The World’s Most Awkward Donor Call
The World’s Most Awkward Donor Call
“So have you thought about planned giving?”
We’ve all been there. It’s tough to call up donors to talk about planned giving. They aren’t expecting to hear from you. You aren’t necessarily following up on anything, and you don’t have any immediate way to provide value for them. On top of that, it’s just a difficult topic to talk about.
As a fundraising professional, you know that donor development is all about the relationship. But even in a good relationship, it is hard to talk about big issues like death and taxes.
So here’s the solution: don’t call.
Are you wondering, how is this helpful? What are you supposed to do instead?
- Find out why your donor supports your particular organization. There is a reason they are giving their money to you instead of the nonprofit down the road. Find out what that is.
- Make planned giving part of your message. You don’t have to do this with phone calls. You can put your message out there in newsletters, social media posts, and web content. Help them dream about their legacy.
- Keep planned giving on their minds. People begin to think about legacies more seriously when major life events occur—a sudden health scare, a big move, even the death of a loved one. Consistently remind them in your messaging that good estate planning and wise tax planning benefits everyone. When life happens, leaving a legacy will already be on their minds.
When you use the Canopy plan, we will help you discover why your donors give. We will help you keep planned giving on their minds. And we will give you leads to follow up on, but instead of asking them to include your nonprofit in their wills, you can talk about the things that matter most to them and let the conversation take its course.
Learn more about Canopy and how our program will offer you measurable results!