The Great Wealth Transfer: Engaging Baby Boomers in Planned Giving

Did you know that $9 trillion—yes, trillion—will change hands in the next 10 years from the Baby Boomer generation to the next?   

It’s hard to wrap our minds around numbers that big, so let’s break it down just a little:  

• If you spent $10 million per day, it would take you 2,464 years to spend $9 trillion.  
• If you stacked $9 trillion in $100 bills, they would reach the International Space Station 24 times.  

Is your organization positioned for the impact this great wealth transfer could have on the work you do?  

Here’s another statistic. Every day about 10,000 baby boomers turn 65. Retirement is one of the triggers for revisiting or creating an estate plan for the first time. 

How effective is your communication with the baby boomer generation? Here are four things to keep in mind. 

• Be “direct”! Baby boomers tell us they are highly influenced by direct mail. At Canopy, we can back that up, as the response rates to our mail-back conversation with donors average at 15%. Old-school communications are still effective! 

• Be smart. Boomers are also pretty handy with their smartphones. But as you may know if you are getting to midlife, it can be hard to read a lot of information on a phone. Keep it simple with your online planned giving content and communications.  

• Be inspiring. Simple content is probably more effective anyway, as inspiration always beats information when it comes to planned giving. People give legacy gifts because they believe in you, not because you can give them the fine print on tax-free giving vehicles. They have financial planners and lawyers who can help them with the details, your job is to make them want to start that conversation. 

• Be creative. One letter or newsletter article is not going to produce a new pipeline of legacy gifts. Inspiration for leaving a legacy needs to be spread around in all of your different message channels—emails, newsletters, website content, direct mail, and social media.  

Don’t miss out on the wealth transfer! Start a conversation with your donors about the kind of legacy they want to leave. Now’s the time to discover your gift potential. Canopy will help you speak to the hearts of your donors so they understand how a gift in their will makes a lasting difference.