Philanthropy Is In Flux
If you’re in fundraising, you know the philanthropy landscape is in a state of constant flux. Developing effective forms of marketing and sales tools is an ongoing process.
This is one of the many good reasons to affiliate yourself with our PlannedGiving.com network — and subscribe to GIVING TOMORROW™ magazine if you are not a client yet. (If you are a small nonprofit, help your organization and your career by getting into planned giving.)
We’re Aligned With the Right People
We always interview hundreds of leading authorities and advisers. We share tips and tricks we’ve learned from our own in-the-trenches work with our clients. All this is distilled every month and delivered by various means to our members to help them get optimum results from marketing their planned giving and major gifts programs.
There is a benefit to viewing marketing tools through a different prism. When you copy what your peers are doing, you’re simply copying what they’re doing wrong, then doing the wrong thing a bit better than they are. In short, as Steven Covey points out, your ladder [to success] is leaning against the wrong wall. This is different than doing it right straight out of the gate; using the right tools; and keeping ahead of the competition through new ways of communicating with prospects.
For example, for years we’ve been teaching that using legal-based language to market planned gifts is not the way to go. And everyone agrees — yet they consistently continue doing the same thing by having lawyers write their marketing content. Lawyers are here to structure deals and keep us out of trouble. I have not met a single lawyer who is good at writing marketing copy. It’s not in their blood — they are simply not wired for it. Even our attorneys agree. That’s why they rely on me for marketing copy.
We’re a Small Group
Our members and clients are the minority. I like that, because the majority is almost always wrong. So stop following the masses and join us. We make it easy for you by staying ahead of the curve, being in front of the herd, and avoiding the moribund information and marketing advice advocated by so many others.
Jurassic Park
Some of the planned giving “experts” are anything but. They peddle prehistoric, clunky solutions simply because “it’s always been done that way.” As the late Grace Hopper said, that’s the most damaging phrase in the language…
Just a few days ago, I received a call from a planned giving consultant who asked me to make a presentation with him. His recommendations for the new small shop? “Begin with a planned giving newsletter and a calculator.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was giving such moldy, obsolete advice. When he wouldn’t listen to reason, I quickly declined before destroying my reputation. The last thing I want is for people to associate me with a dinosaur who refuses to realize he’s preaching extinction.
We’re not your typical planned giving marketing “experts.” We are the source for innovative, effective, evidence-based advice, tools, and techniques.
We believe in teaching that you should be creating equity, not just income. And that’s not done with calculators and planned giving newsletters.
Becoming part of our network is a unique — and career-building — experience. You will receive timely communiqués, information on learning opportunities, webinars, and special client hours, and get to try out new tools. You will even receive a complimentary subscription to GIVING TOMORROW™ magazine. Enterprise Level clients will be given a key to our massive planned giving content, tools and artwork.
We are like a “central clearinghouse” for cutting-edge discoveries about marketing tools and other forms of communications drawn from thousands of members and professionals across the nation.
