Are You Ready for Planned Giving?
Do you hear about the importance of Planned Giving everywhere, but wonder if it’s right for your organization?
Last month a Director of Development emailed me. She said she knew she should do Planned Giving, but was struggling to get regular communications out to her donors.
In fact, it has been months since they last communicated with their supporters.
Yikes!
She was relieved when I told her to not focus on Planned Giving. At least not yet.
A Planned Giving program needs strong communications to be successful.
And then another fundraiser told me that Planned Giving wasn’t a priority because “they didn’t have that many major gifts.”
I asked, “Well, how many current donors do you have who have given for 3 or more years - at any amount?”
It was 450.
“I have good news! You’re ready to launch Planned Giving and build a new 6-figure+ portfolio!”
These stories reflect two fundraising foundations you need to have in place before you start a Planned Giving program:
#1 A pool of at minimum 100 loyal (and current) donors - at any amount. (I measure loyalty by 3+ years of giving).
While you may get an occasional surprise estate, DAF, or other asset-based gift, 80% or more of your Planned Giving portfolio will come from your donors.
In other words - Planned Giving is about increasing giving from your existing supporters. If you need more donors, you need to focus on acquisition first. Your investment should be in annual giving and marketing, not Planned Giving.
BUT you can get Planned Gifts from annual donors - not just the major ones.
Many of the largest estate gifts I’ve seen came from donors who gave $100/ year for decades, but had a house that skyrocketed in value from when they bought it in the 1980s. That house created a multi-million dollar estate, which their favourite charities got a part of.
#2 Regular communication with your supporters.
And I define regular as at least monthly - through email and/ or direct mail.
This is for two reasons:
One - your donors need to feel connected to your cause - and the impact of their giving - before you ask for a Planned Gift.
Planned Giving is deeply trust-based and values-based. Most donors won’t be ready for this kind of conversation if they don’t know what their annual donation did!
Two - Planned Giving relies on “drip marketing” - integrating messages within your existing communications. You need a communications program to do this!
If you don’t have these two essentials in place, you need to work on your fundraising foundations first.
But if you do - congratulations! You’re ready to dive into Planned Giving.
Yes, it’s that simple! You don’t need a fancy endowment, a huge network of wealthy donors, or a 20-person development team. You can tap into the trillion-dollar wealth transfer and create a new 6-figure+ portfolio.
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