Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
10:00am – 2:00pm ET
Enroll in the Legacy Giving Boot Camp (includes recording): $245
Bring your team: Register one attendee at $245 and add colleagues for just $75 each
“Absolutely stunning presentation yesterday. I thought four hours seemed extensive, but I was engaged from start to finish!” – Dan, Protect Our Water
Learn how to launch and grow a legacy giving program—even if you’re starting from scratch.
Legacy giving allows donors to make a significant charitable impact without necessarily giving cash upfront. It also provides nonprofits with a reliable source of income, even during times of economic uncertainty. This course will guide you through the essential tools and strategies of legacy giving, including estate gifts, donations of art, real estate, and other assets, as well as charitable gift annuities and trusts. You’ll also explore innovative models, such as donor-advised funds. Learn how to design a successful Legacy giving campaign, from identifying your target audience and developing marketing strategies to organizing events and managing the administration of Legacy gifts. Gain practical skills for educating, soliciting, securing, and stewarding these gifts as a gift planning officer would.
Through this course, you will learn how to:
- Launch a legacy giving program from scratch
- Understand bequests, trusts, annuities, and DAFs
- Identify and target high-potential donors
- Build a sustainable planned giving pipeline
- Confidently approach and steward legacy donors
Full Curriculum (detailed topics covered):
- Simple steps for launching a Legacy Giving program
- Understanding bequests, gifts of IRAs and life insurance, donations of personal property, annuities, trusts, and more
- Examining demographics, giving patterns, and wealth screening to determine legacy giving prospects
- Tax issues of Legacy Giving made simple
- Applying a moves management approach and implementing effective touch points towards legacy giving
- How to analyze statistical inclinations and donor profiles to generate robust legacy prospects within your database
- Legacy giving terminology, definitions, and key players
- Understanding why people give – motivations from both financial and emotional perspectives
- Managing a Legacy Gift Campaign
- Current and future Legacy gifts: structure, solicitation, and funding
- Life-income gifts (trusts and annuities) and next-generation gift planning strategies
- Endowment basics and gift classification
- How to approach your donors and prospects sensitively yet effectively
- Understanding motivations behind Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) contributions and profiles of DAF donors
- DAF Benefits, Challenges, and Strategies for Nonprofits
- Building relationships with DAF holders and financial planners
Session Recordings: You will have access to the recording of the session and the Instructor by email for SIX MONTHS following the course!
Enroll in the Legacy Giving Boot Camp: $245
Instructor
Bill Edelstein is a consultant specializing in helping not-for-profits develop diversified revenue streams. He holds Advanced Degrees in Education and Not-for-Profit Development. His professional work is focused on Donor Relations and Fundraising. Bill is an adjunct professor at John Jay College of the City University of New York.
What Participants Say About Our Courses:
Thank you Bill!! I enjoyed the presentation, in fact one of the best I have attended in some time. – Wendy, Ferris State University
A great Grant Writing Class 101! – Cheryl, Tulane University
Keep up the great work. Really glad I was able to join today. – Anna, Community Bridges
Thanks so much for an amazing Webinar. So much info there. I’ve already sent my notes to the fundraisers but I am glad they will be getting your recording! – Diana, St. Joseph Center
Thank you for your time and effort teaching this course – I am really enjoying participating with other ‘students’! – Liz, AFTD
GREAT CLASSES! – Karen, Chicago Urban League
I’d like to thank you once again for the great virtual facilitation and training sessions. You were patient, understanding, engaging, and checked in with us on our learning in several ways. I admit that this is a very busy time for me as it is reporting season so I wasn’t able to participate in the homework the way I would have liked. I was so grateful that I felt nothing but understanding from you and was able to learn so much from your sessions! – Clarinda, United Way of Central Minnesota
Thank you Bill. I found the course helpful because you provided a comprehensive overview of all the moving parts with grants management and specific resources to help. – Julia, Wings for Kids