Gift planning and planned giving refer to donations that are made through financial vehicles that are designed to provide funds to an organization at some future time.  Typical methods for making a planned donation are bequests in wills, life insurance, trusts, annuities and other similar financial instruments. The donor initiates the donation using one of these methods and then the donation is provided at some point in the future.

The donor has no obligation to tell the charity that he or she has planned a donation by one of these methods.  Therefore, the charity may not be able to plan for the use of the funds, since there is no awareness of when the funds might be received. This being the case, charities often use receipts from planned gifts to build up their endowment funds. However, the decision for the use of the donation may be made at the time of its receipt, and may be used for a purpose designated by the donor or, if there is no designation, may be used for any purpose the organization sees fit.

Planned gifts are typically not solicited directly. Charities make people aware that these giving options are available and then if people are interested in making a planned gift, they discuss their options with their lawyer or financial advisor. Some larger organizations have people knowledgeable in financial options on staff, who may provide guidance and advice to interested donors.

Often planned giving is used to establish an endowment fund because this appeals to donors who may wish to leave a legacy.  Also, there may be tax advantages to both the donor and the charity to use planned giving to build an endowment fund.