The great wealth transfer: Opportunities for philanthropy

The United States is about to undergo the largest wealth transfer in its history, creating a significant opportunity for philanthropy. Yet this transfer will not happen all at once, nor will it move only in a straight line from older generations to younger heirs.

Wealth will move gradually, first through spouses and partners, then later to Generation X and millennial heirs and charitable organizations. For non-profit organizations, this means the opportunity is not simply about waiting for future bequests. It is about refining donor engagement now, building sustainable funding streams and advancing long-term mission goals as philanthropic priorities evolve.

How the wealth will flow

According to Cerulli Associates, an estimated $124 trillion in assets is projected to change hands through 2048, consisting of approximately $105 trillion to heirs and about $18 trillion to charity. Much of this transfer will occur gradually, because baby boomers are living longer and spending down their assets before passing on their remaining wealth.

More than half of the total transfer volume will come from high net worth and ultrahigh net worth households, which represent a small share of U.S. households. This concentration underscores why major and planned giving strategies will need to become more targeted, relationship-driven and data-informed.

Cerulli projects that $54 trillion will first transfer to spouses, including nearly $40 trillion to widowed women in the baby boom and older generations, before moving intergenerationally to heirs and charities. Non-profits that understand these shifts and prepare now will be better positioned to engage donors and benefit from this long-term transformation in giving.

Historically, baby boomers and older generations have been the primary drivers of charitable giving, as giving typically increases with age and accumulated wealth. However, a generational shift is reshaping philanthropy. 

Millennials are projected to inherit the most of any generation over the next 25 years, while Gen X is expected to receive the largest share of inherited assets in the nearer term. Together, Gen X and millennials will receive approximately $85 trillion, making early relationship-building with these generations essential.  

Younger donors approach giving differently, placing greater emphasis on impact, transparency, authenticity and digital engagement. For non-profits, understanding how next-generation wealth holders make giving decisions and engaging them before and after inheritance events will be critical to long-term fundraising success.

The challenges of the wealth transfer

People are living longer, and wealthier Americans may spend more on longevity, healthcare, long-term care, travel and retirement living before assets pass to heirs. Some families are also transferring wealth in smaller amounts by helping with home purchases, education costs, vacations and other family needs. For non-profits, this means the planned giving pipeline may stretch over a longer horizon and require consistent stewardship rather than episodic campaign outreach.

Even as wealth begins to move, many non-profits face rising operational costs driven by inflation and reductions in government funding. The result is a widening gap: greater demand for services at the very moment resources are stretched thin. This dynamic makes new, intentional donor engagement strategies not just advantageous but essential.

Midsize non-profits and educational institutions sit at the center of this challenge. They are large enough to pursue meaningful planned gifts yet often lack the development infrastructure of major institutions. Navigating this landscape requires a clear-eyed view of what is changing.

The opportunities for non-profits in a new environment

For organizations prepared to adapt, the potential is significant. The wealth transfer represents one of the largest fundraising opportunities in decades, creating space to expand planned and legacy giving, develop new engagement channels, and strengthen recurring and alternative giving models. It also gives mission-driven organizations an opportunity to stand out by demonstrating measurable impact, which is an increasingly important priority for next-generation donors.

Because a meaningful portion of wealth will first transfer to surviving spouses, non-profits should view spouses, widowed donors and adult children as interconnected parts of the same philanthropic ecosystem.

Women donors warrant particular attention. Women are expected to control roughly 70% of transferred wealth through spousal transfers. Research and donor behavior trends indicate that women give consistently and strategically, with strong interest in education, healthcare, community development and social equity. Non-profits that cultivate authentic, long-term relationships with women donors will be better positioned to benefit from this shift.

Demographics have always shaped planned giving, but the next decade may change the donor landscape more dramatically than the last 50 years have. The result is a planned giving timeline that looks different from the historical model and will require non-profit teams to rethink how they build prospect pipelines, engage families, steward donor intent and convert long-term relationships into future mission support.

How to make the most of the wealth transfer

Non-profits should adopt a relationship-driven, data-enabled fundraising strategy focused on high-capacity donors and their heirs. Priority actions include:

• Build a legacy-giving program that incorporates wills, trusts, donor advised funds and other long-term giving vehicles, while acknowledging that gifts may materialize later as assets move first to spouses and then to heirs or charities.
  
  
• Segment and tailor outreach by generation and life stage, recognizing that older donors may respond to estate planning, legacy and stewardship messages; surviving spouses may need trusted relationships and clear options; and younger donors often prioritize impact, storytelling and digital engagement.
  
  
• Invest in impact transparency and reporting by showing where donor dollars go and the outcomes they produce.
  
  
• Shift from campaign-based outreach to continuous relationship-building through personalized communication and meaningful community engagement.
  
  
• Use data and technology strategically to identify wealth signals, liquidity events and donor readiness, recognizing that timing can be unpredictable and these indicators require ongoing monitoring.
  
  
• Engage families, not just individual donors, early to support multigenerational giving conversations and build relationships with spouses, adult children and heirs before major wealth-transfer decisions are finalized.
  
  
• Strengthen advisor partnerships by working with financial advisors and estate planners before giving decisions are finalized.