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 found in their recent study.  I figured I’d create a watered down version using her post since I get a lot of reach from the Nonprofit Marketing and Fundraising Zone.  Thus, I’ve included just the headers from her post below. But strongly suggest you check out her blog and review her take on each of the bullet-points .

1. The best prospects for a planned gift (60%) are donors age 40-54
2. Affinity for the nonprofit’s mission trumps everything. This helps explain why younger donors can be good prospects. It’s not about longevity, it’s about passion for the cause.
3. Loyalty does not necessarily correlate with planned gift likelihood.
4. Wealth and large annual gifts do not correlate with planned giving likelihood.
5. Membership in a Legacy Society does not motivate donors to make a legacy gift.
6. 53% of current planned givers said that less than a year elapsed between the decision to make a planned gift and executing their gift documents.
7. Family and friends, rather than tax or legal advisors, are the go-to resources for planned gift decision-making.
8. Only 40% of planned givers notify charities of their intention. This is not a new finding but it’s good to have it validated.
9. There is room for improvement in our stewardship of planned givers.
10. Written communication is more appealing than in-person communication, especially with older audiences and most donors do not wish to receive more communication of any kind.