and arm you with the kind of knowledge that will help you make the bequest discussion a positive, life-affirming experience. We’ll explore dozens of direct bequest asks you can take back to your shop and use. Maybe it’ll help you land the biggest gift of your career!

Learning Objectives: 

• Understand and overcome your fear of asking for a bequest

• Reframe the way you think about bequest conversations

• Find several ways of framing an ask for a bequest that feels comfortable to you so you can incorporate it in your own fundraising practice