Guest Author: James Barnard, Associate Managing Vice President of Annual Giving and Digital Marketing at BWF
Growing your nonprofit’s planned giving program is one of the most effective ways to scale your organization and set yourself up for long-term success. Planned giving (also called legacy giving) allows you to create stronger bonds with your most dedicated donors.
In addition, planned gifts can greatly boost your fundraising efforts. Fundraising research shows that the average planned gift is significantly larger than the average annual gift.
With that in mind, we’ve compiled five tips to grow your planned giving program this year:
Focus on bequests.
Plan your talking points.
Build your prospect pipeline.
Get your board on board.
Identify and train staff.
When it comes down to it, planned giving is all about instilling confidence—giving donors the confidence that they’re making a wise investment, and ensuring your nonprofit’s team members have the confidence they need to effectively market this giving option. Let’s explore specific ways to do so.
1. Focus on bequests.
Bequests are donations made as part of a donor’s will or trust. Bequests can include gifts of cash, property, or other financial assets including stocks, bonds, and jewelry.
Bequests comprise the majority of planned gifts, and they’re growing in popularity as a form of major giving. In 2023, bequests were the only form of giving to outpace inflation. BWF’s recap of Giving USA 2024 states, “Bequest giving continues to hover between 9%-10% of overall giving.”
Share the benefits of bequests with donors, including:
Creating a positive legacy that outlives them
Reducing estate tax
Accessing specific benefits your organization offers, such as the opportunity to meet directly with your nonprofit’s executive director, have their name included on a plaque or donor wall, or invitations to serve on an advisory board or committee
Create a website landing page with practical information about how donors can contribute a bequest to your organization. Describe how donors will need to include a provision in their wills that states that a specific amount or a percentage of their estate will be left to your nonprofit. Donors can also choose whether to make an unrestricted gift for any use or a restricted gift for a specific purpose.
For example, you could provide the following language that donors can use in their wills (adapt this to your nonprofit’s needs):
“I give, devise, and bequeath to [your organization’s name] the sum of $_____ to be used as [restricted or unrestricted purpose].”
Advise donors to work with their attorneys to adapt the language to their unique circumstances and needs.
2. Plan your talking points.
How will you talk about planned giving with potential donors? Making a legacy gift may not even be on donors’ radars as a way to leave a lasting impact on your mission. That’s why you need a comprehensive communication and marketing plan to give donors the information and inspiration they need to consider planned giving in their estate planning.
Optimize the following aspects of your planned giving communications to bring more donors on board:
Language. Your messaging doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Simply include language on your “Ways to Give” website landing page, mail materials, emails, and social media posts asking donors to “Make a legacy gift.” Highlight how contributing a planned gift can create an enduring positive effect on your mission, whether by powering the programming at your community center or funding an ongoing scholarship for college students.
Donor stories. Share stories from current planned donors about their plans for their assets. Include information about why the donors decided to give and the legacy they hope to create with their contributions. This type of “social proof” can instill confidence in potential planned donors that they’re making a positive difference.
Design and branding. Ensure your planned giving marketing materials reflect your organization’s brand by using your color palette, logo, typography, and tone of voice. This reinforces brand recognition and familiarity.
Keep your planned giving communications upbeat. Emphasize how easy it is to make a planned gift and its major impact on your cause. Provide proof highlighting the advantages of planned donations by sharing photos, statistics, charts, and videos describing how your organization uses these gifts.
3. Build your prospect pipeline.
The prospect development process is an ongoing journey of identifying potential planned donors and reaching out to them in ways that resonate with their needs and interests. You can work with a fundraising consultant to manage your prospect pipeline or use AI-powered tools to automatically identify prospects based on certain criteria. This criteria may include:
Past donations, such as major or mid-level annual gifts
Giving potential, including wealth markers such as real estate holdings, stock ownership, and an executive-level job title
Age and marital status—according to the Stelter Donor Insight Report, 65% of planned donors are married, and 60% of top prospects are aged 40 to 54
Don’t overlook mid-level donors in the prospecting process. Research shows that 31% of these donors have already made a bequest to a charitable cause, and 23% are considering doing so. While mid-level donors may not rise to the major giving level during their lifetime, they’re often life-long savers with a dedication and passion for your mission that inspires them to contribute a legacy donation.
4. Get your board on board.
Your board’s support is completely essential to the success of your planned giving program. Board members will not only equip your planned giving program with the resources and executive-level support it needs to thrive—they may also end up becoming your first planned donors themselves.
Ensure your board is clear on the long-term positive impact of building up your planned giving program by taking the following steps:
Host a training workshop to educate your board on planned giving. Walk through your messaging and marketing materials, such as flyers or your legacy giving website page. Ensure your board feels comfortable sharing your nonprofit’s talking points, including the benefits of planned giving.
Meet with board members regularly to share planned giving wins. Highlight impact data that demonstrates your increased fundraising potential after taking the time to build up your program. Include donor and beneficiary stories that demonstrate the positive difference these gifts have made on real people.
Demonstrate how board members can become planned donors. Board members often have the giving capacity and desire to bestow a legacy gift to your organization. Make it as simple as possible for them to do so by sharing your bequest information page and providing language they can use when constructing their wills.
Equipped with accurate information and compelling messaging, your board members can be among your most valuable planned giving recruiters. Board members often have strong connections with existing donors and other prominent community members who may be inclined to contribute a legacy gift. They can leverage these connections to start your program off on the right foot.
5. Identify and train staff.
In addition to your organization’s board, your development team staff members will play significant roles in the planned giving process.
Help your fundraising team members feel more comfortable discussing and promoting planned giving to your donors by taking these steps:
Hold regular training sessions. Start with a half or full-day training workshop to get your planned giving program up and running. Share your vision for the program and practical tips and resources to help staff members promote this giving option. After the initial training, host monthly or quarterly check-ins to reinforce key concepts and answer staff members’ questions.
Track metrics. Establish key metrics as a team, such as the number of solicitation targets and secured gifts. Evaluate progress made toward these metrics during your regular check-ins.
Share success stories. Encourage team members to share examples of successful donor interactions. Staff members can share stories during check-ins or via email or your internal communications platform. Make sure staff members include key details about what made the interactions successful.
Use your ongoing meetings to acknowledge team member wins and maintain momentum. Plan larger appreciation events or rewards when team members reach established goals. For example, you could offer a bonus as an incentive for securing planned donations.
As you can see, planned giving is truly a team effort, requiring the coordination of your board, development team, and marketing team members to get the word out about your program and recruit donors. Providing team members with the support and encouragement they need to bring planned donors on board will make all the difference in creating a powerhouse program that supports your organization over the long term.
About the author: James Barnard, Associate Managing Vice President of Annual Giving and Digital Marketing at BWF
James is an integral part of the team at the global fundraising consultancy at BWF. James uses his over 15 years of experience to help organizations build community and maximize their fundraising potential by optimizing their digital strategy and philanthropic marketing. He has been active in CASE for years, serving as a conference speaker and CASE District III board member.
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