How do you market to your legacy donors? CAGP Webinar, September 2012
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The average person is bombarded with 4,000 marketing messages each day. How do we, as planned giving professionals, stand out from the crowd? In this webinar, we’ll review the best practices, quantitative and qualitative research that will steer you in the right marketing direction, ensuring a group of inspired and loyal legacy donors to your cause. You’ll be left with a list of concrete things you can do, right now, to ramp up your program.
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How do you market to your legacy donors? CAGP Webinar, September 2012
- 1. CAGP-ACPDP™ Webinar Wednesday’s Presents: The Gift Planning Donor Cycle TODAY’S SESSION WILL BEGIN AT 1:00PM EST... If you have not yet dialled in to the conference line, please do so now: Call: 1-888-289-4573 Access code: 2200361 Technical Difficulty? Please email Richelle at education@cagp-acpdp.org or by calling 1-888-430-9494 ext. 1.
- 2. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 2 Today’s Session: Leah Eustace How do you Market to your Donors? Leah is a ‘fundraiser’s fundraiser’ with a wide and varied background in charitable fund Presenter: Leah Eustace development. At Good Works, Leah has Principal and Chief Idea Goddess worked with name- Good Works brand clients such as the Canadian Red Leah@GoodWorksco.ca Cross... Read Leah’s full bio here. Follow Leah on Twitter: @LeahEustace For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 3. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 3 Getting through the clutter For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 4. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 4 Proceed with caution For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 5. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 5 What’s in a name? For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 6. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 6 Use language that resonates For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 7. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 7 Focus on the right instruments An estimated 95% of planned gifts in Canada are bequests. For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 8. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 8 Why, not how For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 9. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 9 Communicate with donors in the way in which they prefer to be communicated For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 10. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 10 Emotions versus logic For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 11. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 11 Tell Stories For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 12. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 12 Use appropriate storytellers For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 13. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 13 Make your case For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 14. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 14 Be personal For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 15. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 15 A potential opportunity? For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 16. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 16 Think of Jacqueline For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 17. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 17 Write for comprehension, not an academic thesis For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 18. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 18 Pay attention to design Why on earth would you want to make something hard to read? For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 19. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 19 Use appropriate photos For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 20. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 20 Be transparent For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 21. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 21 Steward your secret donors For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 22. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 22 Break down the silos For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 23. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 23 Integrate For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 24. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 24 Pay attention to your website For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 25. Follow the discussion online, use #CAGPWeb in your tweets! 25 In summary Tell your stories Put yourself in the shoes of your donors Be authentic and compelling Talk about why, not how Use multichannel marketing Use emotion, not logic Beware of institution-speak You have one mouth, but two ears For more information on upcoming webinars, please visit www.cagp-acpdp.org Follow us on twitter @CAGP_ACPDP
- 26. Thank – You For Attending! 26 WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK! Please take a moment to answer 7 quick questions about this webinar, just click here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/GPW2
Editor's Notes
