©Partnership for Philanthropic Planning 2012. All rights reserved.

October 3-5, 2012 • New Orleans, Louisiana

National Conference onPhilanthropic Planning

Conference Presentation Paper

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Getting the Most ROI from Your Planned Giving Marketing Investment

Introduction

There has never been a more important time to follow the steps necessary to optimize the return on your

planned giving marketing investment:

Program budgets have been slashed, and staff sizes have been cut, requiring gift planners to do

more with less and to produce year-over-year revenue growth with fewer resources;

The torch has essentially passed from the WWII generation and is rapidly moving from the Silent

Generation to the Baby Boomers. Effective marketing is key to enjoying your share of the

transfer of wealth;

The same generational transfer evident in our audience signals a change we need to make in the

communication strategies we must employ. Baby Boomers, unlike earlier generations, are

increasingly online; and

We live in an era of higher customer and donor expectations. In our society today, the consumer

controls the dialog. Our marketing must respond to this and other societal trends if we are to

continue to be successful.

To achieve success at planned giving marketing, we need to focus on three components of a successful

marketing & stewardship program: planning, execution and follow-up. It may sound simple but it’s not.

These three core competencies actually encompass a complex mix of strategies and tactics:

Planning includes goal-setting, determining the right audience to market to and establishing a

written plan—by audience and by channel for the frequency, timing and cadence of planned

giving communications;

Execution requires knowledge of what messages, designs and formats work best via which

channel to use for communicating with supporters; and

Follow-up includes not just stewardship but lead qualification and closing and measuring results.

Planning

It’s often said that one should “begin with the end in mind,” and this is no less true of planned giving

marketing. Yet, a PPP survey revealed that only 60% of planned giving professionals work from a plan.

We need to start the planning process with our goals in mind. Goals should be expressed both

quantitatively and qualitatively. Here are examples:

Strengthen relationships with existing Legacy Society members

Call each Legacy Society member

Increase the number of Legacy Society members by 15%

Increase the number of gift annuities by 10%

Increase the number of qualified planned giving leads

Implement disciplined analysis of results to inform subsequent marketing efforts

Create a set of standard reports that can be pulled to track results

Integrate PG messaging into organization-wide communications

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Obviously, these are simply examples and your goals should reflect your organizational realities and

objectives. Once your goals are established, you can turn your attention to creating a plan that is designed

to help you achieve your goals.

Here is an example of a plan format showing just a five month sampling of a proposed annual calendar:

Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Current Annuitants Annuity

Promo

Annuity Inquirers Annuity

Promo Phone Call

General Inquirers Phone Call Bequest Letter Bequest Letter

Targeted Revocable

Gift Prospects Bequest Letter PG Newsletter

Targeted Annuity

Prospects

Annuity

Solicitation PG Newsletter

BOD/Major Donors Bequest Letter

Monthly Donors Bequest Letter PG Newsletter

DM Donors Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes &

Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes &

Buckslip

Org E-News Quiz, Call

to Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call

to Action

Quiz, Call

to Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

This is formatted on a calendar year basis because that’s how donors think, but you can certainly create

your calendar on a fiscal year basis. Various audiences are listed along the left side. These audiences are

shown in very granular fashion in order to suggest that the materials for that audience should be

customized. For example, you may decide to include Board members in a bequest solicitation letter

you’re mailing, but they should receive a customized letter that acknowledges their status as a Board

member.

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You’ll also notice that the plan includes marketing to targeted audiences, like annuity prospects as well as

mass marketing to your entire constituency through organizational communication vehicles. This

combination of targeted and mass marketing will yield your best results. Although targeting should

identify your very best prospects for planned gifts, there will always be outliers—individuals who make a

legacy gift and never would have surfaced through targeting. Incorporating mass marketing messages

into your communication plan helps ensure that the widest possible audience receives planned giving

information, so those outliers can be touched a few times a year in a cost-effective way.

