If you need help trying to decide what to put on your planned giving website, here’s our in-house content guide and checklist.
We use this as a starting point for each and every planned giving Site we build for our clients. We don’t put everything found below in every website we develop. So please don’t go crazy trying to stuff every intricate type of gift into your Site.
Some of the bullet-points might seem obvious. But we reviewed a ton of planned giving websites and found that over 90% were missing a simple contact telephone number on the main page. Here you go!:
- Your logo and tag line
- Phone number
- Click-to-email feature
- Contact us (link to staff listing)
- Font size adjustment tool to increase the size of the font instantly
- Print tool
- Email to a friend tool
- Share tools (for social media)
- Basic text and photo testimonials- “donor stories”
- How gifts have made a difference in the past- “gift stories”
- Request more information (such as free brochures or downloads)
- Your organization’s tax ID#
- Bequest language for estate planners
- How to get the most out of your gift (tax benefits)
- Planning tools calculator (I actually think these things confuse donors but our clients keep requesting that we include them. Someday I might just say “NO!”)
- Answers to common objections such as:
- You can change your mind
- Family first
- You can keep it private
- Hold on to your assets for as long as you need them
- No minimum gift required
- Ways to make a lasting impact
- Bequests
- Gifts in will or trust
- Remainder bequest (residual bequest)
- Donor advised funds
- Gifts of assets that provide you income
- Charitable gift annuity
- Deferred CGA
- Other beneficiary
- Use appreciated securities to fund CGA
- Use real estate to fund CGA
- Retained life estate
- Charitable remainder trust
- Beneficiary designations
- Bank assets and securities
- Life insurance
- Retirement accounts
- Savings bonds
- Let us know (short survey that aims to acquire notifications)
- Why invest in our organization
- Mission
- Why give
- What’s the vision for the future (strategic plans/goals)
- Historical content (photos, captions and text will show longevity and stability proving a safe haven for their investment)
- Annual report
- Successes/achievements
- Where the money goes (How funds are used and stewarded)
- A simple pie chart will do the trick
- Staff
- Contact (click-to-email) links
- LinkedIn icons that links to their profiles
- Privacy Policy
Here are some samples of websites we created in case you’re looking for real-world examples:
California Academy of Sciences
Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
