How to get started with planned giving
If your nonprofit organization is new to planned giving, there are a few steps you should follow to kick it off. We go over these steps in detail in this article on jump-starting your planned giving program, but here is the high level overview:
Step 1: Unify your teams.
Before you start a planned giving program, everyone at your nonprofit should be on board. You have to understand where this program will fit in within your organization’s existing infrastructure. Your organization will need to ask itself questions, such as:
• Will planned giving belong to the major gifts department? Will it have it’s own department?
• Will your organization hire an expert or train an existing staff member to collect planned gifts?
• What resources will your organization allocate to increasing or marketing planned gifts?
However your organization decides to approach planned giving, it’s important that development and communications teams are aligned and on the same page about marketing planned giving to your supporters. These teams should create shared goals and balance any competing priorities in order to identify key moments to solicit supporters and fundraise for your organization.
At this point, the planned giving team should also work closely with major gifts to identify top prospects for outreach.
Step 2: Outline your marketing plan.
To start bringing in planned gifts, your organization will need to create a detailed marketing plan. Just like communicating to your supporters about any other fundraising options or campaigns, repetition and ease is key for marketing planned giving.
As the first step in this process, you should make it incredibly easy for supporters to find and access this new way to give. Add planned giving as a donation option on your website, or create a dedicated landing page to explain all the ways a donor can make a planned gift. Give them resources that make it easy to leave a bequest, such as making a will through FreeWill, or offer them support by giving them a person to contact for more information.
Then, create marketing materials, such as emails and direct mail to speak to your donors about the impact and benefits of planned gifts. Identify the best marketing channels for planned giving, and add a few planned giving campaigns per year into your organization’s communications calendar.
Once your program is set up, your planned giving team should also start meeting with top prospects to help them make a planned gift.
Step 3: Acknowledge your donors.
Planned gifts, and especially bequests left in a will, can be difficult to track. Some organizations occasionally survey their supporters to see if there are any donors who have left bequests and forgotten to notify them. When you do learn about a planned gift, make sure you thank the donor and acknowledge the impact their gift will have on your organization’s mission. If you’re setting up a legacy society with any special perks, such as public acknowledgements, access to special events, or organizational communications, make sure you invite them to take part. Doing so, will help make the donors feel like a part of the community and strengthen their relationship with your organization.
Ready to kick start your planned giving program? FreeWill can help.
