Planned Giving

Straight talk about major, mid-level and legacy gift fundraising to help you be a better fundraiser

How to CONFUSE your donors and get FEWER gifts.

Does your planned giving marketing copy make [insert word here from below] sense? ANY SOME NO Or does it make COMPLETE sense? Most planned giving… Read More


Why Bother Finding Hidden Planned Gifts?

Recently someone told me that their organization’s leadership placed a very high value on finding hidden planned gifts.  All of their marketing encouraged planned giving… Read More


Why an emphasis only on counting planned gift disclosures is misguided.

In planned giving marketing we are told to spend a lot of time trying to get people to disclose the fact that they included the… Read More


How to really measure the effectiveness of your legacy gift marketing efforts.

I’m kicking myself because I didn’t think of this and I certainly can’t take credit for it.  A brilliant researcher (Russell James III, J.D., Ph.D.,… Read More


Why we love planned giving

So you probably won’t see much of the fruits of your labor.  And, years from now, someone else will probably get the credit for your… Read More


Multi-channel marketing and planned giving

Today Seth Godin writes, “Repetition increases the chance that you get heard.”  And, he continues, “Delivering your message in different ways, over time, not only… Read More


Why selling planned gifts is different (the case for a multi-step cultivation effort)

Seth Godin is pretty smart.  He really understands marketing. In his recent blog post he discusses why we should sometimes avoid “easy leads” and, rather,… Read More


What activity metrics you should measure for effective long-term planned giving marketing

For effective planned giving marketing, you really should be keeping track of your metrics. That’s because it’s not like traditional fundraising.  You can’t send out… Read More


How the tortoise beats the hare in planned giving marketing every time.

I’ve been thinking about all the different philosophies that people have when it comes to planned giving marketing.  There are so many out there that… Read More


UPDATED FINDINGS: The presence of children DOES affect whether or not someone would consider a gift in their will or estate.

In a recent blog post I said that I thought I discovered something that would turn some heads and open up some eyes.  But, I… Read More


The presence of children does not affect whether or not someone would consider a gift in their will or estate.

Donors without children make the best planned giving prospects.  Right?  Well, I’m not so sure right now. Often my firm will conduct unscientific donor surveys… Read More


The simplest targeting approach for uncovering planned gifts

I found a really interesting little nugget of information buried in an old report.  Back in 2007, The Journal of Gift Planning conducted a survey… Read More


Why you should simply make your planned giving messages simple.

Recently a client asked me to review and critique a fundraising letter.  It was written by one of her committee members.  Can you say, “awkward… Read More


How planned giving marketing is like selling new cars

I don’t think this is a stretch at all.  Planned giving marketing is a lot like selling new cars. Car companies spend billions of dollars… Read More


The simplest planned giving marketing strategy (5 things you must do)

The simplest comprehensive planned giving marketing strategy boils down to these 5 things: -Building awareness: branding, education, PR/news stories, etc. -Generating leads: acquisitions campaigns -Cultivating… Read More


Are mobile devices impacting your planned giving marketing plans?

Phyllis Freedman’s recent blog post pointed out that many nonprofit’s websites do not work on mobile devices.  I knew she was right.  But so what? … Read More


Data suggests more planned gifts could be headed your way

A 2009 report (I realize it’s a bit dated) in Financial Services Review, found that the number of charitable estate plans steadily increased among Americans… Read More


49 things you might want to include in your planned giving website — SmartGiftmaker’s super-secret internal content checklist

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… Read More


9 content offers that work well to generate planned giving leads

In order to generate highly-qualified planned giving leads, you’ve got to offer something to your prospects.  We recommend information that educates prospects about ways they… Read More


The planned giving marathon is all about engagement.

Recently someone told me that their organization doesn’t consider a planned giving lead to be a “real lead” unless someone is calling in or requesting… Read More


Phyllis Freedman’s excellent synopsis of how planned giving target marketing is changing

Very few people write as clearly, concisely and intelligently as Phyllis Freedman (aka- The Planned Giving Blogger). In her recent post, she outlines what Stelter… Read More


4 simple suggestions to improve your planned giving marketing.

Most people think planned giving marketing is complicated.  It isn’t.  Here are some really simple suggestions for generating planned gifts. 1- Make your planned giving… Read More


The best planned giving blogs on the planet!

Please trash, bash or help me add to this list: 1) The Planned Giving Blogger by Phyllis Freedman https://www.smart-giving.com/plannedgivingblogger/ 2) Planned Giving Breakthroughs by Lorri… Read More


What age group responds to planned giving email marketing the most?

What age group responds to planned giving email marketing the most? The following chart shows the age breakdown for the leads we generated and gifts… Read More


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