A well-known speaker once led the opening presentation at the ACGA Annual Symposium right in my backyard— Baltimore, Maryland.
In his presentation, he mentioned that about 2.5 million people died in the U.S. in 2012 with an estimated 6% (150,000) leaving charitable bequests. But, interestingly, out of those 150,000 charitable estates, only 2,225 (1.5%) were taxable as a result of being worth more than $5 million.
So what does this mean?
Some of your supporters really do need sophisticated counsel to make the most of their taxable estates. How many? A whopping 1.5% of those that actually end up planning a gift (assuming that 2012 is analogous to other years).
The key marketing takeaway? Hold on tight because this might drive some of you batty if you enjoy the nuances of estate planning.
Stop emphasizing tax benefits when you promote planned gifts.
98.5% of the charitable estates in the U.S. will be non-taxable and most donors say that tax benefits are among the least influential factors in their decision making.
>> eBook: The Law and Taxation of Charitable Gift Planning
>> Two Steps to Make the Best of Donor-advised Funds
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