Once you have your annual plan, map that plan to the goals you established so that you can ensure that

each touch moves you toward your goals. Here is an example:

Then, make sure you create a production schedule for each touch. Planning ahead helps you better

manage your time and results in a more thoughtful communication. Make sure your production schedule

includes the various levels of internal review your piece may require, for example, review by the signer

and review by branding. Make sure, too, that it allows for donor interaction, as necessary. If you are

profiling a donor for your newsletter, be sure to allow plenty of time for the donor to review and comment

on your draft copy and to provide you with a photo. The first donor you ask may turn you down, and,

once identified, you can’t rush donors, so planning ahead helps ensure you’re not rushed at the last

minute. Here is an example:

Planned Giving

Newsletter

Mail Date Week of 07/05/12

Interview donor 3/15

Write donor story and get donor approval 4/03

1st draft content 4/10

Feedback 4/14

Revised content 4/21

Final edits 4/24

Content to designer 4/25

First layout comp 4/28

Feedback 5/5

Revised comp 5/10

Lead Generation Lead Qualification Closed Gifts Cultivation Engagement

PG Newsletters

Legacy Society Listing

Legacy Society Survey

Phone Calls

Bequest Letter

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Feedback 5/17

Second Comp 5/19

Comments 5/27

Final Art 5/31

Final Approval/Art Released 6/1

File Due 5/19

Postage Request 5/27

Postage Due 6/20

If you don’t already have an annual plan and even if you do have one, it’s a good idea to review your plan

with your direct marketing/annual fund/membership team. That team is accomplished at planning and

execution because that’s their bread and butter. They may have templates you can utilize and may have

other insights to share that can help you simplify your planning.

Audience

Perhaps nothing is as important as selecting the right audience to receive your planned giving

communication. The best message in the most interesting and engaging format will fall short if it’s sent

to the wrong people. Selecting the right audience is a complex task that requires marrying the

conventional wisdom about who are our best planned giving prospects with practical realities.

The Stelter Company conducted research some years ago which indicated that younger people make their

first will around age 40, at the time they establish guardianship for minor children. The research revealed

that if your organization is a beneficiary of that first plan, there is a high likelihood you will stay in the

plan. The difficulty in selecting younger donors is that the return on your investment is likely to be

decades away. Most organizations would love to communicate with constituents across a wide age

spectrum but simply don’t have the budget to do so. So, they focus on older donors because the return on

investment will happen sooner. Audience selection, of necessity, should therefore be based on the widest

possible age range (and passion factors, to be discussed next) with a reasonable timeframe for return on

investment. If your budget doesn’t permit mailing to younger audiences, select the younger supporters

who demonstrate passion (see below).

It is well known in the sector that childless individuals/couples and those without grandchildren make

some of the very best planned giving prospects. It makes sense. If loved ones, charity and the

government are the three options for distributing one’s estate, the absence of immediate family increases

the likelihood that charity will benefit. The challenge in using this as a selection criterion is that

information about childlessness is not available anywhere.

The core of our audience has been, and will always be, individuals who show loyalty and passion for our

mission. You’ll notice that no mention has been made of wealth. That’s because for most planned gifts

wealth is not an indicator of likelihood to make such a commitment. Most planned gifts—bequests—

come from people of modest means who have given over a period of many years in small amounts and/or

who have otherwise indicated passion for your work. What are some indicators of passion?

Consistent giving over many years. You’ll notice that annual giving over many years is not a

requirement. Donors don’t necessarily think in twelve-month increments, so we shouldn’t

necessarily expect a twenty-year member to have given twenty membership gifts. Fifteen

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membership gifts from a member whose first gift was twenty years ago says something about that

individual’s commitment to you.

Someone who volunteers and gives, though not individuals who only volunteer since they may

view their time as their gift;

Individuals who are recruiters, that is, the person has created a fundraising page on your website

and recruited others to give to your organization on their behalf;

Supporters who are multi-channel. In other words, supporters who give online and through the

mail or give through the mail and on the phone;

Insiders, such as Board members, people involved at the Chapter level, or individuals who have

received an award from your organization;

Grateful patients or friends or family members of those who have received services from you;

Individuals who have given you their email address (as distinct from emails acquired by

appending from a third party source). Given our general reluctance to give out our email

addresses, if a donor has provided it to you, that says something about their devotion to you;

Petition signers and activists on your behalf who have also donated or become a member with a

financial contribution.

