Right now Tony Martignetti joins us to speak about advertising your bequests program. ~ Kristina
Visitor Put up by Tony Martignetti
Many nonprofit communicators draw back from spending a lot time advertising Planned Giving at their organizations.
However right here’s the factor: your donors gained’t assume to incorporate your group of their wills except you ask them.
So ask.
And it seems that selling Planned Giving doesn’t harm your relationships with donors who give via annual appeals.
So ask.
In reality, many nonprofits that promote and talk about Planned Giving with their donors report increased giving round their annual and main present appeals. I’ve seen it time after time.
So ask. And be multichannel about it.
Which means utilizing quite a lot of mediums — your web site, junk mail, electronic mail, social media, and multimedia — to market your Planned Giving program.
Right here’s some fast recommendation on learn how to talk about Planned Giving throughout quite a few channels.
On-line
In case your nonprofit has a Planned Giving program, have a web page in your web site that explains how donors may also help your nonprofit obtain monetary stability and sustainability by making legacy items – and exhibits them how straightforward it’s to incorporate your nonprofit of their will.
I additionally advocate your web site:
- Embody a web-appropriate paragraph or two that speaks to the worth and affect of a long-term present to your group
- Characteristic a pull quote from a bequest donor — or out of your CEO or govt director in case your program is new
- Supply a pattern bequest
- Encourage people to share the pattern bequest with their lawyer
- Present details about who to contact for extra info. Only a few individuals will name, nevertheless it’s useful to offer an electronic mail deal with and telephone quantity the place potential donors (and attorneys) can attain out to start out a dialog and ask questions.
Right here’s one necessary factor to keep away from: Planned Giving calculators. Whereas it’d seem to be an effective way to have interaction potential donors, a calculator is definitely a barrier, because it means that Planned Giving is sophisticated. Whenever you’re selling bequests, you don’t want calculators!
Direct Mail and E-mail
Complement your web site content material with junk mail appeals dedicated to Planned Giving.
In case your price range permits junk mail letters, you may bolster that effort by together with some focused electronic mail appeals about Planned Giving.
In each case, your aim is to start out a long-term dialog, so make your advertising supplies heat, factual, honest, and easy.
These are long-term asks that seemingly gained’t repay for years. Consequently, it’s necessary to be constant and reinforce the message frequently with the concept a few of your donors will preserve you in thoughts when the time is correct.
You need them to take your attraction to their lawyer’s workplace the following time they should change their will. That’s a house run!
Occasion Remarks
Your govt director or director of improvement can weave three to 4 sentences about Planned Giving into their remarks at donor gatherings, awards dinners, and different occasions. These speaking factors don’t must take up a lot time — I like to recommend about one minute of remarks — however they plant the seed within the minds of these within the viewers.
Occasion Packages
It’s straightforward to develop a brief, boilerplate commercial or sidebar that you would be able to embody in all your occasion packages. Along with some quick textual content about your Planned Giving program, embody your nonprofit’s authorized title, deal with, and tax ID quantity. You’ll be stunned how many individuals will save this system — and even tear out the announcement.
Annual Stories
Whether or not print or digital, your annual report is the proper place to listing all of your Planned Giving donors and encourage readers to contemplate their very own deliberate items. Earlier than itemizing anybody’s title, make certain you may have their permission.
Annual Giving Direct Appeals
You don’t must restrict your Planned Giving advertising to standalone appeals. You’ll be able to develop a 1/3-page postcard or insert that features a reminder about learn how to make a deliberate present. Bear in mind to incorporate your nonprofit’s authorized title, deal with, and tax ID quantity for simple reference.
E-mail signatures and enterprise playing cards
Some nonprofits embody a brief line about Planned Giving and a hyperlink to extra info of their electronic mail signature strains or on enterprise playing cards.
Tony Martignetti is founding father of Planned Giving Accelerator, which trains nonprofits on learn how to create and construct profitable Planned Giving packages. A former lawyer, he’s additionally the host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio.
