Templates are Sabotaging Your Fundraising
Templates are killing your fundraising - especially your Planned Giving fundraising.
In the New Year I’ll be doing Planned Giving website audits (more on that to come), and as part of my preparations I started seeking out good Planned Giving webpages.
So far I’ve found 2.
I’m disappointed by how few charities are applying Planned Giving fundraising best practices - even among the largest charities out there.
Most Planned Giving content I see is “canned” information - likely something that was copied from another charity - or from a template.
There’s usually not more than one sentence unique to that specific charity.
No inspiring WHY to motivate donors to make transformational gifts.
Instead, it’s a lot of tax details, steps on how to make a gift, and Will wording.
Don’t get me wrong - I’d rather see this than no Planned Giving webpage at all. But we shouldn’t be aiming for the floor.
If you’re on reading this blog, Planned Giving is probably not a box you simply check-off. You’re here to do it WELL, and secure 5+ figure gifts for your nonprofit’s present - and future - needs.
Here’s the truth: You can’t inspire your donors with Planned Giving templates.
If something can be copied-and-pasted across multiple charities, it won’t motivate your donors to give large gifts.
In Planned Giving, donors need to feel deeply connected to your specific cause and understand why you’re the best choice to fulfil their philanthropic goals - over the thousands of other organizations out there.
But that doesn't mean you need to throw your templates in the trash!
Templates aren’t all bad - I offer them through my “Planned Giving Website Guide” and “DAF Fundraising in a Box”. But I also include lots of examples and directions to make them your own.
So if you have Planned Giving templates, I challenge you to use them in no more than 20% of your content.
The remaining 80% should be stories and your Planned Giving Case for Support. This is different from a regular case because it connects the donors to their values and your organizations’ future, outside of any specific projects you currently operate. Learn more about how to write one in my past blog post.