Advancement Associates News

6/10/2009
Tabor Community Services pursues planned giving

Tabor Community Services (TCS) is a nonprofit housing and financial counseling organization whose mission is to rebuild communities by helping families find housing and financial solutions. TCS (Lancaster, PA) has contracted with Advancement Associates, Inc. (AAI) to build a planned giving program as a part of its overall development strategy.

Following a development audit which she conducted, AAI Principal Becky Drumm has been working closely with Mennonite Foundation and the Lancaster County Community Foundation to train Tabor’s development officer to identify planned giving potential, build the necessary trust in donor relationships, and to cultivate planned gifts in a way that truly respects, first and foremost, the needs of the donor.

Since planned giving has a highly technical side, AAI and Mennonite Foundation have together committed to the following steps as Tabor moves forward:

• to orient the board in compliance requirements, administrative implications, board/committee roles and how various gift plans work;
• to prepare a case for support and define the scope of planned giving appropriate for Tabor;
• to inventory and allocate the technical and staff resources necessary for effective planned gift development;
• to establish a marketing strategy for the new program;
• to recommend efficient management and administrative procedures;
• to provide ongoing education and counseling for all involved—individual donors, public and staff—on gift planning, gift property and fund management, and gift administration.