I am often asked, “Viken, do planned giving newsletters work?” Yes they do, but it is the wrong question to ask.
October 25, 2019 Read more
Planned Giving Marketing
Again and again, Dr. Russell James found that formal and technical terms reduce the chances that a prospective donor will be interested in making a planned gift. And we’ve been saying that since 1998. Yet, many nonprofits still do not take the advice.
July 31, 2019 Read more
Planned giving productivity. It’s not about learning calculators, CRUTs and CRATs. Here are 5, simple helpful tips for you career — and mental health.
July 23, 2019 Read more
Recently, an IT functionary at a large Midwestern institution convinced the Development team to produce their planned giving website in-house. It took them 8 months.
July 20, 2019 Read more
Planned gifts are not always deferred. Some provide immediate cash, some come in sooner than you think, and here are a few tips to accelerate them.
July 20, 2019 Read more
“Direct mail is too expensive,” you say. Well, fine. Use something cheaper that does not work nearly as well.
June 27, 2019 Read more
“Oh, you’re one of those people who care about the black squiggly marks,” the Director of Development told me.
June 19, 2019 Read more
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
June 14, 2019 Read more
A direct mail campaign that’s not so vanilla. Only in the for-profit world. Would you have had the stomach for it?
June 12, 2019 Read more
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.
June 11, 2019 Read more
We worked with a client that’s a women’s breast cancer foundation with over two million Facebook followers. This is very impressive. So how did they do it?
June 11, 2019 Read more
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.”
June 6, 2019 Read more