PlannedGiving.com - Planned Giving

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 »

Fundraisers can make “civilians” a little nervous when they’re around (see Dan Rice’s article in the Spring 2008 issue of Planned Giving Tomorrow). What comments do you get when you tell folks what you do for a living? “Ugh, I could never ask strangers for money!” “Well, I hope you didn’t bring your begging bowl with you tonight – this is a friendly party.” Read more »

Suggest a codicil, a document that adds a bequest to your organization, then confirms all other provisions of the existing will.

It’s simple and inexpensive to prepare.

In this discussion we must assume that the mailing is not going out late and does not have a deadline for response. In this case use First Class or do not mail at all. Read more »

Marketing noise: every day the average prospect is inundated with over 2500 marketing messages. In a large city, it’s over 3700. A battle is being fought for the eyes and ears of the world, and in most cases the enemy is an overstuffed mailbox. Not only is your mail competing with the Legacy Newsletter of the hospital next door, but your prospects’ mailboxes are full of so much junk that it levels the playing field. Read more »

Having doubts about going after planned gifts because it takes too long for the gifts to mature?

The average time from inception to maturity for a planned gift is 7-10 years — only a few years longer than most campaign pledge periods.

Do the math yourself: Read more »