The 3 types of planned giving prospects

1. Disclosers – For these folks (breaking into two basic categories) you need to remember that, unless their gift is irrevocable, they are still prospects.

• “YES, LET’S MEET”- They notified you about their gift intentions AND want more engagement such as a face-to-face meeting or a tour of your facility, etc.
• “NO, I DON’T WANT TO MEET”- Sure, these folks have notified you about their gift intentions but they don’t want to meet with anyone so they’ll need to be carefully stewarded from afar to ensure the gift sticks.

2. Leads – They will raise their hands in response to your marketing to show interest but most will not want to be bothered with a phone call or a visit.  You need to send these people cultivation marketing:

• that is relevant and personalized (I recommend automated drip email and direct mail marketing to save yourself time)
• and, campaign-oriented outbound marketing (email and direct mail) that provides valuable offers giving them opportunities to engage more with your mission (not necessarily with you).

Both the automated drip emails and the campaign-oriented outbound campaigns should emphasize the Fantastic Four.

3. Never disclosers –  Many of your best prospects will never disclose their gift intentions. They may engage a lot with your marketing (and that should be tracked carefully). But they’ll keep their gift intentions private. If you track them properly, you’ll be able to send them the right marketing messages over time to encourage:

• disclosure of their gift
• more engagement and involvement with your mission
• requests for information as they update their plans