A Compilation of News and Notes Related to Fund-Raising - Vol.4 - Quarterly Issue - Thoughts-and-More Thoughts on Bequests

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Liam

A Compilation of News and Notes Related to Fund-Raising presents a discussion of charitable bequests and their promotion, framed through the work and ideas of Harold J. Seymour and an address by Abel A. Hanson. It evaluates why bequest programs are often ineffective, highlighting barriers such as legal gatekeeping, sales resistance, and institutional inertia. The text outlines practical principles for bequest promotion, including long-term planning, universality of approach, direct treatment of inertia, and low but constant pressure with broad participation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

THOUGHTS-AND-MORE THOUGHTS ON BEQUESTS

Bequest committees and early assumptions

Seymour’s memorandum and core barriers

Improved procedures and bequest booklet principles

Organization and procedural guidance

Fallacy No.1 and alumni will statistics

1458 A Compilation of News and Notes Related to Fund-Raising Vol.4 Quarterly Issue ## THOUGHTS-AND MORE THOUGHTS ON BEQUESTS By Abel A.Hanson,General Secretary,Teachers College,New York (Editor's Note:—During recent yeors Harold J.Seymour has writen occasional papers on various phases offund roising which hove hod wide reading.Recently,a collection of these papers has been used os relatedreading material for the course in educational fund raising,conducted at Teachers College,by Abel A.Hanson. Recently Mr.Hanson spoke before o regionol meeting of the Americon College Public Relations Associationin Williamsburg,Virginia,ond presented material from two Seymour papers on bequest work,followed bycomment on recent experiences in bequest progroms at Teochers College.) Bequest committees were likely to be on the nationallevel only,used principally for creating confidenceand for reference.Comparatively few staff assign-ments have been made. VER six years ago Harold J.Seymour produced amemorandum under the title "Thoughts on thePromotion of Charitable Bequests”which stated: Bequests are becoming more and more importantto the security and stability of nearly all voluntaryagencies. Evidence of planned promotion has been difficultto find,although most programs give continuingexposure to legal forms of bequests.Implicit in allprograms has been the belief that lawyers would usethe bequest booklet in conferences with clients. More and more encouragement is being given tobequests by state and federal tax structures. Bequests are like virtue,in that they are more gen-erally espoused than effectively promoted. Seymour then proceeds to an evaluation of currentlyknown bequest programs,and says: This is a field in which all fund raisers have earnestaspirations,but about which none of us knows verymuch. They make no constructive attack on the peculiarproblems of sales resistance and inertia.Generally,they lack fund-raising's basic require-ments,such as universality,optimism,drama,per-sistence,adequate staff,and budget. The problems peculiar to the promotions of bequestswere outlined by Seymour,as follows: They are unrealistic in assuming that lawyers andtrust officers will go very far in suggesting to clientsbequests for any given institution. The subject is not a popular topic even in the ab-stract.Sales resistance is relatively high. The inertia problem is greater than for most otherforms of giving. Suggestions for improved procedures in bequest promo-tion,are outlined by Seymour thusly: Bequest promotion is obviously a long-term projectwith little or no immediate assurance of return. The best antidote for individual resistance shouldbe universality;have a plan applicable to every-body. The characteristics in past and current promotional be-quest programs were described by Seymour in this man-ner: A bequest program should feature a common de-nominator for all levels as a central promotionaltheme:such as,the perpetuation of a life-time in-terest by capitalizing one's annual giving. Most programs have had booklets built around thetheme of the imperishability of endowed memorials,opportunities for such gifts,and how the tax struc-ture favors them. The factor of inertia should be attacked directly.The Revenue Act of April 1948 applied the maritaldeduction provision to estate taxes as well as in-come tax.Wills written before that date should beexamined and revised.This is a matter of directself-interest. The audience for the booklet usually has compriseda selected list of alumni and others,and included alist of attorneys and trust officers thought to besympathetic. After suggesting some principles for the development ofbequest booklets,Seymour makes some points on organ-ization and concludes with these thoughts on procedure: Use existing channels of organization,and workfrom the inside out—starting with those who knowthe institution best,or are the most responsible anddependable supporte

FAQs

What concerns did Seymour raise about promoting charitable bequests?

Seymour argued that bequests were increasingly important, yet planned promotion was hard to find. He noted that programs often failed to address sales resistance and inertia and lacked core fundraising requirements such as universality, optimism, drama, persistence, staff, and budget.

Why is bequest promotion described as difficult compared with other giving?

The text emphasizes higher sales resistance and a greater inertia problem than most other forms of giving. It also criticizes unrealistic expectations that lawyers and trust officers will readily suggest bequests to clients for specific institutions.

What principles does the document recommend for running a bequest program?

It recommends long-term promotion at relatively low but constant pressure, with maximum participation in planning and discussion. It also stresses universality as an antidote to individual resistance, consistent exposure across media, and proper recognition plus adequate staff and budget.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Liam