These are just some of the ways you can slice and dice your database to arrive at the most passionate

segments that are within your budget constraints. Each organization’s supporters are different, and the

data available on your database should drive your segmentation.

There are a few other considerations that bear mentioning with respect to audience:

1. The audience for annuities, for example, is different from the audience for revocable gifts.

Annuities are a much more transactional event, less based on passion, and the donor must have

the capacity to make an irrevocable gift of your annuity donation minimum, often $10,000 or

even more. So, when targeting annuity prospects, some indicator of capacity, whether it’s a

measure of wealth from a third party append or high-dollar giving to your organization, is

warranted.

2. More than half of adult Americans don’t have a will or an estate plan. Identifying these

individuals for purposes of segmentation and sending them a message about planning is

challenging. To address this fraction of our audience, it is recommended that you use special

messaging in your copy (to be addressed later in this paper) about the many gifts that don’t

require a will or estate plan.

3. Appending age to a file requires an investment, and not every organization has the money to

spend. Loyalty can serve as a proxy for age. If, for example, you have individuals who have

been giving consistently for 25 years, it’s a safe bet those individuals are age-appropriate. Even if

you have the budget to append age, don’t forget that most services identify age or an age range

for only 65-75% of the people on your file. That leaves a large fraction for whom you will still

have no age. Again, use loyalty and passion as a proxy for age. If a supporter has been giving for

20 years, even without an age on file, that person is likely a good prospect. If a supporter has

many indicators of passion, that person should be receiving your communications, no matter his

or her age.

4. Don’t forget inquirers. Especially if you are doing mass marketing of planned gifts, you may

have inquiries from individuals who don’t fall into the usual target segments. So, as you continue

to send out planned giving communications, be sure to “force” those inquirers into your audience

selection to make sure they are included and so that you can personalize the communication with

them.

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Before concluding this section on audience segmentation, it’s important to speak to the increasing

prevalence of regression models for planned giving audience segmentation. Models work best in

conjunction with, not as a substitution for, traditional selection criteria. If you don’t have the budget for a

model, traditional selection methodology is very effective.

Message

After audience, message is the most important factor for planned giving marketing success. There are

three over-arching ideas you should keep in mind as you craft your message.

1. In communicating with donors, the most important word is “you,” the donor, not “we,” the

organization. Too often our communication focuses on our needs and our successes when we

should be addressing donor needs and giving donors credit for our successes. After all, we

couldn’t succeed without our supporters.

2. Donors make charities the beneficiary of their estate plan because of a desire to leave a legacy,

make their mark and help future generations. They do not leave a legacy in order to join a

Legacy Society. If your communications heavily emphasize joining a society, consider changing

your message to describe what really matters to donors.

3. Tell stories rather than giving technical information. Stories, in both print and video, are what

move us.

Here are some additional tips for crafting your message:

Speak plain English! Donors do not understand terminology like “life income gifts,”

“testamentary gifts” or “retained life estate.” Instead, describe these gifts in terms anyone can

understand.

Address unspoken donor concerns. In most cases, we won’t have the opportunity with each

donor for a face-to-face conversation where we can answer any concerns or objections the donor

might express. Instead, we need to make sure our copy gives the answers to these unspoken

objections so no conversation is required. What are the messages we need to deliver to address

unspoken donor concerns?

o You can change your mind. This of course applies only to revocable gifts, but these are

the most prevalent kinds of gifts. Donors are worried about making a commitment they

can’t keep. Tell your supporters that you understand that circumstances change. Explain

that one of the best things about bequests and gifts by beneficiary designation is that you

can change your mind should your circumstances change.

o You can include a gift for our organization and take care of loved ones, too. It’s not an

either/or decision between children and charity.

o There is no minimum. Every gift makes a difference.

o You retain control over your assets for as long as you need them. Many donors are

concerned about making a legacy commitment because they are unsure whether they will

need the funds themselves. We need to reassure donors that legacy gifts don’t require the

donor to write out a check now.

o Many gifts don’t require a will or a visit to a lawyer. For the fraction of our audience

with no estate plan and for the group with a plan who is reluctant to engage in the process

of changing it, it’s important to emphasize that many gifts transfer by beneficiary

designation and only require a signature on a form to complete.

o You may remain anonymous. Some donors worry that notifying a charity of an intention

will result in their name being widely published. Be sure to let people know that

anonymity is an option.

