Bequest Giving was Down. Does it Matter?

No doubt you have seen the news that bequest giving declined by 4.4% in 2024, according to the just released Giving USA report. As a nonprofit professional, though, you know that bequest giving is inherently volatile. Indeed, despite the volatility, bequests still accounted for 8% of total charitable giving, underscoring their significance for long-term funding strategies.

At the East Tennessee Foundation, we work with nonprofit organizations every single day to help support your efforts to build endowments and attract long-term funding from donors to sustain your mission in perpetuity. In many cases, we do this by administering a charity’s endowment. In other cases, we do this by helping charities accept complex gifts from donors, such as real estate or closely-held stock. In all cases, we are very aware of the fundraising environment and how important it is to you and your board to keep donor support flowing through annual gifts, major gifts, and legacy gifts.

Here are three key takeaways from the Giving USA report, which you might consider sharing with your board:

• Charities should continue to prioritize individual donor engagement, as individuals remain the backbone of U.S. philanthropy.
• Economic conditions, especially stock market performance, have a significant impact on giving—monitoring these trends can help with planning and forecasting.
• Bequest giving is still a major component of fundraising and, although the results can be unpredictable from year to year, a focus on planned giving will deliver strong results in the long term.

As always, the team at the East Tennessee Foundation is here to help! Please reach out. Attend one of our planned giving or donor engagement workshops.  We are happy to arrange a presentation at one of your upcoming board meetings to share best practices for planned giving programs, tips for encouraging donors to leave a legacy to your endowment fund, and factors to keep in mind as you launch efforts to attract gifts of nontraditional assets such as real estate and closely held stock. We are here for you!