A few weeks ago, Front Range Source hosted a great group of fundraisers for a workshop on planned giving. It was truly a treat for me to return to my fundraising roots and dig into the potential for even the smallest groups to cultivate and solicit bequests and other planned gifts. I’ve built large, successful planned giving programs from scratch – and I’ve made my mistakes — so I’ve got lessons learned and I’d like to share a few with you, too:
Lesson #1: People don’t give planned gifts to avoid taxes or reap financial gains
It’s true – 97% of people that leave bequests to charity in their will do not have taxable estates and do not benefit from any tax savings associated with these gifts. People leave bequests and make other types of planned gifts because they LOVE your organization. And remember, most bequest gifts come from people that are long-term, consistent donors to your organization – it’s often NOT your major donors.
Lesson #2: You don’t have to have an MBA to talk planned giving
Though the planned giving “industry” has invested a lot of money in making you think that you need to know everything about a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust, you – as the representative of the charity – only need to provide your donors with the idea and the inspiration. It’s not your role to be a financial advisor. You need to know the financial BENEFITS a donor can receive by making a planned gift (like tax savings, income for life, or providing for a loved one) and realize that the most important benefit to the donor is the satisfaction they get by making a larger gift than they ever thought possible to your great cause.
Lesson #3: Planned giving is for the long haul
Planned giving does not yield quick returns. If you are weaving planned giving efforts into your fundraising plan, lay the groundwork with your organization’s leadership. Let them know that the turnaround for results from most bequest marketing, for example, can be as long as three years. But, it will be worth it! The average bequest gift in the U.S. is about $35,000. And, studies have shown that organizations don’t even know of about 80% of the gifts that are meant for them. (Only about 1 out of every 5 bequest donors ever tell the organization of their intent).
Lesson #4: Drip, drip, drip
Your marketing has to be there for the long haul, too. Planned Giving is not a quick campaign. It’s not something that you do and then drop. Because the turnaround time and the potential payoff are so large, you cannot afford to do it and then drop it. It has to be woven through all of your channels. Put the message everywhere; on your reply device, in your annual report, on your Facebook page. Mention it at events, in face-to-face solicitations, and at volunteer orientation sessions. You want to make your donors conscious of the opportunities planned giving opens for them. Let them chew on it a bit over time.
Lesson #5: Use partners to move your planned giving program ahead
“I don’t know the answer, but I’ll find someone that does.” This is the mantra of any fundraiser working on planned giving. You are not going to know every answer to every question a donors asks you about planned giving and that’s FINE. You just want to connect with some financial planners and attorneys that can answer the question or some that you can actually refer donors to serve as the donor’s own advisor. At Greenpeace, we created a Financial Advisors Network of professionals all over the country that not only served as a resource for us and our donors, but that also brought us interested prospects from their own circles. It seems to me, this idea could work even better on a local or more regional basis.
Lesson #6: Keep planned giving consistent with your organization’s personality
As workshop attendees heard, one of the hardest lessons of my professional career was when I created planned giving materials (brochures, etc) for Greenpeace for the first time. I made them very serene and flowery –to reflect the subject matter, right? What a flop! These were Greenpeace donors. They didn’t want serene. They wanted in your face. So, we went back to the drawing board and created a look and language that worked for our organization. It was an expensive, but crucial lesson. Don’t make the same mistake — make materials that reflect your core values and personality.
And, most importantly, don’t feel like you have to have staff and loads of money to talk to your donors about planned gifts. You already have the channels – use them to talk to your donors about the opportunity to leave a larger gift than they ever thought possible. They’ll thank you!
What have you done about planned giving? Share your planned giving success stories here. We’d love to hear them!