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Always include suggested language. Industry-wide, 7 or 8 out of 10 donors will never tell us of

an intention but will take action on their own. For these do-it-yourself donors, we need to make

sure we give them all the information they need to take that action. Providing suggested bequest

or beneficiary designation language along with your correct legal name and tax ID can also

prevent confusion when a will is probated between organizational names that are similar.

Make generous use of testimonials. We live in the era of Yelp and ratings for every product and

service available online. Peer reviews have become more important than advertising at

convincing consumers to act. Testimonials can function as peer recommendations. For the most

part, donor testimonials will suffice, but in the case of gift annuities, it can also help to include a

quote from a trusted third-party financial expert like The Wall Street Journal, Forbes or any of a

number of other print and online financial sources.

Incorporate calls to action. It may surprise you, but donors need to be told what to do. Think of

the conventional wisdom that the most common reason people don’t give is because they weren’t

asked. So we need to ask our donors to make a legacy commitment, and then tell them how to do

it in a step-by-step fashion. Here’s an example:

Show ‘em that you know ‘em. Personalize your communications with your different audiences.

Cover letters, replies and all manner of communication can be targeted by segment to increase

response. If you are mailing your monthly donors/sustainers, make sure the copy acknowledges

their special status. If you are sending your newsletter to your Legacy Society members, make

sure the reply is different from your prospect reply. You’ll only annoy your Legacy Society

members if you continually ask if they have included you in their plans since they have already

told you! If you are employing personalization, make sure your data is accurate. Are your

salutation fields populated? Are you capable of handling salutations and address lines for two

differently named people (unmarried couples or couples where the woman has kept her maiden

name)? Even if you don’t have the ability to clean up your entire database, make sure your

Legacy Society records are accurate, and, if you have a little more time, clean up your inquirer

list since these are your hottest prospects.

Don’t forget to consistently talk about the one gift that is the most widely available to donors—

gifts of retirement plan assets. It’s also one of the few remaining tax-wise gifts.

Design and Format

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To increase readability, there are certain design considerations that are important to follow when

communicating with an older audience:

Use a serif typeface;

Use as large a point size as you can accommodate but in no case smaller than 12 pt;

Never reverse white type out of a colored background;

Design for skimmers. Even 80 year-olds are busy, so we need to make our information accessible

for those who will scan our materials looking for relevant information. Design techniques that

address readers who are skimmers include: using numbered steps, using Q & A formats and

making sure every photo has a caption. And make sure that your caption doesn’t just describe the

picture but relates the picture back to legacy gifts. Here is an example:

Rethink the image of your donor. AARP did a study on marketing to the mature audience. They

found that people believe they look 15 years younger than they are. More recently, the Pew

Research Center published a study that had results consistent with the AARP findings. The Pew

study found that there was roughly an 11-year gap between actual age and felt age. While donors

may look old to us when we see them, that’s not how they perceive themselves, so it’s not how

we should picture them. Think vital, active people, not the frail elderly.

With respect to format, here is a summary of recommendations for how and when to use various formats:

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Newsletters continue to be one of the most effective means of identifying new Legacy Society donors and

for surfacing qualified prospects. However, self-mailer format newsletters are not ideal because they

don’t permit inclusion of a cover letter and because of the challenges associated with customizing the

reply for various audiences.

Postcards can be effective when the matter is urgent, and a postcard with a fold-over reply that allows the

reply to be sent back confidentially also sometimes works, but they are typically not as effective as

newsletters and letter packages.

As noted previously, invitations to join your Legacy Society are not the best way to solicit legacy

notifications or commitments. Instead, a passionate letter about the impact on future generations and the

benefits—to the donor—of leaving a legacy can produce a better result. Surveys can also be effective at

eliciting legacy intentions when mixed in with a handful of questions about the donor’s programmatic

interests. Make sure that your survey is short, and offering it both in the mail and online can help you

reach prospects who may find it more convenient to respond online.

