Exploring
Bring estate planning to your donors.
Trustwise can integrate into your planned-giving program — as a co-branded donor flow, an entirely sponsored will, or a referral relationship. Three models, your choice.
Planned-giving teams have a structural problem: most donors who'd include the organization in their will never get around to writing one. The single biggest barrier is friction, not unwillingness. Closing that friction — making the will easy and ideally free — is what FreeWill pioneered for the largest nonprofits. Trustwise extends the same model to mid-sized organizations.
How partnership works
Three models, one platform.
Co-branded donor flow
Your donors land on a page with your branding alongside ours, walking through a will with optional bequest to your organization. Your colors, your logo, your messaging.
Donor-funded model option
For organizations that want zero friction, sponsor your donors' wills — Trustwise bills the nonprofit, the will is free to the donor, with a soft suggestion to include the org as a residuary beneficiary.
Per-bequest model option
Alternative: donors pay regular Trustwise pricing, and we share data on bequest commitments back to your planned-giving team. Used to forecast future endowment growth.
Reporting + analytics
Dashboard showing donor signups, bequest count, total committed bequest value, life-event triggered re-engagement opportunities.
Annual update prompts
We email donors annually to review their plan. If they update the bequest, you see it. If they remove it, we tell you.
Compliant donor education
Articles, glossary, FAQs explaining bequest mechanics — designed not to give legal advice but to answer the questions donors actually ask. Co-brandable.
Who this fits
Best fit organizations.
Universities + colleges
Planned-giving programs that historically depend on aging alumni making bequest commitments. Modern donors expect digital-first; older flows lose them.
Hospitals + health systems
Healthcare-focused nonprofits with grateful patients who want to give back. Bequests dwarf annual donations for many institutions.
Religious organizations
Tithing patterns extend naturally into estate bequests. A digital flow makes it easy for members to formalize.
Mid-sized nonprofits
Organizations with 50,000+ donors who haven't been able to compete with FreeWill's scale. Trustwise is a credible alternative.
Animal welfare + environment
Donor bases that often include people without immediate human heirs — exactly the audience that asks 'what happens to my estate?'
What we offer
Compared to alternatives.
vs FreeWill: FreeWill is excellent and dominates the largest nonprofits. Trustwise is built for mid-sized organizations with stronger brand control needs, better data integration with your CRM (Salesforce / Raiser's Edge / Bonterra / Bloomerang), and a sponsored-flow option that lets you cover the donor's cost rather than only relying on charity-funded mass distribution.
vs DIY donor education: Sending donors to a generic estate-planning website hoping they'll remember the bequest is a 1-2% conversion rate. Co-branded flows convert much higher because the bequest is the default, not an afterthought.
vs traditional estate-planning attorney referrals: Attorney-driven flows have low completion rates (under 20% of referred donors finish a will). Online flows with co-branding routinely hit 60-80% completion.
What we need from you
Partnership requirements.
- —501(c)(3) status with at least 3 years of operating history.
- —Active planned-giving program — at least one staff member who handles legacy gifts.
- —Donor base of 5,000+ for the partnership economics to work.
- —Commitment to ethical donor practices — soft suggestion to include the org, not pressure tactics. We retain editorial control over the will copy.
Talk to us.
If your organization fits, email partnerships@cocreateidea.com with a one-paragraph description of your planned-giving program and donor base size. We're talking to charter partners now.
See the donor flow first.
Try the consumer flow before reaching out. It's the same flow your donors would use, minus your branding.