Does your shop sound like a legal department?
Keep your planned giving correspondence and marketing materials simple. Prospects won’t respond if they do not understand what you’re telling them. And if you are a lawyer, please read this paragraph twice.
Here are two simple statements that get your point across:
- You don’t have to be wealthy to make a significant gift.
- You can make a gift that costs you nothing during your lifetime.
Simple? Yes. But also clear, engaging and to-the-point. Such statements show prospects how you can help. They reinforce your role as the facilitator who can make their desire to help your organization a reality.
On a similar note, are you tempted to add general financial-planning material to your website and other marketing materials? Think first. The for-profit sector employs staff full time to produce thoroughly researched, handsomely packaged analysis and advice for their clients. When you post canned financial-planning articles, you are competing with those specialty institutions on their home turf. That’s not an efficient use of your resources.
Instead, harness the special relationship your organization has with its supporters. When they hear from you, they want to know how your organization is faring and how they can help. Most of them have general knowledge of how financial markets work.
What they don’t know is how planned giving can transform one of their investments into a gift.
Category: Planned Giving Marketing on July 25th, 2007