Brochures are wonderful fulfillment pieces, but not only are they ineffective, they sometimes hurt

response when accompanying a solicitation letter. Inserts are a terrific way to get the message out to a

wide audience, especially when inserted into thank-you letters that may be sent as part of your annual

giving/direct mail program. Print ads continue to be effective as well. If you have a magazine, try to

incorporate a bind-in card that the donor can send back. Make sure it’s bound into the magazine next to

the companion print ad. But don’t forget about using ads in your print and online newsletters, whether

those are organization-wide periodicals or for planned giving alone. Some people absorb information

better visually and prefer not to read a lot of text, so using ads, alongside text, can be an effective way of

communicating.

Here’s an example of the front and back of an acknowledgement insert. You’ll see that it includes many

of the techniques recommended earlier: donor-focused benefits, a testimonial, and suggested language.

What it doesn’t include is space for the donor to put their name and send it back. This piece is intended to

reach that 70-80% of donors who are do-it-yourselfers.

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The “Hidden Treasure” ad, below, illustrates how effective ads versus text can be at communicating our

message.

Channel

The suggestions given earlier all relate to traditional print media because for our audience direct mail is

still king. But that is changing. Every day for the next 18 years, 10,000 baby boomers will reach age 65.

The chart below shows the size of each population cohort as time goes on and illustrates the transition

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underway. The WWII generation is essentially behind us and even the Silent Generation, while still very

much with us, is a small audience compared to the Baby Boomer audience.

So, what should we be doing now? We shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. In no way am I

suggesting that your budget should be reallocated to spend more online or on email or social media. But

we do need to be where our donors are, and they are increasingly multi-channel. We don’t know when

the tipping point will occur, so we need to be out in front, dipping our toe into the water, so we’re already

experienced at multi-channel communication when the time comes that the majority of our supporters are

online. At a minimum, we can equate word of mouth, a traditionally online phenomenon, with our use of

testimonials, and we can start to use video in our communication. YouTube is the second most popular

search engine and is an increasingly common means of story-telling and communication.

1. Make sure you incorporate planned giving content into your e-news and on your website. Each

issue of your e-newsletter should have an ad or other message about planned gifts. Here is an

example:

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2. Add an “I have included” checkbox to your online donation page.

3. Create integrated campaigns by combining bonus, web-only content to your print planned giving

newsletters and other print communications. A P.S. in the cover letter that drives people to a

special landing page that is also referenced in the newsletter can be very effective at engaging

prospects. In conjunction, send an email to everyone who received the print newsletter, offering

them the option to download a PDF of the newsletter and, again, referencing the bonus content.

Make sure that the link to your bonus content takes supporters to a custom landing page rather

than dumping them into your planned giving website where the site visitor can be quickly

overwhelmed with the abundance of information there. The essentials of a good landing page are:

o Provide continuity between your promotion piece and the landing page

o Be brief and to the point

o Simplify your form; avoid clutter

o Sell your offer

o Leave off the navigation

o Do something right away with your new leads!

4. Use email to send video and post video on your planned giving website. The video can be

information about work that is being accomplished and, more importantly, create videos of

Legacy Society donors to go along with print stories you may have on your website. It’s not

necessary that these look professionally done. Take a small video camera with you on donor

visits and capture two or three minutes of a testimonial that way. Just make sure you ask the right

questions to elicit the kind of statements about legacy gifts that might inspire others to follow

suit. Then post your videos to YouTube so anyone can find them.

Follow Up

Too often, the emphasis of a planned giving effort is the front-end of the process—marketing and lead

generation—when, in fact, the back-end, encompassing initial fulfillment, gift closing activities and

stewardship, is even more important to long-term success. Even though only a few qualified leads are

typically produced by a given communication, the value of these leads can be upwards of $40,000 each

(the average bequest industry-wide).Thus, emphasis on fulfillment, gift closing and stewardship is

warranted.

Lead Conversion

A “conversion series,” much like you might have as part of your membership or direct mail program to

convert newly acquired members and donors to a second gift, can be created to move qualified planned

giving leads to a gift commitment. Here is an example of a conversion series for annuity leads. The same

kind of approach works well with prospects who request bequest and revocable gift information.

