PlannedGiving.com - Planned Giving

What’s scarier than your 401k statement? Writing a year-end appeal to your donors and supporters in this economic climate, that’s what.

Some of my favorite nonprofit friends are telling me they’re not going to do a year–end letter this year.  They know donors are facing the biggest cash crunch of their lives, and they don’t want to make them feel even more jittery.

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There is one marketing truth you must understand: People give when they are ready to give, not when you are ready to sell (i.e., “ask”). So, just because your lead is not ready to buy (donate) today, doesn’t mean they aren’t important. After all, today’s leads are tomorrow’s donors, or next month’s or next year’s. Read more »

Year end is a time of retrospect and anticipation.  For fundraisers, especially those responsible for planned gifts, you remember all that you didn’t get done and anticipate all there is to do before December 31!

Helping your donors meet the December 31 tax deadline (See solicitation letters for Year End Giving in a Tough Year) means that you can plan on staying longer and doing more than just about everyone else — except for your office’s gifts processor.  So plan a nice rest in January (Isn’t there a planned giving conference in the Caribbean, then? There should be…) and get ready for the year-end sprint. Read more »

It was one of those client phone calls.  A Monday-Morning Special.

“We’ve always had good results from our VirtualGiving website,” came the pleasant voice.  “But we have a new director and she’s decided to rewrite all marketing materials herself.  Website, ads, newsletters, all brochures…” she trailed off apologetically.

This is not worth an argument, I told myself, watching a beautiful deer stroll past my window in Valley Forge, PA—but I tried one anyway. “Doesn’t she know her time is better spent getting out and meeting prospects? She’ll spend half a year behind a desk writing and editing copy.” Read more »

“Response rates from newsletters are down! Attendance at my annual seminar is way off…” fundraisers tell us.

What did you think was going to happen!?!

Those old methods are simply not working anymore. While you weren’t watching, the prospect pool has changed. They’re  more knowledgeable, more independent—and— skeptical, harder to reach and to persuade. Read more »

The Care and Feeding of Donors

Why not begin the New Year with a fresh, new approach to cultivating and stewarding planned giving donors? Too often, once a prospect has documented his/her bequest intentions, the donor acknowledgment period lasts through several months of standard thank-you letters, a holiday greeting or goodie, and perhaps a recognition dinner, depending on level of gift.

The donor’s name is summarily noted in recognition reports, on walls of fame, etched onto a plaque or mug, and whisked away into a legacy giving society. Read more »

None of us is supposed to be here by now.  In 1968, Stanford’s Paul Ehrlich predicted that “In the 70s the world will undergo famines… hundreds of millions of people (including Americans) will starve to death.”  (The Population Bomb, 1968) A year later, Dr. Ehrlich wagered, “I would take even money that England will not exist in the year 2000.” (The doctor lost his bet, but earned enough royalties to secure his retirement). Read more »

Simple. Non-Technical. Less is More.

If you want your planned giving website to do more than just take up space – if you want it to actually communicate with your prospects and motivate them to plan a gift – here are the features to look for, and the ones to avoid: Read more »

I get around. My latest encounter was with the South Carolina Planned Giving Council and I think I caught something… Read more »

This is a great article originally published in Planned Giving Tomorrow. You may also want to read Why Most Planed Giving Marketing Fails.

The 40-40-20 Rule

An old secret in direct marketing was, “Never, ever forget the 40-40-20 rule!”  The Rule dictated that: Read more »