The key to any nonprofit’s vitality and success largely rests in the strength of its planned giving program. Ensuring the stability and advancement of this program requires donor retention and the cultivation of new planned giving prospects.
Retaining existing donors may seem less daunting than finding new ones. After all, many organizations already take steps to build relationships with donors and create opportunities for them to become further involved and engaged. But identifying new prospects doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. In fact, it can be as simple as examining supporters who are already invested in your organization and pinpointing those who are willing to do more.
To discover your best planned giving prospects, it helps to know your donors well. Surveys are one of the best ways to increase your knowledge of your existing donor pool, explore their attachment to your organization, and gauge their interest in increasing their impact. If you haven’t conducted a donor survey before, consider a few important steps:
• Set a clear objective. In this case, it is to identify and cultivate new planned giving prospects.
• Craft thoughtful questions. Early questions should be designed to connect and inspire, with later questions written to uncover a donor’s capacity, propensity, and motivation to engage in planned giving.
• Select the right recipients. To strengthen results, ensure that your donor database is reliable and up to date. Then, carefully choose a subset of donors to survey based on your goal to identify planned giving prospects.
• Examine the results. Once you have the desired donor feedback in hand, have a plan for reviewing the answers, seeking specific identifiers, and locating those who are most likely to make a planned gift.
When selecting survey participants and examining results, the following five factors will help you identify new prospects for planned giving.
1. Loyalty
Donors who have frequently and recently given to your organization are the best planned giving prospects. Start with donors who have given to your organization within the last five years, then identify those who made multiple gifts—particularly those who increased their giving. These people may be eager to create even more of an impact through planned giving.
2. Age
People over age 60 are prime candidates for planned giving, as they tend to be considering legacy questions with more seriousness and urgency—how to distribute their assets, how to minimize taxes, and how to leave a lasting and meaningful impact. However, don’t discount those in their 40s and 50s. On average, donors created their first will at age 44, and 53% of donors established their first planned gift at the writing of their first will.
3. Wealth
Wealth is not always a prerequisite for making planned gifts. However, individuals with significant assets and strong financial health have the capacity for larger planned gifts and may be more interested in the corresponding tax advantages. These individuals can be found in your current donor pool through a process called wealth screening. Look at the data your organization already has on your supporters—their giving history, real estate ownership and stock holdings, business affiliations, etc. While attaining this information may be helpful in steering a donor toward the best fit for a planned gift, it is important to be transparent with donors about the information collected.
4. Involvement
People who care deeply about your mission and are loyal to your organization are often open to creating a planned gift as a natural next step in furthering your work and leaving an important legacy. Consider volunteers and others who make non-financial contributions, along with those who attend events or are otherwise involved in your cause.
5. Family dynamics
People without children are strong candidates for planned giving. In fact, philanthropy researcher Russell James found that childlessness is the strongest predictor of a donor including a nonprofit in their estate plan. As childlessness rises in the United States, this donor population will be a powerful force in planned giving.
To truly foster your organization’s long-term success, it is vital to invest in starting or strengthening a planned giving program. Identifying the best planned giving prospects among your existing annual donors is a rewarding way to encourage meaningful legacy gifts from loyal supporters.
If you’d like to explore what a donor survey might look like for your organization, read more on our website, or reach out with questions or to schedule a call. EDS is here to support your goals every step of the way.
