Planned giving has become a crucial component for building long-term sustainability for your mission. A vibrant planned giving program provides your donors with opportunities to support your mission while also addressing their own financial and tax planning priorities. These options allow your donors to have an impact they probably never thought they could achieve.
Organizations of all sizes can benefit by sharing planned giving options with their donors and volunteers. This includes bequests, trusts, and other vehicles that donors use to give strategically and leave a legacy.
Here are three key tips to enhance your planned giving efforts, based on our extensive experience in gift planning and in advising nonprofits for years regarding this crucial area of generosity.
Recognize Planned Giving as Additive to your Donor Engagement Efforts
A common misconception in fundraising is that planned giving distracts from current donations. Leadership may fear that promoting planned gifts will reduce immediate financial contributions, but research and experience show the opposite. Including planned giving in your campaign provides donors with the opportunity to contribute in ways that align with both their financial comfort and long-term philanthropic goals.
Actually, research shows that donors who make a planned gift and choose to share that fact with the organization, on average, increase their annual giving afterward. This additive effect is crucial for the long-term financial health of an organization. By leaving planned giving out of your campaign, you risk missing significant contributions that could support your mission well into the future.
Emphasize Emotional Connection Over Technical Details in Planned Giving Communications
When marketing planned giving, it is easy to fall into the trap of focusing on tax benefits and legal complexities. However, these factors are not what truly motivates donors. The most impactful planned giving messages are those that create an emotional connection. Showcase stories of past donors whose legacies have had lasting impacts. Highlighting how a planned gift from decades ago continues to benefit your organization today can inspire current donors to see the long-term impact they could have. The subtext here is powerful: by making a planned gift, donors will be remembered and celebrated long after they are gone.
Overcome Internal Barriers to Discussing Planned Giving With Donors
One of the biggest challenges to successful planned giving is the discomfort that some staff and administrators feel when discussing topics like death and legacy. It’s important to equip your team, particularly those in leadership or donor-facing roles, with the confidence and skills to have these sensitive conversations. Planned giving discussions should be framed as opportunities to help donors achieve their philanthropic goals and ensure their legacy. Training and support can help demystify these conversations, making them a natural part of donor relations rather than something to avoid.
By recognizing the additive value of planned giving, focusing on emotional storytelling, and preparing your team to engage in meaningful legacy conversations, your organization can significantly enhance its fundraising efforts and secure a sustainable future. If your organization is interested in implementing planned giving into your current philanthropic framework or a potential campaign, drop me a line at JGA. We have helped many nonprofits craft comprehensive donor engagement strategy, and we’re ready to help you take your program to the next level.