Part 1 of this blog series covered:
- Myth #1: Planned giving hurts annual giving.
- Myth #2: All planned gifts are deferred gifts.
- Myth #3: Planned giving is only for older, wealthier donors.
Part 2 covered:
- Myth #4: Planned giving is not appropriate for a new organization.
- Myth #5: I have to know all the technical aspects before I can suggest a planned gift.
- Myth #6: No one wants to talk about death.
In Part 3, we will look at three myths about planned giving prospects and how to communicate with them.
Myth #7: Once a donor puts you in their will, you’re always in their will.
The Reality
- 62% of those with a will have updated it at least once within the past five years.
- According to Dr. Russell James’ research, the majority of decedents had named no charities in their estate plans prior to their final will.
- The majority of wills that included a charitable bequest were signed within five years of death.
- Those who leave charitable bequests live longer. In fact, 70-90% of charitable bequests come from those who died at the age of 80 or older.
Myth #8: It’s a good idea to focus planned giving marketing efforts on younger donors as much as on older ones.
The Reality
See Myth #7. Many of those who name charitable beneficiaries in their estate plans die in their 80s, and their final wills were likely signed within five years of death. Since earlier wills often have no charitable component, and donors may update their wills multiple times, focusing your bequest communications on those you will have to steward for 40 years or more is not an efficient use of your limited resources. On the other hand, as we’ve stated before, planned giving isn’t just deferred gifts by bequest. There are many ways to structure current giving based on a donor’s age, wealth and their priorities. The most successful strategy is to tailor your communications to specific groups of donors and to make sure you pay special attention to your older donors, whom you may have only five years or less to steward.
Bottom line is, it’s always a good idea to communicate ways of giving to your entire donor database. It’s an even better idea to target market to your donors based on their age, wealth and other demographic factors, but to do this, your database needs to be current, complete and correct. Learn how Sharpe Data can help.
Myth #8: Volunteers are not planned giving prospects.
The Reality
Volunteers are loyal supporters and excellent ambassadors of your organization. They would not donate their time to your mission if they did not believe in it. Many older volunteers give their time during a period when they have less income and more availability. This is often why they reduce their annual financial support during this period in the donor lifecycle. However, they are just as likely (perhaps even more so) to include you in their estate plans.
Moreover, having a personal connection makes your organization even more like family. People will remember positive experiences and being appreciated.
Stay tuned to the Sharpe blog as we cover more myths and the best ways to counteract them in future posts.
Teri Sullivan is vice president of marketing for Sharpe Group and serves as co-producer of the podcast Sharpe Insights: Conversations With Your Planned Giving Experts. You can connect with Teri via email or on LinkedIn.
