The Pentera Blog
Size and Type of Planned Gifts Impacted by Whether Donors Have Children
It's well known that childlessness is a top predictor of making a planned gift, but The 2016 Planned Giving Study sponsored and funded by Pentera adds new findings on the impact of parenthood on giving:
- Donors without children make larger planned gifts.
- Donors with children utilize more gift types when making planned gifts.
Childlessness is one of many issues addressed in the study that was released earlier this year. The 2016 Planned Giving Study was the brainchild of Pentera CEO Claudine A. Donikian and researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Gifts from childless donors are more than double
In regard to the size of planned gifts, the study found that planned gifts from donors without children were more than double the size of planned gifts from donors with children. Donors with children tend to give the bulk of their estates to their kids, while donors without children may "adopt" charities as their heirs.
| Donors without Children | Donors with Children | |||
| Average Gift | $1,242,120 | $580,844 | ||
| Median Gift | $313,578 | $114,159 |
Life insurance gifts more popular from those with children
In regard to the type of gifts, the study found that bequests were by far the most popular planned gifts from donors without children but that trusts were the most popular gift from donors with children—who also were twice as likely to make life insurance gifts. Donors with children often find they don't need their life insurance after their children have reached adulthood and completed college.
| Donors without Children | Donors with Children | |||
| Bequest | 44% | 28% | ||
| Trust | 26% | 30% | ||
| Gift Annuity | 14% | 17% | ||
| Life Insurance | 8% | 17% | ||
| Gift from IRA | 4% | 7% | ||
| Other | 4% | 1% |
The complete study with many other findings is available here.
