Major gifts don't close themselves.
When your gift planning program loses momentum, your donors notice. Richard Letocha is the gift planning specialist nonprofits call when they need the work done, not just advised on.
personal. simple. mutually beneficial. joyful.
Good philanthropy is
personal. simple. mutually beneficial. joyful.
What is Gift Planning?
Gift planning is one of the most powerful tools any nonprofit has. It's also one of the most neglected, mostly because it feels complicated and requires experts that tend to stay at large institutions.
Gift planning goes by a lot of names: planned giving, legacy giving, deferred gifts, estate planning, and more. If your organization has been talking about launching a legacy society, stewarding your bequest expectancies, or finally building out that pipeline of major donors who want to do something bigger, that's gift planning. Done well, it's one of the most joyful conversations in philanthropy.
Meet Richard Letocha, JD, CFP.
The Joyful Gift Planning Guy.
He spent 15 years as a gift planning advisor at Johns Hopkins, one of the most sophisticated development operations in the country. In that time, he made over 350 donor visits across 20 states and helped secure more than $10 million in legacy gifts.
He holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a CFP designation he's carried for 19 years, and is certified as a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy. He’s also one of the most joyful gift planning guys you’ll meet.
He's also the person who drives a bright yellow car because he loves it, calls himself a ridiculous guy, and genuinely finds joy in a field that usually feels like a legal consultation - that combination is rarer than it sounds. Deep technical expertise and genuine warmth, delivered by someone who listens first, has no preset agenda, and cares as much about your donors' well-being as your organization's goals.
His philosophy: good philanthropy is simple philanthropy.
His approach: the Gift Planning Reset.
The Gift Planning Reset
His three-step approach to getting your program back on track.
Discover
an honest look at where your program and donors actually stand
➔
1
Demystify
a clear path forward for your team and the donors they serve
2
Deliver
donor visits, stewardship, closed gifts, and systems that outlast the engagement
➔
3
How nonprofits work with Richard
Whether your program needs someone to run it while you search for a permanent hire, your major gift officers need a technical expert they can call when conversations get complicated, or your team just needs help figuring out where to begin, Richard's done all of it. His work looks different for every organization because every program is different.
Gift Planning for Nonprofits
Richard steps in as an interim director, fractional consultant, or outsourced expert for organizations that need the gift planning work done. He meets with donors, advances open solicitations, stewards existing commitments, and builds systems your team can carry forward.
Education, Training and Speaking
Richard coaches development staff on planned gift conversations, runs board retreats that make gift planning feel approachable, and speaks at conferences for nonprofit professionals and advisor groups.
Strategic Advising
Not sure how healthy your program actually is? Richard starts with a genuine assessment of your donors, your team, and your program, then gives you a plain-language picture of where things stand and what the highest-value next moves are.
The Joyful Giving Session
For individual donors who want to think through their giving, understand their options, and make a plan that actually fits their values and their financial picture.
Not sure where to start?
Download Richard's free guide: Your Gift Planning Questions, Answered. It covers the questions development directors ask most, with honest answers and an introduction to the Gift Planning Reset.
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"Communication was top-notch and the final outcome was even better than we imagined."
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“A professional team that delivers on their promises.”
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“Their attention to detail and commitment to quality truly stood out.”
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“Every detail was thoughtfully executed. We're thrilled with the outcome.”
What it looks like when gift planning is working
Your development staff knows how to open a planned gift conversation without dreading it. Donors who made commitments years ago are actually hearing from someone who knows their name and means it. Your major gift officers have a specialist they can call when things get technical, which means fewer conversations stall at the complicated part. New legacy gifts are coming in because someone is in the room asking. And when Richard's engagement ends, your program keeps running.
What happens when a program stays quiet
Legacy donors drift. Relationships that took years to build fade because nobody followed up. The gifts that were almost there never close, not because the donors changed their minds, but because the program lost momentum and never got it back. The donors who care most about your mission, the ones who were ready to make the biggest gift of their philanthropic lives, deserved better than an empty inbox.
From Richard's desk
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