Good philanthropy is planned; it is well thought out and intentional. A plan focuses giving in areas where you have a God-given passion. It may mean some causes are phased out while others are brought in. While generous givers will allow some room for whimsical, spontaneous giving, most donations are the result of solid knowledge and seasoned judgment. A plan should contain the guidelines to easily say “yes” or “no” to the appeals that continue to come to a donor.

Philanthropic planning serves many purposes:

	Provides an easy-to-understand “roadmap” for giving
	Creates focus around passion and conviction
	Simplifies decision making regarding solicitations
	Gets other family members involved
	Aids asset and cash flow management
	Helps tax planning
	Facilitates clear communication to charities

Our planning process starts with a charitable giving assessment. By completing our proprietary Donor Profile Workbook, we help clients:

	Write a giving mission statement
	Identify charitable sectors in which they have a strong interest
	Define the geographic target of gifts
	Review their giving history
	Focus giving on causes about which they are passionate
	Measure the “degree of engagement” they desire with nonprofits they support
	Identify non-financial ways to support organizations
	Determine a personal “To Do” list regarding giving

From this, we draft a Donor Profile – a concise 8-10 page description of the donor. Like a “personality test,” this document typically reveals interesting insights. Then we meet to discuss and refine the Profile and create a final version, including short-term goals for current philanthropy and how those differ from past giving.

Once the donor knows what he/she wants to accomplish, from that Profile we develop a Giving Plan. The Plan describes personal giving policies and goals, the charitable sectors to which the client wants to contribute, organizations in those sectors, amounts, dates and other information about giving intentions. The plan is the client's, but we provide tools and assistance to make it simple to accomplish.

Click Here	to load a 1-page Product Preview PDF file on the Donor Profile and Giving Policy
and Plan.