[Free Download] Help Donors Value Their Estate in 3 Easy Steps

April is National Financial Literacy Month.

And, as our industry knows, Uncle Sam’s April 15 “holiday” (note: This year it will be April 18), is when everyone is taking stock of their finances. ‘Tis the season for budgeting, saving and investing.

The National Holiday is a time when schools will take the opportunity to promote financial education and offer special classes or seminars. Banks will promote financial education…along with checking and savings accounts. Financial advisors will use it as an opportunity to contact clients to see if they can help with financial planning or investment management.

Fundraising professionals, too, can help donors and prospects observe National Financial Literacy Month with helpful information and literature.

To begin, we’ve put together a worksheet that you may want to incorporate in your donor and prospect contact. How to Value an Estate in 3 Easy Steps can help you introduce a key financial topic that can easily segue into a discussion of planned giving.

Estate Planning and Charitable Legacies

Feel free to view, print or download the worksheet. The worksheet helps users inventory their major assets, including cash, investments, real estate and insurance policies.

It then prompts them to consider and identify the ownership status of those various assets. Are they solely owned, jointly owned or fall under any other ownership status?

Finally, it encourages users to identify their debts, such as mortgages, loans and credit card balances. What debts are secured? What debts are unsecured?

By identifying the estate’s net value, you can help a donor or prospect picture how charitable giving can be a part of their short-term and long-term planning.

Is Planned Giving Right for Them?

When it comes to National Financial Literacy Month, most educational programs focus on the basics—budgeting, saving, borrowing and investing. The goal, and rightfully so, is to help people become financially savvy and to develop their personal financial management skills.

As a fundraiser, you’re working on the next step—helping them define their values and passions and discussing how nonprofit involvement might help them live out those values.

We hope the free download can help facilitate a meaningful discussion.