Step Content Timing

#1 CALL, qualify lead; confirm/solicit age, gift

amount & other details

Upon receipt of inquiry

#2 Mail cover letter, illustration, rate

sheet/brochure, contract, stamped reply

Within 48 hours

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#3 Short note with testimonials 2 weeks later

#4 Letter re-summarizing individual’s benefits

with another illustration

4 weeks later

#5 CALL, with appropriate follow up 6 weeks later

#6 Force into subsequent annuity promotions with

variable messaging

ongoing

Stewardship

Stewardship is often referred to as the most neglected function in fundraising. Adrian Sargeant, in his

groundbreaking survey of donors on behalf of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, found that

only 25% of donors who had informed a charity of their bequest intention were treated any differently as

a consequence. Stewardship is not a pin or recognition on a wall. Instead, good stewardship is: thanks

with relevance, deepens engagement, and illustrates impact.

At a minimum, each Legacy Society members should receive one personal touch a year. Even if you

don’t have planned giving staff sufficient to accomplish this, you can run a “Thank-a-Thon” utilizing all

staff to make calls on a designated day or week. And there are telemarketing firms that have special

callers for high-touch calls such as these. New legacy intentions should also receive a thank-you call.

These are major-donors-in-waiting who have elevated you to the status of member of the family and, as

such, they deserve a personal call from you—promptly!

As a companion to your marketing/lead generation plan, you should also have a stewardship plan since

many communications can serve dual purposes. For example, your planned giving newsletter can be sent

to Legacy Society members, with a customized cover letter and reply, as part of your stewardship plan.

Here is an example of a newsletter reply customized to engage Legacy Society donors.

It’s often not necessary to create separate stewardship activities for your Legacy Society. Instead, look

for existing programs to leverage. Is there a major donor conference call? Invite your Legacy Society

donors to participate? Is there a VIP event? Invite your Legacy Society donors to come? Even if the

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donor lives 3,000 miles away and is unlikely to come, the mere fact of inviting the donor can serve as the

stewardship touch.

Another stewardship touch is to invite Legacy Society donors to tell their story. The story can be in print

on your website, or it can be video, taking advantage of the new channel available to use. If your staff

makes donor visits, have them take a small video camera with them, or they can even use their phone.

Then upload the video to your website and to YouTube. Donors appreciate being asked, even if they say

no to telling their story.

Measuring Success

After all the hard work we’ve put into planning, executing and following up, it’s important to measure our

results. We need to understand which of our techniques is working, and we need to track the pipeline

we’re creating. Below is an example of a report showing the results of two lead generation mailings.

You can see that the letter package (top) dramatically outperformed the postcard package, generating 36

qualified leads and 16 new intentions versus the postcard’s seven leads and three intentions. Another

important aspect of this report is the display of the revenue pipeline that the mailing created. With an

average bequest of $22,500, the known bequests have produced a revenue potential of $360,000. This

report also reflects the fact that for every bequest we know of, there are three or more that we won’t be

notified of in advance. That pool of “unknown bequests” represents a pipeline of an additional $427,500.

PG Marketing Response

Summary

June '12 Bequest

Mailing

Qty

Mailed

Qual.

Leads

Lead

Resp.%

Con-

sidering More Info # New LS

Known

Bequest

Potential

Unknown

Bequest

Potential

Letter w/ reply 30,255 36 0.12% 7 12 16 $360,000 $427,500

May '12 Bequest

Mailing

Qty

Mailed

Qual.

Leads

Lead

Resp.%

Con-

sidering More Info # New LS

Known

Bequest

Potential

Unknown

Bequest

Potential

Postcard w/ reply 30,000 7 .02% 0 4 3 $72,000 $90,000

In addition to measuring the results of our marketing efforts, we should be measuring the overall progress

of our program. Here are some reports you might want to consider creating:

A multi-year report that shows: bequest revenue; number of new notifications in each

year; number of new Legacy Society members; net number of Legacy Society members

(current + new-deaths); amount of annuities under management; number of new annuities

in each year; number of annuitants with multiple annuities; number of annuitant deaths,

etc.

