Planned giving, sometimes referred to as gift planning, may be defined as a method of supporting non-profits and charities that enables philanthropic individuals or donors to make larger gifts than they could make from their income. While some planned gifts provide a life-long income to the donor, others use estate and tax planning techniques to provide for charity and other heirs in ways that maximize the gift and/or minimize its impact on the donor's estate.

Thus, by definition, a planned gift is any major gift, made in lifetime or at death as part of a donor’s overall financial and/or estate planning.

The death benefit of a life insurance policy can be paid to your organization as a charitable gift.

Donors have several options in giving you life insurance:

• They can contribute a fully paid-up policy, or
• They can contribute a policy on which some premiums remain to be paid. In both of these cases, the donor can claim a charitable deduction for the value of the donated policy, and your organization can “cash in” the policy in advance of the donor’s death.
• Donors can (revocably) name your organization as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy that they continue to own and maintain, or
• They can name you the owner and beneficiary of a new life insurance policy, and make ongoing gifts that offset the premiums you will pay to maintain the policy. There is no charitable deduction available for taking out a new life insurance policy, even if the donor makes you the irrevocable owner.