- Thank you Richelle and welcome everyone. I’m really looking forward to our conversation, and hope that folks ask lots of questions, tweet and otherwise interact as best we can on a webinar. So, We’re here today to talk about marketing to your donors about planned giving. Let’s start with a fact about marketing. Back in the 1970s, the average person in Canada was exposed to roughly 500 ads a day. These days, that number is closer to 5,000. That’s a pretty high number, but think about it. Just on your ride into work today, how many billboards did you see? How many signs in store windows promoting some special or other? How many ads in your morning newspaper? Sometimes it takes the absence of marketing to realize how surrounded we are by it. A number of years ago, I took a winter vacation to a remote part of Cuba… way down in the southeast corner about as far away from Havana as you can get. What struck me most, as we took the long bus ride to our hotel, was the complete absence of signs, billboards, ads, posters… there was none of that and, for the entire week we were there, my brain actually felt calmer (and no, it wasn’t just the mojitos). My brain actually breathed a sigh of relief at not having to spend huge amounts of subconscious energy filtering messages. Back to Canada, where we are, indeed, subject to endless marketing messages. Clearly, nonprofits need to do something really special to be noticed on a large scale. Even if people do happen to cast their eyes on your direct mail, website or ad, whether they actually take any notice or process the information is a different matter. So, the question of the day is “how do you get your planned giving message noticed in the crowded modern marketplace?” Luckily, we can get some guidance from donors themselves. Over the past ten years, we’ve conducted almost 50 focus groups. These groups have been made up of donors to various Canadian charities who have the highest propensity to give a planned gift. Specifically, monthly and loyal donors. All those focus groups had a singular focus: to test marketing messages, ask donors what leads them to consider a planned gift, and ask them how they prefer to be communicated with. We’ve also conducted numerous polls of the general population to ask them some of the same questions. Time for another aside…
- Here are some of the problems with focus groups: If one group member is dominant and opinionated, she may monopolize the conversation. This could skew the focus group results, because it may appear that the majority of the group feels this way, when only one member is sharing her opinion. There’s also a problem with group think. This is where a group all begins to think alike because of an original opinion by one person. But here’s the biggest caution with both focus groups and polling: what people say and what they actually do can be very different. Here’s an example: in almost every focus group I’ve moderated, someone has said “You (meaning the charity) send too much mail!.” Then, invariably, they’ll choose mail as their preferred form of communication at some other point in the conversation. Or, a poll will tell you that donors don’t place big importance on the thank you. Yet, if you stop sending thank yous you start losing donors. So, yes, the marketing tips I’m going to share with you have their origin in what donors have told us, but they’ve also been tested time and time again and have held up to be true. And, at the end of the day, if you all 50 focus groups telling you the same thing, your odds are pretty good that its true. Over the next half hour or so, I’m going to let you in on these learnings…. And I think some of them are going to surprise you.
- Let’s start with the basics, and Apologies to anyone whose graphic I’ve pulled off the internet. Most charities use the terms “planned giving” or “legacy giving.” As part of preparing for this webinar, I visited dozens of charity websites and didn’t find a single one that didn’t use one or the other of those terms (that, of course, doesn’t include the websites that don’t include any information about planned giving at all… that’s a whole different issue). So, guess what? The terms planned giving and legacy giving are fundraiser-speak, not donor-speak. When donors are asked to what “Planned giving” means, they have no clue. Seriously… they don’t know what it means. “ Legacy giving” is slightly better, but not much. When asked to explain what legacy giving is, most donors will describe having a building named after them… that kind of legacy.
- So, here’s my first tip: if you want to market planned giving to your donors, don’t mention planned giving or legacy giving: call it what it is. “ Leave a bequest” “ A gift in a will” Virtually every donor I’ve ever asked can tell me what a bequest is. If we were all together in a room right now, I imagine a few of you would have your hands up. Am I right? And I imagine you’re saying “well what about the other planned giving vehicles, like life insurance and gift annuities? Well, here’s your answer…
- If 95% of planned gifts are bequests, why do we use equal amounts of real estate to market gifts of life insurance, charitable gift annuities… and so on? Why not focus the majority of your marketing efforts on bequests? In focus groups, donors know what a bequest is and are comfortable with the concept. All other planned giving vehicles are unknown and confusing to them. Are you planning a legacy direct mail piece to your donors? Talk about bequests and only bequests. Including planned giving information on your website? Don’t make donors dig for information on bequests…. Make it prominent and easy to find. I’m not saying you should never mention other types of planned gifts, I’m just saying that you should lead with bequests. All that being said, I will talk about life insurance a little later on in the presentation.
