What Is Planned Giving, Anyway?

Planned Giving Is Smart Giving

"Planned Giving" simply means finding smart ways for you to make bigger gifts than you imagined possible, and to do it in ways that best fit your needs. Have you ever wanted to give more to support the mission of the Minnesota Historical Society, but didn’t think you could afford to do it? What if you could find a way to help you realize your charitable wishes without reducing your quality of life or limiting your ability to provide for your family the way you’d like? How about a gift that provides you with increased income? Would you be interested? That’s what planned giving does.

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How Does It Work?

What is a planned gift? When most people think about charitable giving, they consider how much money they have available in their checking accounts and how much they can give without hurting their ability to pay bills and spend money on other things they need or enjoy. Some donors may even think about using appreciated stock to make gifts (a very smart idea—see our Non-Cash Gift Assets page if you’re interested). However, that’s as far as many go in thinking about it.

Planned giving is a way to expand your options and philanthropic ability. A planned gift is one that typically requires the help of someone other than you to complete—a professional advisor or a gift officer, for example. One way to think of a planned gift is as one that involves anything more than writing a check for cash, making a credit card donation, or donating marketable securities. Great things can come from looking beyond those options, and you may be surprised to learn how easy it can be to make a planned gift to MNHS.

Common Types

Planned gifts often include:

  • A gift in your Will or Trust to benefit MNHS
  • Naming MNHS as a beneficiary on your retirement accounts
  • A Charitable Remainder Trust or Charitable Gift Annuity that provides you and/or loved ones with increased lifetime income

Other planned gift tools and techniques are available for various situations.

Wills: A Powerful Tool for Your Life Story and Legacy

Most people know what a Will is. It’s a formal document that directs who gets what property you own when you’re no longer living. A Will is more than that, though. It tells the story of what mattered most to you in life. If not done well, your Will might be a story poorly told, or tell an incomplete story. If done well, your Will should reflect your true values and priorities, not only distributing assets but also acting as a statement of what’s important to you in the world. You can take care of your family while taking care of others in your community too.

Make a Difference for the Future

A gift to charity in a Will (or a Revocable Trust)—sometimes called a “bequest”—is the most common and well-known type of planned gift. Including the Minnesota Historical Society in your Will is a simple way to make a big difference for future generations.  If you already have a Will, a gift to MNHS can be accomplished with a short amendment called a Codicil.  Gifts to in your Will or Revocable Trust allow you to keep your assets as long as you want to keep them, and then give them to MNHS and other favorite charities when you no longer need them. You still can make a powerful long-term impact at little or no cost to you now.

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Benefits of Planned Giving

Most planned gifts come in the form of gifts in Wills or Revocable Trusts, or from Beneficiary Designations on retirement accounts or life insurance policies. With one of these types of planned gifts, you may:

  • Make a significant, meaningful future contribution without changing your current lifestyle

  • Align your financial plans with your passion for history, educating the community, and other values

  • Strengthen MNHS’s long-term sustainability

  • Create a legacy of generosity tied to Minnesota’s heritage

Why Do Supporters Include MNHS in Their Plans?

Some of the largest and most meaningful gifts to MNHS come not from those who give the largest annual contributions, but from supporters who planned ahead to make a gift from their estate plans. These thoughtful donors who made planned gifts demonstrate that legacy giving is about intention and a desire to make a difference, rather than about wealth. Anyone can make a planned gift.

MNHS supporters choose to include us in their plans for several reasons, including:

  • Ensuring Minnesota’s stories are preserved and shared

  • Supporting education, research, and public access to history

  • Honoring family roots, values, and community heritage

  • Leaving an enduring legacy connected to something important to you

Who Participates?

MNHS planned gift donors come from all walks of life. Many Minnesota Legacy Society members are teachers, historians, retirees, lifelong learners, museum or historic site members, and other community supporters who believe deeply in protecting and preserving our shared history. You can join them too!

Join the Minnesota Legacy Society

We invite you to join the many other individuals and families who have included a gift to MNHS in their plans. This special group of supporters will allow us to preserve historic places, expand collections and exhibits, and deepen educational programming statewide far into the future. We would love to welcome you to the unique community of the Minnesota Legacy Society.

Interested in Learning More?

If you are considering how you might leave a lasting impact on Minnesota’s history, whether in a big way or a modest one, we would be honored to be part of that conversation. Please reach out to Jennifer Pogatchnik, VP for Advancement, at jennifer.pogatchnik@mnhs.org or 651.491.5684, or visit our main Planned Giving page to learn more.

(Note: MNHS does not give legal, financial, or tax advice, and urges supporters to seek advice from their own professional advisors about how a particular idea may affect their specific circumstances.)