CATEGORY
You can’t believe how hard it is for people to be simple, how much they fear being simple. They worry that if they’re simple, people will think they’re simpleminded. In reality, of course, it’s just the reverse. ~ Jack Welch, CEO, General Electric
It’s hard to explain how a Donor Advised Fund works to a donor. And when you try, they’re yawning. This creative marketing copy helps them get the point.
A direct mail campaign that’s not so vanilla. Only in the for-profit world. Would you have had the stomach for it?
A donor can donate a house, get a deduction, live there for life, and receive an annuity from the donation for life. Hmm … does not sound right.
I am amused when a client hires us and then tells us what to do. My favorite inquiry is, “We’d like to send out a planned giving postcard and see if something will happen.”
Remember when news broke that Tiger Woods was cheating — not at golf, but on his wife? The media jumped all over the story.
Are you nurturing your donors? One way to do it is by asking them to tell their story. People like to talk about themselves. It’s natural.
Some people in our industry have made planned giving so moribund that they can put a cat on speed to sleep. Vendors included.
Are you relying on dumb ways to seek donations? A few years ago, a darkly humorous Australian public service ad to promote railway safety went viral. Called “Dumb Ways to Die,” the campaign was set to a catchy song with lyrics including, Set fire to your hair. Poke a stick at a grizzly bear. Eat medicine that’s out of date. Use your private parts as Piranha bait. I have to admit, it was catchy enough (definitely not vanilla marketing!) to
Too busy? Or are you placing Planned Giving on the back burner, again? So many fundraisers make excuses, claiming they’ve placed planned giving on the back-burner because of tight budgets, smaller staffs and not enough time. Bull. There’s an underlying reason that none of us wants to acknowledge: Four years ago we asked fundraisers whether they believed planned giving is “where the money’s at.” A whopping 74% in the survey answered “yes.” But on the very next question, “Where do
Free Online Will & Estate Planning Tool for Charitable Giving
A donor-facing estate planning tool designed to help document charitable intent.
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