Partner Trainings

Intro to FreeWill & how we support you

You recently began a partnership with FreeWill to boost your planned and smart giving programs. Hooray, and welcome! Join us for a quick 30-minute session dedicated to your success.

Thu, Jan. 16 at 1:00pm ET

The power of grants, and Grant Assistant

Are you new to grants, or considering starting a grant program in 2025? Grant-seeking can be hard work. But there's good news! FreeWill recently acquired Grant Assistant, a cutting-edge AI-powered platform that makes applying for grants faster, easier, and more successful. Join us for Grants 101, and enjoy a preview of Grant Assistant!

Thu, Jan. 23 at 1:00pm ET

FreeWill Forum: 2024 Bequest Campaign Retrospective

Our ongoing work with 1,800 nonprofit partners informs the marketing strategies we share with you. We're diving into our 2024 data and are excited to share key findings from that analysis, and how those learnings will inform our 2025 plans.

Thu, Jan. 30 at 1:00pm ET

Planned & Smart Giving Certificates

Jump start your FreeWill journey, or take your confidence with planned and smart giving to the next level. Our free Certificate programs are available on-demand exclusively to FreeWill partners. Check them out today!

Planned Giving 101

If your nonprofit is investing in planned giving, you're on the right track. Trillions of dollars will change hands as part of the Great Wealth Transfer, and positioning your organization to benefit is essential to your future success. Learn the basics in this recorded session.

Smart Giving 101

Stock. QCDs. Crypto. DAF grants. Are you comfortable with the basic mechanics and tax benefits of tax-smart gifts like these? Do you feel confident discussing them with donors? If you need a primer on smart giving, watch this recording!

Intro to FreeWill & how we support you

If you're a newly-signed FreeWill partner or a new point of contact at an existing partner, this course is dedicated to supporting your success. Learn what to expect from FreeWill and what we need from you to maximize the partnership.

Planned Giving Certificate

Our five-course certificate program helps you jump start your FreeWill partnership or accelerate your planned giving journey with courses on marketing, donor conversations, stewardship, and more.

Complete all five courses and an online quiz to earn the certificate, or pick-and-choose the courses that interest you.

Campaign Info Session: Winter Bequests

Now is the time to plan your first bequest campaign of 2025! FreeWill is excited to share new outreach strategies and messaging options to maximize your reach - and results! - this winter.

Campaign Info Session: Preparing for NEPAW 2024

68% of Americans are still without an up-to-date will or trust. Leverage National Estate Planning Awareness Week to share your FreeWill tool, inspire supporters to create essential documents, and secure new planned gift commitments!

Campaign Info Session: Make-A-Will Month

National Make-A-Will Month is an annual opportunity to help your donors write their plan, protect their families, and leave a legacy. Watch this recording to learn why it's our #1 campaign recommendation for FreeWill partners, and to hear all about our 2024 outreach strategy for this notable giving occasion!

Campaign Info Session: 'Plant A Seed' for spring bequests

A springtime bequest campaign plants a seed in your donors' minds that legacy gifts can be easy to establish and will one day be profoundly impactful on your mission. Watch this recording to learn our strategy recommendations for the "Plant a Seed" campaign and how to opt-in to participate.

FreeWill Forum: 2023 Bequest Campaign Retrospective

FreeWill's content team dove into the data from your 2023 FreeWill bequest campaigns and were excited to share that analysis with you! Watch the recording to review key findings and learn how these insights are informing our outreach strategies in 2024.

12 essential estate planning documents everyone needs

In advance of National Estate Planning Awareness Week (NEPAW), we shared an overview of important legal documents your supporters may consider including in their estate plan, why each is essential, and how they can get them ready.

Creative Strategies to Drive Year-Over-Year Results

How can you sustain (and boost!) your FreeWill results long-term? In this session, we reviewed best practices for planned giving outreach and shared creative outreach strategies to try in Year 2, 3 & beyond.

Donor prospect research and uncovering assets

Learn about the importance of conducting donor prospect research, what philanthropic indicators and wealth markers to look for that can signal viable non-cash prospects, and to review some high-level donor prospecting strategies.

Smart Giving Certificate

Our five-course certificate program helps you jump start your FreeWill partnership or take your comfort and confidence with non-cash giving to the next level.

Complete all five courses and an online quiz to earn the certificate, or pick-and-choose the courses that interest you.

Campaign Info Session: Year-End Smart Giving

Some nonprofits secure as much as 50% of their annual revenue in the last two months of the year. Are you ready to maximize your year-end giving by sharing smart gifts with your donor base? View the recording to learn more.

Campaign Info Session: Summertime Smart Giving

Summer 2024 presents a notable opportunity to share Smart Giving with your donors. And partners who send smart giving outreach throughout the year are more likely to receive smart gifts at year end. It’s not too early to lay the groundwork for year-end!

Campaign Info Session: Tax Season

Americans who owe taxes this year may ask, "How can I reduce my taxable income now so I don't end up with a tax bill again next year?" In this session, we reviewed strategy & engagement recommendations for a 2024 tax season campaign to drive tax-savvy smart gifts.

The growing power of DAFs

DAFs have shown stunning growth over the last five years, with no signs of their popularity slowing down. In this session, FreeWill's co-CEO Patrick Schmitt unpacked and demystified this hot giving trend — and introduced you to FreeWill's new solution for DAF giving.

Workshop: QCD Donor Conversations

Many gift officers are looking to build comfort and confidence talking about IRA giving with mature donors. This interactive workshop offered tips for introducing QCDs into donor conversations at all points in the donor cultivation cycle.

Partner Roundtable: Planned giving stewardship

Our first ever Partner Roundtable facilitated connection with other FreeWill partner contacts working in planned giving and created space to learn what others are doing to steward their FreeWill bequest donors. 

Partnering with financial advisors

If your donor works with a professional advisor, it's helpful for you to understand the role of the advisor, and to work to ensure philanthropy is part of the conversation. Join FreeWill and reps from Mercer Advisors to learn more.

FreeWill Forum: UX Stewardship Research Study

FreeWill's User Experience (UX) team conducted a stewardship research study that is informing new resource development and product updates at FreeWill in 2023. Watch this recording to learn more about the study and how these insights can help you steward FreeWill bequest donors.

5 strategies to enhance your donor communication & stewardship strategy

Explore learnings from FreeWill's 2021 tax season campaign and review the most effective strategies to steward your donors.

Workshop: Building relationships and retaining donors

Learn about stewardship best practices, what your peers are doing, and how you can maximize your Bequest tool's success with three easy steps.

Feature updates

FreeWill is on continuous release cycle, launching exciting new products and features throughout the year. These videos share details of recent updates and how they'll help you better steward your FreeWill donors.

Product demos

Whether you're a newly-signed FreeWill partner, new to your organization's FreeWill partnership, or just want a refresher on the FreeWill user experience, our demo videos walk you through the products' warm and intuitive user flows.

Optimize your website

Effective integration of the FreeWill products on your nonprofit's website is a key strategy for success. Learn the latest best practices for effective web integration and preview FreeWill's newest product offering: stunning Planned Giving Websites!

Portalpalooza 2024

Five exciting new product enhancements. Five fun, interactive events to learn all about them. Portalpalooza may be over, but you can learn more by watching the recordings! 🎉

FreeWill Forum: Product roadmap

What's new at FreeWill as of July 2023? What have we been working on? Where are we heading as a company? If you're curious about FreeWill's recent product updates and vision for the future, watch this special FreeWill Forum!