Planned Giving

Planned Giving: Is it important to the Donor and/or The Salvation Army?

Contributed by Tom Knox

You decide for yourself, according the 2010 National Annual Report, the Army received just under $300,000,000 in planned gift income during the ’08-’09 fiscal year alone: http://annualreport.salvationarmyusa.org/

The Salvation Army made a very smart decision many years ago to establish, fund and continue to develop a planned giving program.  Like many other organizations, the Army recognized the long term value of planned gifts to their mission.  What is key to the Army’s success, is not only did they set up the program, they established a funding stream to insure funds were available to provided staff to meet with prospective donors and with financial planners and the provided funds to market the planned giving program at many levels.  The result has been multi-millions of dollars coming in to support the important work of the Army provided in local communities and around the world.

If you have not done so, you may want to talk with your Commanding Officer and discuss the value of planned gifts to your local Salvation Army.  If the value is low, the good news is that can be changed, if it is high, the good news is it can be increased even more.

Not only do planned gifts benefit the Army’s mission, they provide a number of benefits for the donor and his/her loved ones:

  • The donor is able to control how her/his wealth is used. By making a planned gift and spelling out how the gift is to be used, the donor has the satisfaction of knowing that his/her wishes for the use of his/her accumulated wealth will be honored.
  • Estate taxes are avoided. Estates can be subject to taxes in excess of 55%. By leaving a portion of an estate to charity, a donor can reduce the tax liability on the entire estate.
  • Plans can be made that provide income back to the donor during their lifetime.
  • If the donor advises the Army of his/her intent to make a planned gift, the Army will honor the donor and express its gratitude while the donor is still around to enjoy it!
  • The donor can be honored in perpetuity by the bequest. There are many ways the Army does this.

So this win-win gifting option is a great tool that should be encouraged at all levels of the Army.  Typically administered through the divisional headquarters and territorial headquarters, the responsibility for building the planned giving program is shared with the local Command and The Salvation Army Advisory Board.

Tom began working with The Salvation Army as a camp staff member in 1973.  His Army career included 10 years working in programs at community centers, building bridges between Corps and Clients, directing a home for runaway youth and then15 years in development.  He was an instructor for the Officer’s continuing education program for four years, offering a day long class on special events, direct mail, board development, United Way relationships, major gifts, and planned giving.  He also was a session speaker at the NAOC in St. Louis on the topic of CPR for Advisory Boards.

After 25 years with the Army, he was recruited and accepted a position to develop and implement a national major gift and planned giving program for the Humane Society of the United States.  He later developed and implemented the national major gifts and planned giving program for the United Services Organization.  Currently he is the director of development for the Bishop John T Walker School for Boys in Washington D.C.  He can be reached at tksal@aol.com http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tom-knox/4/939/392