When you think about it, a person who makes a planned gift commitment is treating your organization like a dear friend or close family member, so they deserve to be treated as such. One way to show ongoing appreciation is by having a planned gift recognition society. This allows you to keep in touch with this special group while strengthening your long-term relationship with them.
Having a planned gift recognition society (many are called “Legacy Societies”) provides opportunities for you to meet with these donors and get to know them better one on one. Findings from the Sharpe Knowledgebase™ show that bequests received from donors who informed charities in advance of their bequests are often two or more times larger than bequests received from those who do not.
However, if your organization is inattentive to planned giving donors due to complacency, staff turnover, poor record keeping, insufficient or incorrect data or other factors, you run the risk of alienating them and perhaps losing their gifts altogether. Since many planned gifts are revocable, they can be easily changed during the donor’s lifetime.
Yet another compelling reason to have a recognition society is this: A planned gift recognition society can be key to managing the natural “downgrading” and inevitable lapse of many older donors. Planned gift donors are often reaching the age at which their current giving may be decreasing because they are living on a limited, fixed income or their healthcare/living expenses have dramatically increased.
A recognition society can also provide a natural way to acknowledge a donor’s past and future involvement. You may even see more planned gift commitments from prospective donors when they see that those who have made a planned gift—not just current gifts—are being recognized.
Manage expectations
Keep in mind, though, that no matter how many “benefits” you offer through membership, few people will face mortality, change their estate plans and incur a legal fee just to make a gift that “earns” them an invitation to join. In fact, many planned gift donors will never tell you of their gift during their lifetime, and a percentage of others who do inform you will wish to remain anonymous and not want to participate at all.
While your recognition society may honor only a relatively small group of donors, this type of relationship building is critical because it can lead to significant additional gift income in the future. ■
