How to Build a Legacy Giving Program for Your Jewish Nonprofit

Your donors care deeply about your mission. So much that they want it to thrive long after they’re gone. This guide walks you through building a legacy giving program that honors that commitment and ensures your Jewish nonprofit thrives for generations to come.

Legacy giving, also known as planned giving, is one of the most powerful, yet underutilized tools in the Jewish nonprofit fundraiser's toolkit. Often, organizations delay conversations with their donors because it feels too complicated, too uncomfortable, or just "not the right time." With an estimated $59 –$75 trillion transferring between generations, the Great Wealth Transfer is the impetus your nonprofit needs to build a legacy giving program right now.

What Is a Legacy Giving Program?

A legacy giving program is a structured, organization-wide effort to identify, cultivate, solicit, document, and steward donors who make planned financial commitments to your mission.

But what’s a planned gift? Simply a financial donation that a donor makes during their lifetime or after their passing. It is often the donor’s largest and most meaningful gift, and most commonly made through bequests or a beneficiary designation on retirement accounts, or another asset.

A legacy giving program is intentional, built on relationships and about communicating the long-term vision of your nonprofit. It’s about stewarding donors who make a commitment, often decades before the gifts are realized.

For Jewish nonprofits, this carries particular resonance. Our communities are built on the idea of continuity, where traditions and values are passed on from one generation to the next, L’dor V’dor. When a donor includes your organization in their estate plans, they are saying: I believe in this work so much that I want it to continue when I am no longer here to see it. It’s quite an honor to leave a legacy gift and rewarding to the donor to know they will be remembered for the generosity.

How to Build Your Jewish Legacy Giving Program in 8 Steps

In 8 steps, here’s how to build a legacy giving program that fits your organization, no matter where you’re starting from.  

Step 1: Build Your Case

It always has to start with the why. Why does your nonprofit’s work matter? Why is it important to carry that on for future generations? And why can a donor’s gift make a difference?

Once you can answer those questions, you’ll have the start to your case for support. The messaging should be similar to your general fundraising messages, but instead of seeking support for today’s challenges, it is entirely future focused. It encourages your donors to imagine what the needs will be for future generations.

Remember, Jewish tradition teaches us that we are not just inheritors of a tradition, but its guardians for the future. Legacy giving is the fundraising expression of that value.

Step 2: Get Internal Buy-In Before You Launch

Before promoting anything externally, look inwards first. That means getting leadership, both your staff and your board of directors, to be genuinely aligned on roles and processes. Moreover, everyone has to be committed to investing in legacy giving work, while knowing that the returns will likely not be seen for decades.

Consider who is responsible for initiating legacy conversations, documentation requirements and what opportunities there will be to steward donors after they make commitments. A gift acceptance policy is also a must.

Finally, encouraging your entire board to make their own legacy commitments will inspire others to do the same. Donors take cues from their peers, and board buy-in signals that their future financial commitments will be managed well and used with purpose.

Step 3: Market and Educate

The biggest difference between planned gifts and annual or major gifts is that often the donor needs to DO something beyond just giving the gift. Changing a beneficiary designation or updating their will is not something most people do too frequently. So your nonprofit has to market frequently and in multiple ways to encourage your donors to leave your nonprofit in their estate plans.

Part of that marketing is educating what a legacy gift is and the different giving vehicles. These types of materials could be on a standalone legacy giving page on your website, in printed newsletters or even a webinar on estate planning. Talk about how donors over 70 ½ can make Qualified Charitable Distributions each year; ask if donors already have a donor advised fund; and share sample bequest language.

At minimum, your organization should have your legal name and Tax ID readily available for a donor to grab for when they need it, as well as a way to contact your staff directly when they have questions or want to share about the commitment they have made.

Step 4: Identify Your Top Prospects

An often surprising fact is that the most common legacy donors are those who are long-term supporters, not necessarily your largest donors. Long-term donors who give consistently, attend your events, and stay engaged year after year are your strongest prospects, and those are who your marketing and targeted conversations should be directed to.

When reviewing your donor database, ask: Who has been with us the longest? Who gives every year, even in difficult ones? Those are your people. Start there.

Step 5: Start the Conversation with the Right Message

This is the step many fundraisers fear most, yet the most important one. Donors need to know you’re looking for legacy gifts. Tell them. Show them the future vision. Articulate what their gift could do.

So how to start that conversation? Start with talking about what is meaningful to your donors. Make this conversation a natural extension of the relationship building you already do.

Listen for life milestones: retirement, selling a business, the arrival of grandchildren, or a donor reflecting on their legacy. These are your openings.

Then in a private setting, directly ask, As you think about the future and how you want to be remembered, have you ever thought about including [organization name] in your estate plans?

Or, You've been such an important part of what we've built together. Would you consider being part of shaping what this community looks like in the future?

Then, stop talking. Let them sit with it. The silence is respectful, not awkward.

What doesn't work? Leading with tax benefits, getting into legal details too early, or centering the conversation on your organization's needs rather than the donor's values and timing.

Step 6: Recognize and Steward Legacy Donors

Stewardship doesn't begin when a legacy gift is realized, often after the donor passes. It must begin as soon as you are alerted the commitment has been made.

That moment is one of the most meaningful things a supporter will ever share with you. Respond with a personal, heartfelt acknowledgment, not a bland form letter. From there, consider how you'll keep these donors connected and celebrated over time, so they don’t consider changing their revocable gifts.

Building community and recognizing their commitments are wonderful goals achieved through a legacy society.  You can also consider inviting legacy donors to events, even if their annual giving doesn't "qualify" them. Try reaching out on birthdays and keep them informed of new projects.

Step 7: Use the Right Tools to Support Long-Term Donor Relationships

Sustaining a legacy giving program over time requires systems that help you track relationships, document commitments, and stay connected with donors across years, and even decades. Consider the data needed to achieve this when the staff that solicited the gifts are often not the ones present for when a gift is realized.

This is why a strong CRM is essential for this. Donorbox empowers Jewish organizations to build exactly this kind of visibility and donor connection. With tools designed to help nonprofits build community, manage communications, and document legacy commitments, it makes it significantly easier to run a thriving program — even for smaller shops without a large development team.

Step 8: Start Small and Build Over Time

You do not need to launch a polished program with a named society, dedicated staff, and a Ways to Give webpage on day one. Start with your messaging and start telling your donors about it. Now.

Once you receive commitments, document everything to help your future colleagues. Until those gifts are received, stay in touch with your most committed donors, so they stay that way.

Conclusion

For Jewish nonprofits, legacy giving goes beyond a fundraising strategy. It's an expression of who we are: a community that has always looked forward, built for the next generation, and found meaning in ensuring our traditions outlast us.

Your donors feel this. They already care deeply enough to give during their lifetimes. With the right conversations, the right structure, and genuine stewardship, many of them will also want to give beyond their lifetimes.

Your legacy giving program is how your donors demonstrate their values and commitment to your work. Now, all you need to do is get started.

Ready to move from reactive fundraising to a more confident, future-ready approach? Let’s talk.

This article was originally written and published for Donorbox, which can be found here.