Planned Giving Newsletters: Junk Mail or Gift Generator?Imagine your donor. At the end of the day, he drags himself to the mailbox. Inside, he finds bills, an enormous stack of direct mail pieces and your newsletter inviting him to consider the financial wonders of a charitable remainder unitrust with your organization. As he passes the trash can, your newsletter gets tossed in with the direct mail. Keeping our newsletters in front of our donors long enough to make an impact is a huge sub-industry of planned giving. Countless firms will provide packaged materials, color coordinated and branded with your logo. Unfortunately, they are providing the same materials to your competitors. The personal appeal your organization has for your donor should separate your mail from the direct mail. The pre-packaged piece tells him this isn’t one of your personal notes about the impact his gifts have. De-Junk your Planned Giving Pieces While we need to provide donors with information about planned giving packages available to them, the look and language of your collateral materials should be consistent with all materials. That means more than matching your logo’s colors. Instead of photos of grandparents/grandchildren, trees, sunsets or any of the other icons of planned giving, consider images and stories that speak passionately to the work you do. Include a focus story on a leadership volunteer/donor with dynamic, human-focused photos. Posed portraits look great over the fireplace and boardroom, but they do nothing to humanize a planned giving document. Send the focus piece on letterhead, with a cover note. Personal mail from organizations you support are more likely to be opened than intimidating, expensive packages. These letters should be sent quarterly, and include a call to action for learning more about the benefits of planned giving in every letter. Building your Planned Giving Library Sending your donors personal letters about what other people are doing to help your organization helps to put a face on your work. Information about the kinds of gifts your group accepts is still very important. While we aren’t financial advisors and estate planners, our materials have to reflect confidence that we can manage planned gifts. Here are some of the stand-alone brochures you might consider, instead of a quarterly newsletter. Estate Essentials: Since 60% of Americans die without a will, defining an estate plan and the benefits that can be gleaned from such a plan is critical. In addition to listing some basic information about probate costs and tax provisions that affect estate planning, this helpful, short brochure should include helpful hints about the kinds of documents and information estate planners use to create a comprehensive estate plan. Tax-Advantageous Philanthropy Primer: This brochure should outline the brief definitions on the kinds of gifts your organization can offer and the tax benefits of each gift. Because it’s easy to slip into using jargon when writing these kinds of documents, it’s especially important to keep the package focused with images that reflect your mission, or quick one-sentence testimonials, breaking up the tax text. Gift Arrangements Highlights: These individual definitions of particular gift arrangements should be small enough to insert into an envelope unfolded. Consider starting each section with bulleted donor benefits on particular taxes saved and most reasonable assets for inclusion. Some practical choices for highlights pieces include:
Getting it done Obviously, creating the right planned giving materials can be time consuming and expensive. The income it can generate for your cause is significant, but that doesn’t necessarily make the project any easier. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have your own communications/marketing team on site, call our office. We can create a plan and selection of materials that suits every budget.
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May 2006Archived Newsletters
June 2008:Archived Newsletters |