- Guess what? Donors already know how to leave a bequest. Not only do they already know how to leave a bequest, but they get kind of offended when a charity starts preaching to them about seeing a lawyer, making sure they have a will, and so on. They don’t feel it’s the charities place to do that. Put your hand up if the planned giving information on your website focusses on how to leave a bequest. You know, things like the language to use, the different types of bequests. Well, I can’t see you, but having cruised through dozens of websites before this webinar, I know that most of you probably have your hand up. If you only do one thing after this webinar, it’s this: stop talking about how to leave a planned gift and start talking about why your donors should leave one to you. Focus on inspiring the donor. How do you inspire them? Tell them about the future you believe in. Tell them about your hopes and dreams. Show them what you’ve been able to accomplish, and the amazing things you’ll be able to do in the next 25 or 50 years.
- You’ve heard this before. It’s the essence of donor-centred fundraising: “communicate with donors in the way in which they prefer to be communicated.” So, what do donors tell us about how they’d like to be communicated with when it comes to planned giving. Well, the first thing they tell us is that making a bequest is an extremely personal decision. They will react badly to an aggressive approach, and are offended by a direct ask. They prefer for you to present the information to them, then allow them time to consider it on their own, with their family. If they want more information, they’ll ask, or even more likely… they’ll visit your website to learn more. Most of the planned giving officers focus a lot of their time on meeting with donors. In fact, I’ve been in that position myself: looking for opportunities to get to know donors, to call them, and, ultimately to sit down to chat with them over tea and banana bread. And, no doubt about it, the most successful relationships are built on face-to-face contact. But guess what? The percentage of donors who are open to meeting with you is very small. The vast majority of them aren’t at all comfortable with that. And they aren’t much more comfortable with discussing these things over the phone. They’d much prefer to receive information by mail. So, whatever you do, don’t forget to include mail in your marketing efforts. True, you won’t get the instant gratification of knowing whether or not your message is being received and considered, but you will, ultimately, have greater planned giving success if you use all marketing channels. And don’t be alarmed if you send out a legacy marketing letter and don’t receive hundreds of bequest confirmations. Our research has shown that only one in ten bequests will come from donors who had told you their intentions. In other words, 90% of bequests you receive will be from people who you didn’t have on your list of expectancies. So, if you receive three bequest expectancies from your mailing, remember that another 27 have likely taken that step but are never going to tell you.
- This relates to the why not how. Humans are emotional animals. Human existence is deeply affected by our feelings and reactions. To be fair, rational thought has delivered some significant advances for us humans. But it is pretty much completely against our nature. It’s really hard work for us. We are simply not wired this way. Feelings, not analytical thinking, drive donations Why? well science tells us that human’s are not ideally set up to understand logic; they’re ideally set up to understand stories… and stories make us feel Stories also get and keep the reader’s attention They help you communicate better Enhance credibility Linger longer in reader’s minds All important attributes when it comes to planned giving.
- What are the characteristics of really good narrative? in the first person It entertains the reader It uses a lot of describing words It’s usually told in the past tense Stories are concrete, so they illustrate your concepts better than abstract, noncreative techniques do. And because people derive a visual image from a story – as opposed to a blind recitation of facts – stories literally help your audience see things your way. People believe information more readily if it’s delivered in story rather than through statistics. One of the most recent focus groups I did had the participants review the organization’s ‘old’ planned giving brochure and a mock up of a new one. The donors liked the old one better. Why? Because it was full of stories: stories of people who had benefited from a bequest via the charities programs; stories of donors who’d decided to leave a bequest; stories of the charity’s staff who were so committed to the organization that they had decided to leave a planned gift. The new brochure was all about the financials, the statistics, and the ‘how’ of planned giving. It didn’t contain any stories.
- So, what are appropriate stories to tell? Well, I’ve given you a few. Tell the story of a bequest donor: what motivated her? How did she become involved in your cause? What difference has her bequest made? How did she provide for her family and her favourite charity? Invite a direct beneficiary of your work to tell their story? It could be a patient at the hospital, a student at the university, a former resident of a women’s shelter Write the story of the people who founded your organization. Tell the story of the Chair of your Board: why she volunteers so much time and energy to the cause, and why she’s made the decision to give a gift of life insurance. An important note here. Older donors hold the staff and volunteer leadership in high regard. How your CEO or your Board President is perceived, especially their integrity, may dictate whether a donor leaves a bequest.
