Nonprofit Investment Management Blog

Patrick Schmitt

Patrick Schmitt
Patrick Schmitt and fellow co-CEO Jenny Xia founded FreeWill at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2016. FreeWill’s charitable giving platform makes it easier for nonprofit fundraising teams to unlock transformational gifts, and to date has generated over $6.6 billion in new gift commitments for thousands of nonprofit organizations. Patrick hosts FreeWill’s popular webinar series, educating thousands of nonprofit fundraising professionals each month about planned and non-cash giving strategies. Before FreeWill, Patrick was the Head of Innovation at Change.org, where he helped grow the organization to 100 million users in four years. Prior to that, he ran email marketing for President Obama and served as Campaign Director for MoveOn.org.

Recent Posts

From Testimonials to Legacy Societies: Driving Planned Gifts

Posted by Patrick Schmitt on Nov 20, 2025 1:02:28 PM

 

It’s no secret that planned gifts are essential for your nonprofit’s long-term financial health. However, the challenge comes when it’s time to create a clear communication strategy that encourages donors to make a long-term commitment. So, where do you begin? 

A successful planned giving program is built on trust, education, and open communication. From creating a central resource for donors to celebrating their gifts in a meaningful way, this guide will provide everything you need to inspire planned (also called legacy) gifts. 

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Topics: Nonprofit

More Than Bequests: Diversifying Your Legacy Giving Program

Posted by Patrick Schmitt on Mar 14, 2024 12:14:11 PM

Legacy giving serves as a tried-and-true (if often underutilized) source of revenue for nonprofits. 

Planned gifts like bequests provide a range of benefits, including stable funding over time and opportunities to deepen relationships with your organization’s most dedicated supporters and their families. Creating a thriving legacy giving program is a worthy investment for organizations of all sizes. 

But even with a well-managed program, you may be inadvertently limiting the potential of your investment by keeping a narrow focus on just one type of gift.  

To help you maximize the impact of your legacy giving program, we’ll take a look at today’s legacy and non-cash giving options that might be excellent choices for some of your nonprofit’s donors.

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Topics: Nonprofit

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