In this special report, Philanthropy Journal looks at tools and techniques for planned giving. They also feature experts' advice on key planned-giving vehicles and on engaging donors.

Planned giving: Tools and strategies

New tools for planned giving With planned-giving officers playing a greater role, donors and nonprofits are making increasing use of real estate and gift annuities, an expert says.

Secrets to working with advisers Professional advisers can be key partners for charities in working with donors to create planned gifts, a fundraising professional says.

Time seen ripe to embrace planned giving Nonprofits waiting for the perfect time to start a planned-giving program may wait forever, development professionals say.

Planned giving: Expert advice

Planned gifts hinge on relationships Linda Burr of CARE says nonprofits should approach donors as professional, trusted and ethical philanthropic partners.

Three key planned-giving vehicles, demystified Fred Stang, director of development at the Triangle Community Foundation in Durham, N.C., profiles three essential gift vehicles for nonprofits starting a planned giving program.

We have announce here previously that Google has offered many of it's new products to nonprofits.

Google has now consolidated all of these offerings for nonprofits into one page, Google for Nonprofits: www.google.com/nonprofits/.

There you will find links to Gmail, Google Checkout, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Analytics, Google Grants, YouTube, Blogger, Google Maps and Earth, Google Gadgets, Google Groups, Google.org, Google for Educators, and Google Sponsorships.

These aren't just links to Google's neat tools, they are links to special sections for each tool that address how each tool can help a nonprofit and some with success stories and testimonials.

Dollars raised by people willing to exercise for a good cause (marathons, walk-a-thons, jog-a-thons, and ride-a-thons raised in excess of a $1.5 billion annually) grew 12.1% in 2007 and are expected to grow at a similar rate in 2008, according to the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council, the leading authority on athletic event fundraising.

"The executives who manage these events are optimistic that they will raise even more money in 2008 in spite of challenging economic times," said David Hessekiel, president of the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council.

"There's growth at both ends of the spectrum from well-established megaprograms to up-and-coming new programs," Hessekiel said. Key factors fueling the expansion include technology (improved online fundraising tools), societal values (doing good is very much in vogue) and the professionalization of athletic event fundraising as demonstrated by the formation in 2007 of the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council, he said.

From the Flickr blog:

Sharing your photos with the world is something that’s core to the Flickr community. Sharing is good, but sharing forgood is, well, really good.

Some of our members share their photos with a specific purpose in mind - to shine a light on social or global issues. There are many, many “for good” groups (and individuals) who are already here at Flickr, sharing photos of the good works they care about. To celebrate their efforts and to have a place where we share information on charity, issues, or other for good projects, we’ve created Flickr for Good, where we’ll highlight the good works going on around Flickr.

But wait, there’s more! Working to advance a cause or calling is an integral part of how our global society functions, and being able to use technology to achieve that mission is important. So we’ve partnered with TechSoup, a US based, not for profit, technology group, to donate 10,000 Flickr pro accounts for individuals who work at qualifying “for good” organizations in the US and Canada, with additional countries (UK, Australia, Hong Kong and Spain) expected soon.

The memberships are not entirely free, but are very reasonable compared to the usual fees. Participants must pay $6 for two one-year accounts or $15 for five one-accounts. The fees are administrative, and go towards running TechSoup. If not subsidized, the accounts from Flickr would cost $50 or $150 respectively.

To find out more about how and what a Flickr account and sharing pictures can do for your nonprofit check out this article: How Nonprofits Can Get the Most out of Flickr.

A new web resource has been introduced by www.ashoka.org called the Citizen Base Initiative.

The Citizen Base Initiative is trying to inspire a fundamental shift within the sector and the way we think about grants, resources, and sustainability. They believe citizen sector organizations can free themselves from the chronic dependence on unpredictable and unsustainable foundation and government funding by developing a broad base of citizen support, which they are calling the citizen base. They believe this will lead to greater self-sufficiency, ultimately leading to increased sustainability and greater social impact.

They have recently launched a new website (www.citizenbase.org) which describes the identified trend and includes a large number of case studies. There are a number of resources available that can be of assistance to nonprofit groups.

Two particularly interesting examples:

http://www.citizenbase.org/Charles_Maisel (creative engagement of donors turning them into volunteers)

http://www.citizenbase.org/node/2814 (corporate partnerships that pairs organizational team building with at-risk youth)

Young people are helping their peers address the academic achievement gap in Minnesota and across the country. Through an innovative youth-led grant-making program, the State Farm Youth Advisory Board is granting nearly $80,000 to the St. Paul-based National Youth Leadership Council to support its summer National Youth Leadership Training. The grant is one of three awarded in Minnesota , part of a $5 million-a-year initiative in which young people identify and lead community improvements across the nation and in Canada.

Approximately 50 high school-aged youths will gather in Mound, Minn. July 20-26 for the NYLC training which will emphasize leadership through service-learning - an educational approach in which young people address community needs, applying their academic skills to local issues. One outcome of NYLT will be the opportunity for participants to apply for mini-grants of $1,500 each to implement achievement gap projects in their home communities. Like the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, NYLC’s Youth Advisory Council will be making these decisions to support the community work of their peers.

As NYLC Youth Initiatives Manager Sarah Ullmer says, “This funding enables the experience at NYLT to have a real ripple effect.” These community grants will likely reach more than 500 students nationwide.

State Farm presented the three grants, including one to the Hmong-American Partnership and another to the Minnesota Association of Family Career and Community Leaders of America, February 25, 2008, at the State Farm Twin Cities Operations Center, in Mendota Heights, Minnisota. These organizations are among 68 of the 300 that applied to receive funding in the United States and Canada.

The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is composed of 30 young people, ages 17-20, who were chosen through a competitive process to oversee the initiative. They identify funding areas, review and rank funding proposals, and will now provide technical assistance, communication, and oversight to site to the grantees.

About NYLC: For 25 years, NYLC has led the service-learning movement from its St. Paul offices, training adults and youths, supporting public policy initiatives, developing curricula, and convening the field each year in the National Service-Learning Conference.

About Service-Learning: Service-learning is a teaching method which integrates academics with hands-on projects that address pressing community issues and problems. To learn more about NYLC and service-learning visit www.nylc.org.