- Successful legacy programs flow from the case statement and surprisingly few organizations have a great case for support, let alone a case for support for legacy giving. A great case engages donors and prospects on a very basic and emotional level. The emphasis should be on the persuasive, the emotional, and the passionate. … the “why” of giving. That doesn’t mean you don’t include the rational argument for donor support… it just means you don’t include ‘only’ the rational argument. Include your history, vision, mission, goals, objectives, program descriptions, leadership, financial overview, and current/future funding needs. But include powerful stories and trigger strong emotional support in your donors. So, dust off that case statement and look at it with fresh eyes. Imagine yourself as Jacqueline reading it. Does it hold up to her scrutiny? Does it answer her unasked questions? Does it reflect your past and your future? Does it build trust. Does it inspire? If there’s one thing we’ve learned in donor focus groups, it’s that donors can spot hyperbole and insincerity a mile away. A powerful case for support should generate strong feelings in the reader that predispose her to deepen her commitment to the cause and support the organization more fully than ever before. Something else about your case, it should focus on the cause, not the institution. Donors don’t care about the fact you’ll be hiring 10 new doctors next year: they care that wait times for their loved ones will be reduced. Child sponsors care more about poor children in Uganda than they care about World Vision. People care more about finding a cure for cancer than they do about the Canadian Cancer Society. Donors care more about homelessness than they do about the United Way. We fundraisers cannot afford to lose sight of this.
- People give to people. In focus groups, we always give donors planned giving materials to review. Invariably, they will start talking about what we call the ‘contact us’ information. Typically, charities will write something like “for more information on planned giving, please call us at 1-800-123-3456 or email plannedgiving@charity.ca.” Remember I mentioned that donors see these kinds of decisions as very private and personal? Well, giving them impersonal contact information doesn’t sit well with them. Why not include the actual planned giving officer’s name, phone number and email address? Don’t call them a planned giving officer (remember, they don’t know what that means). If possible, write this section in the first person. For example, put a small photo of the planned giving officer, then write “My name is Jennifer, and I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have about leaving a bequest or gift of life insurance to ABC Charity. Please feel free to call me at 819-123-4567 x 234 or send me an email at…” Give them the name of a specific person to speak with. Let them know you’re there to help them.
- Some of the more recent focus groups I’ve conducted have split donors into age groups: 35 to 65 and 65 and older. I’ve found that each group’s understanding of and openness to planned giving is very different. As you might expect, the older group is very aware of bequests. They think bequests are a good idea, and are open to making them to their favourite charities. The younger group are very aware of bequests and also think they’re a good idea, but many don’t yet have a will (surprising, I know) and aren’t yet ready to consider a bequest to their favourite charity. However, gifts of life insurance may be a different story. Let me back up a bit: I’ve only done a few focus groups to date where I’ve had both a younger group of donors and have had the opportunity to talk to them about life insurance. So, I’m going with my gut marketing instincts here. When I bring up the concept of making a gift of life insurance, the vast majority of those younger donors have never heard of the concept. So I explain it to them in very simple language. In each case, they’ve grabbed on to the idea with great interest. They’ll usually start with “huh, I didn’t know you could do that.” Then, invariably someone in the group will point out that they have a life insurance policy they don’t need: they got it through work, for example. Then they start talking amongst themselves about what a good idea it would be to make a charity the beneficiary of that un needed insurance policy. My gut instinct tells me that a really well written mailing about gifts of life insurance, sent to the right demographic, might do really well. If any of you have tried this, please let us know in the comments. If any of you are willing to try this, let’s chat because I would love to try it out and see how it does. Okay, back to our focus on bequests.
