The George Washington University
- Founded in 1821 due to a bequest made by President George Washington.
- More than 26,000 students.
- In early 2017, GW’s comprehensive campaign exceeded its $1 billion goal.
The Goal
Provide legacy and charitable estate planning services to loyal donors and advisory board members to help the University secure more planned gifts.
The Starting Point
GW’s Assistant Vice President for Development, Planned Giving wanted to increase the number of new planned gifts and to offer legacy planning services to some of the University’s most loyal donors – particularly to the Schools of Medicine, Engineering and Business. Leaders made a decision to act.
The Strategy
- Provide values-based legacy planning to advisory board members, alumni of the Schools of Medicine, Engineering and Business, and consecutive-year giving donors with the highest affinity for GWU.
The Results
- Donors documented new planned or blended gifts with GWU, of which several were naming opportunities and endowed scholarships.
- Included is the first charitable lead trust in the University’s history.
- Gifts range from $100,000 to $1.2 million
- Gift vehicles include bequests, charitable remainder and lead trusts, gifts of cash and appreciated stock, and CGAs.
