Learn how to structure and plan the way your organization gives

1. Presentation to: Central Ohio Planned Giving Council by Brenda Stier October 1, 2008

2. Bequest Giving 1993 Total Bequest Giving: $8.86 Billion 2005 Total Bequest Giving: $17.44 Billion

3. Why do people donate? 1. They are asked to give. 2. Compassion for people in need. 3. Belief in the cause. 4. Affected by the cause. 5. To give back to the community.

4. Who is the best prospect? Loyal Givers Target audience on organizational loyalty. Age and wealth should be secondary. Loyal givers will have consistent contributions for 10 or more years.

5. Who is the best prospect? Low Wealth Low Affinity High Wealth High Affinity Low $, High Affinity They want to know more. Low $, Low Affinity You don’t want to spend money on them. High $, High Affinity You already know them. You have buildings named after them. High $, Low Affinity If we could only get them to give us a million.

6. Purpose of the medium. Educate, Qualify Seminars, Events Qualify, Call to Action Visits Qualify, Call to Action Telephone Top of Mind Magazine Identify E-mail Educate, Top of Mind Web site Educate Newsletter Identify Direct Mail, Postcard

7. How to reach prospects. Direct Mail Post Cards More than 95% readership rate Newsletters Fewer than 5% readership rate

8. How to reach prospects. E-mail Send permission based e-mail only. No Spam! Personalize each message and keep it to no more than 10 lines. Send no more than four e-mail messages per year.

9. Include donor stories to illustrate the value of giving to the prospect. How to reach prospects. Web site Include a benefits section to outline donor goals and benefits. Do’s

10. How to reach prospects. Web site Avoid unnecessary expenses and clutter on the page, such as “exciting news” and other stories. Avoid using donation calculators on the page. These can complicate donations and lead to problems. Don'ts

11. How often to contact. Reach out to your targets with 10-20 “touches” each year. Telephone Call Holiday Card First Class Mailing Custom Note Personal Visit

12. What messaging to use. Sell the Vision.

13. What messaging to use. Target the message to the specific audience demographic and occasion. Demographic Occasion Thank You Birthday Holiday Milestone Involvement Age Bracket Married Single Gay/Lesbian DINKS

14. Best practices. Develop a planned giving recognition society to recognize living donors. Other successful programs, campaigns or tactics to increase gifts? Tailor your organization’s communication to allow in-person meetings whenever possible.

15. Resources. www.VirtualGiving.com Nonprofit.about.com Brenda Stier – Marketing Works [email_address]