The Three P’s of Legacy Gift Conversations

Are you asking your donors about their legacy gift plans?  

Donors who are simply asked to leave a legacy gift are 17 times more likely to do so. And talking about legacy giving with donors can help increase other types of giving, especially annual giving.  

So what do these conversations look like? You can hold them during meetings and phone calls. You can also automate them through direct mail and email (in fact, that’s exactly what we do at Canopy).  

No matter which way you choose to have your donor conversations, you’ll want to lead with inspiration, not information—don’t overload them with technical terms. You should focus on what we call the “Three P’s.” 

The Three P’s: Person, Passion, and Preference.  

1. Person — Who is the donor?  

You might ask questions like… 

• • How did they first come to support your organization’s work? 

• • What is their family structure like? 

• • What are their values and beliefs? 

• • How old are they? 

• • Do they have any children? 

2. Passion — Why do they support the cause?  

You might ask questions like… 

• • What is it about your work that they love? 

• • Where would they like to see your organization invest more effort? 

• • Is there a person or story that connects them to the cause? 

• • Do they think your organization makes good use of its resources? 

 3. Preference — How do they like to support the work? 

You might ask questions like… 

• • Do they use certain methods of giving (DAFs, etc.)? 

• • Are they interested in becoming a volunteer? 

• • Do they prefer direct mail, email, or phone calls? 

• • Do they enjoy supporting through capital campaigns, annual gifts, giving monthly, or some other form of giving? 

When focusing on the Three P’s, you can begin to build a profile for those most likely to leave a legacy gift. If your legacy donors tend to answer certain questions in a specific way, you can look out for other donors who answer those questions similarly. A donor’s responses to questions like these can tell you a lot about their behavior in the future. For instance, our data shows an increased potential for a legacy gift from donors who started supporting your organization because a friend or family member recommended you.  

As an added bonus, thinking about the Three P’s helps you learn more about your donors as people—not just a record number or donor ID—and you can begin to steward them in a more thoughtful and intentional way.  

Use the Three P’s to jumpstart your conversations today!