- Too often in our fundraising, we forget that we aren’t our target demographic. We sit around a board room table talking about how much we dislike long direct mail letters, flowery imagery and boring design. In fact, who reads letters anymore anyway? Guess what? We aren’t our target demographic. Good Works has done quantitative research to find out who the typical Canadian donor is and we call her Jacqueline. And, in everything you write and design, you need to remember that your typical donor is your great aunt Mary: a 70 or 75-year-old woman, often widowed, with children grown up and a handful of grandchildren she dotes on. She grew up in a different era than we did… she may remember the depression, she still does her banking by walking into the branch and she sends her cheques by mail. You know what I suggest? Find a photo of Jacqueline and stick it on your bulletin board. When you’re writing to or communicating to your donors, imagine you’re communicating with Jacqueline.
- Speaking of effectively communicating, does Anyone know what grade level it’s recommended we use in our fundraising writing? Grade 6, and certainly no higher than 8. How many of you know someone in your organization who would say “Our donors are highly educated, it would be a big mistake to talk down to them by writing at a low grade level.” Guess what? It's not about education. It's about ease of comprehension. Low grade level copy is not "talking down" to educated readers or treating them like children. Think of it instead as a form of courtesy, like enunciating clearly when you talk. The most super-educated PhD. will appreciate and respond to copy that's easy to read. Did you know that MS Word will tell you what the readability statistics of your document are? Just go under ‘options’ then ‘proofing’ and choose to enable readability statistics. Then when you check spelling and grammar you’ll get a little pop up box that tells you the readability. Why do I have a photo of Obama here? No matter what you think of him as a policitician, you have to admit that he is a powerful speaker. He speaks in clear, plain terms… and his state of the union address has been written at a grade eight level three years in a row. If your fundraising message has a grade level higher than 7, it will draw a lower response than one written at 7 or less. It’s a tested reality.
- I’m about to turn 45 and just ordered my first pair of progressives, so I’m starting to really notice and think about readability and design. One thing I’ve been noticing for years is that marketers, both for-profit and nonprofit, continue to make serious design errors in their print materials for mature audiences. Here are my dos and don’ts of design: Type size must be larger than average. Use 12 pt type at a minimum, and I would suggest 13 pt for planned giving materials. A serif type is much easier to read in printed materials, whereas a sans-serif type is easier to read on a website. limit the use of all caps, italics, script and ornate typefaces. Use sufficient leading - (the white space around each character) between characters so that the letters don't seem to run together. Make line spacing larger than usual. Single space may be too hard to read so try 1.5 or double spacing. Use dark type on a white background. The brighter the white and the blacker the type, the easier it will be for older eyes to read. Write short paragraphs and use subheadings, in bold, to break up long copy. Make generous use of bullets, numbered lists, sidebars, and pull-out quotes to help break up your pages. Line length should be short--about five or six inches. When using color for headings or backgrounds, choose carefully. The older eye develops a yellow cast, and it becomes harder to distinguish between certain colors. For instance, blue, purple and green may look alike when used together. Yellow, orange and red are much easier to tell apart. Never use glossy paper. Light reflects from the gloss and makes it very difficult for the reader to see the print. Use a matte finish. In your newsletter, use jumps, where an article is continued on another page, rarely. The reader should be able to read an article through without having to look for the continuation. That's a good reason to keep those articles shorter too. Want to go one step further, consider hiring an accessibility consultant to review your website and materials.
- Another element of design is photography. In focus groups, donors gravitate toward large photo on the front showing an individual person (too often we use head shots, or groups of people, or some kind of inanimate object). Never put type over a photo, not even your headlines. Here is an easy test for readability: photocopy the page. If the photocopy is easy to read, then you can be sure the original is readable. Type printed over images will not be readable when photocopied. Use photos that are sharp and crisp. Using something fuzzy for artistic effect will have older readers trying to clean their glasses. Favor photos of people, especially faces. A face looking directly at the reader is a powerful force. Yes, a reader will make eye contact with a facial image, so make sure the subject's eyes are nice and big. Black and white images work fine and can be very effective.