A snapshot of current Legacy Society members and of closed estates. You’ll want to

track the source of these commitments (were these individuals receiving your marketing

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touches even if they never returned a reply form); were they direct mail givers; how

many were known to you versus unknown; average bequest size with and without

outliers; age at notification and age at death.

You should also track similar information on annuitants, including the percentage of

donation remaining for your use at the time of death of the annuitant; age at creation of

annuity; number of repeat annuitants; average annuity amount with and without outliers,

etc. This information can help you in your marketing and budgeting. You can also then

compare your statistics to the sector through the ACGA Survey of Gift Annuities.

Goals should be expressed in revenue and also in the kinds of interim milestones that

indicate that you are on track to achieve your revenue goal, e.g., number of qualified

leads generated from marketing efforts, number of annuity illustrations sent, number of

donor visits, etc.

In Conclusion

If you take time to plan, execute according to the guidelines suggested in this paper and follow up

appropriately, you will realize the optimum return on your planned giving marketing investment.

Phyllis Freedman

President

SmartGiving

1625 16th Street, NW #401

Washington, DC 20009

(202)265-1910

pfreedman@smart-giving.com

www.plannedgivingblogger.net

9/7/2012

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PPP-LA

September 13, 2012

Phyllis Freedman, SmartGiving

GETTING THE MOST RETURN

FROM YOUR PG MARKETING

INVESTMENT

Planning Execution Follow up

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2

PLAN EXECUTE FOLLOW

UP

goals

frequency

timing

cadence

audience

message

design

format

channel

convert

steward

measure

3

Planning: Goals, Frequency, Timing &

Cadence

9/7/2012

3

Start with a Plan

Of PPP members surveyed, only 60% report

working from a plan!

Apply the same discipline to PG marketing as your

organization does to direct mail/annual giving

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4

Sample Goals for the Year

Strengthen relationships with existing Legacy Society members

Call each Legacy Society member

Increase the number of Legacy Society members by 15%

Increase number of gift annuities by 10%

Increase the number of qualified planned giving leads

Implement disciplined analysis of results to inform subsequent

marketing efforts

Create a set of standard reports that can be pulled to track results

Integrate PG messaging into organization wide communications

7

Sample Lead Generation Plan

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept

Current Annuitants Annuity

Promo

Annuity

Promo

Annuity Inquirers Annuity

Promo Phone Call

Annuity

Promo

General Inquirers Phone Call

Bequest

Letter

Bequest

Letter

PG

Newsletter

Targeted

Revocable Gift

Prospects

Bequest

Letter

PG

Newsletter

PG

Newsletter

Targeted Annuity

Prospects

Annuity

Solicitation

PG

Newsletter

PG

Newsletter

BOD/Major Donors Bequest

Letter Year End

Monthly Donors

Bequest

Letter

PG

Newsletter

PG

Newsletter

DM Donors Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Checkboxes

& Buckslip

Org E-News Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

Quiz, Call to

Action

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Lead

Generation Lead

Qualification Closed Gifts

Cultivation Engagement

PG Newsletters

Legacy Society Listing

LS Survey

Phone Calls

Bequest Letter

9

Map Goals to Activities

Planning: Audience

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Industry Wisdom—Market to:

Younger Donors

No Kids/Grandkids

Long

Loyal/Passionate

No Estate Plan

• Long wait for ROI/budget considerations

• How to identify?

• Easy to identify

• How to identify?

11

Audience Selection: Practical Advice

Age

Intuitive measures

of passion

Don’t forget

• Append if you can afford it

• Loyalty as proxy

• Younger ok if passionate

Giving over years, monthly givers, BOD,

“Recruiters,” Volunteer/Giver, presence of

donor-supplied email, multi-channel, grateful

patients/families; information requesters

• Those with no estate plan--special

messaging

• Annuity prospects not same as bequest

prospects

• Those with no age on file

• Inquirers

12

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Modeling Traditional selection

13

Traditional Model Optimum

Executing: Message

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You are invited to join

our Legacy Society

20

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11

21

21

Speak Plain English!

