Your donor’s first planned gift intention does not have to be the last. You would never think about asking a donor to make a major gift and never asking them to make another. But how many times do fundraisers do that with planned giving donors? They thank their donor for their intention, invite them to the annual luncheon, send them a birthday and holiday card. All good stuff, but there is very likely a percentage of your legacy society members who may be open to increasing their planned gift commitment. Research from Russell James has shown that many planned giving donors are likely to increase their outright giving as well provided they are staying connected to the mission and feeling good about their intention.
Action Steps:
- Keep a spreadsheet (or list in your CRM) of all your current PG donors.
- Keep track of who has documented their intention.
- Inspire your donors to document.
- Keep your eyes and ears open for your donor’s life-trigger events that could motivate them to increase their original intention.