- Donors will not make legacy commitments if they’re at all unsure about how well you manage money. They’re very mindful of the cost of fundraising and administration. They want their dollars to go to programs. Go to great lengths (honestly!) to show donors that their dollars are carefully stewarded and efficiently invested.
- Remember that only one in ten donors let you know about their intention to leave a bequest? So what do you do with the donors you’ve been sending information to, or who have asked for information, but have never confirmed a gift? Why not steward them as though they have made a gift (because there’s a reasonably good chance they have). Send them a thank you note for the holidays, invite them to events, report back to them.
- A lot has been written about this, but it’s worth talking about because silos still exist. Geoff Livingston has written a book called Marketing in the Round , It’s about how nonprofits can get started with organizing around their audiences rather than their job functions. His book is all about this idea of coordinated marketing and it’s a great read. His specific recommendations include:. 1) Getting everyone that communicates to your nonprofit’s external stakeholders in a room for a regular meeting. This is the first step in getting people to work together, and based on what he’s seen in organizations it helps a great deal in breaking down silos. Who should participate? Your senior leadership, all fundraising, marketing and communication departmentheads. Specifically you need PR, social media, web, direct mail fundraising, planned giving, major gifts and advocacy. 2) Look at how you incentivize individual disciplines to succeed. If incentives revolve around legacy fundraising success, and nothing else, then the legacy person/team has little reason to integrate. The larger communications goals must be part of the overall team’s performance and reward metrics. Follow an example from Google. They base 25% of bonuses on the success of Google+. While this is a public company and not a nonprofit, every employee is incentivized to make + a successful hit. Translate that to a nonprofit and you can come up with incentives like performance review for everyone in the department is contingent on a 30% increase in our house database. That should change behavior.” No silos = better marketing to your donors
- Donors do not see themselves as monthly donors or lapsed donors or major donors or planned giving donors…. Or online donors or text to give donors. They’re just donors. So often we see a direct mail donor hit a certain giving threshold and suddenly they’re pulled out of the direct mail program because now they’re major donors. Guess what? That donor likes to give through direct mail… so send them direct mail. So, just because you have a group of a dozen planned giving prospects who you have tea and banana bread with on a regular basis, doesn’t mean they don’t still want to get your e-appeals, direct mail and newsletters. Recent studies have shown that multichannel marketing increases revenue. Today’s donor may read your direct mail religiously, but only give via your website. Cut out the direct mail and the online donations may end… both of which certainly decrease the odds of getting a planned gift. Integrate your marketing: have you sent out a legacy marketing mailing? Make sure you have a specific landing page on your website for those who choose to then visit a URL? Send a pre- or post- mailing email that tells the same story in a different way. And speaking of websites…
- Don’t forget that older donors are increasingly tech-savvy. The vast majority of focus group participants will visit your website before making a final decision about leaving a planned gift. How easy is it to find information about planned giving? Are you calling it planned giving? I find myself having to search through 8 or 10 levels of menus to find information about bequests. What planned giving information do you have on your website? Is it all the ‘how’? How many of you include donor stories? What better way to illustrate how easy it is to make a bequest than by having a donor relate their story? What better way to demonstrate impact, than by having student talk about the scholarship she received as a result of a bequest? What better way to reassure donors that they can take care of both their family and their favourite charity by having the surviving loved one of a bequest donor tell their story? And don’t forget the design guidelines we talked about. Make the website accessible.
- I’ve given you lots to think about, so let’s quickly summarize the critical points> Use stories not stats Think like Jacqueline: when it comes to writing, design, showing impact and inspiring Be authentic… donors can tell if you aren’t Talk about why donors should leave a planned gift, not how Use all the marketing channels available to you Be emotional and speak from the heart Remember that donors give to the cause, not the institution Remember to listen to what your donors are saying, or what they’re behaviour is telling you…