Life income gifts

Retained life estate

Testamentary gifts

22

22

Address Unspoken Donor Concerns

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23

Always Include Suggested Language

24

24

Make Generous Use of Testimonials

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26

26

Always Incorporate Calls to Action

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28

28

Show ‘em that you know ‘em

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. . ., and through your monthly

support of Earthjustice as a Team

Legal member, you have joined the

fight and made our successes

possible.

Even with all you continue to make

possible through

your monthly support, there is an

opportunity to have an even greater

impact.

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Because you have

told us that a

family member has

been touched by

ALS . . .

Because you have

lost someone to ALS,

your support is

especially

meaningful.

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Salutation field

Do a data accuracy audit

of your Legacy Society

records

Same sex couples

Couples where the woman

keeps her name

33

Where is the

money today?

Retirement plans!

34

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Executing: Design & Format

36

36

Use Serif Font & Large Point Size

Style for older readers Not for Gen X/Y

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This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult to read. This way of designing text is too difficult

Don’t Reverse White Type out of Color

37

38

38

Design for ‘Skimmers’

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40

40

Rethink the Image of Your Donor

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Newsletters

• Best for lead generation

• Self-mailers not ideal

Postcards

• Single panel for time sensitive

• Double panel sometimes

Invitations

• Effectiveness questionable

Other

• Brochures--for fulfillment not lead gen

• Inserts

• Ads

• Letters

• Surveys

What’s Working

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Closed face envelope

Customized

Letter

Customized

Reply

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46

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Executing: Channel

48

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every day for the

next 18 years,

10,000 baby

boomers will

reach age 65

50

should

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In as little as

two minutes,

you could

create your

own legacy

for wildlife.

Learn more . . .

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Follow-up: Conversion

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57

57

Why a Conversion Plan?

Turns precious few leads into commitments

Big decision can take time

Distinguishes you from the competition

Step Content Timing

#1 CALL, qualify lead; confirm/solicit age,

gift amount & other details

Upon receipt of

inquiry

#2 Mail cover letter, illustration, rate

sheet/brochure, contract, stamped reply

Within 48 hours

#3 Short note with testimonials 2 weeks later

#4 Letter re-summarizing individual’s benefits

with another illustration

4 weeks later

#5 CALL, with appropriate follow up 6 weeks later

#6 Force into subsequent annuity promotions

with variable messaging

ongoing

Annuity Conversion Series

58

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Follow-up: Stewardship

Good stewardship

Starts with a plan

Thanks with relevance

Provides opportunities

for engagement

Communicates impact

60

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“I wanted to share the

commencement

program with you as all

of our scholarships are

listed and I thought you

might like to see the

names of the Ted

Freedman Endowed

Scholarship recipients.

As you can imagine,

our scholarship

recipients are among

the best and brightest

on campus and support

for these students

makes a tremendous

difference in their

lives.”

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65

Storytelling as Engagement

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Follow-up: Measuring Success

PG Marketing

Response Summary

June '12

Bequest

Mailing Qty Mailed

Qual.

Leads

Lead

Resp.%

Con-

sidering

More

Info

# New

LS

Known

Bequest

Potential

Unknown

Bequest

Potential

Letter w/ reply 30,255 36 0.12% 7 12 16 $360,000 $720,000

May '12

Bequest

Mailing

Quanity

Mailed Leads

Lead

Resp.%

Con-

sidering

More

Info

# New

LS

Known

Bequest

Potential

Unknown

Bequest

Potential

Postcard w/

reply 30,000 7 .02% 0 4 3 $67,500 $112,500

68

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Gift Planning Year Over Year Results

FY10 FY11

Estate Revenue $2,000,000 $2,200,000

CGA Revenue $100,000 $160,000

Average Estate Size (Outliers Excluded $41,000 $39,000

Estate Notifications 52 64

CGA's Established 15 20

Average CGA Amount $8,000 $8,000

CGA Illustrations 30 40

Qualified Leads 857 972

New LS 98 117

Total LS 2026 2098

New LS Pipeline $4,018,000 $4,563,000

Total LS Pipeline $83,066,000 $81,822,000

9/7/2012

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pfreedman@smart-giving.com

www.plannedgivingblogger.net

Questions?