CATEGORY

Viken Mikaelian

Viken Mikaelian founded PlannedGiving.com in 1998 and has spent nearly three decades advising and training nonprofit professionals responsible for billions in charitable gifts. He has presented at over 500 fundraising conferences and is widely published on planned giving strategy. Viken is the publisher of GIVING Magazine and founder of Philanthropy.org.
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Deb “Got It”

The nonprofit world needs more Debs—people who say it like it is, who recognize planned giving is for average ordinary people, who aren’t afraid to say the hard things when they need to be said.

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Several goldfish swimming
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Goldfish & Videos

Did you know that people now have shorter attention spans than… goldfish? As wild as that sounds, there was a study by Microsoft suggesting just that. Whether it’s true or not, one thing is clear: human attention spans are short. This creates a big challenge for anyone trying to build an online presence for their giving programs.

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Nothing new under the sun
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Nothing New Under the Sun

A client told me recently that we should be publishing more about what’s NEW in planned giving. Seems reasonable, right? Everyone likes new stuff. We all want to know the trends, be on the cutting-edge, sound knowledgeable at professional events.

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"Forget about it" word balloon
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Forget What You’ve Heard About Planned Giving

Forget what you’ve heard about planned giving. Just do the math. Baby Boomers, who are among the wealthiest and most charitable Americans, are dying at a rate of about 6,000 per day. And unless your nonprofit has a planned giving program, that means about $6 billion in estate dollars is being lost every day. Unless you’re planning to fail, it’s time to reprioritize that marketing budget. By the way, we also “explain” what’s a billion. It’s an eye-opener.

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Frustrated young fundraiser at desk, overwhelmed by complex planned giving tasks without proper training or mentorship.
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

“Entry-Level Nonprofit Fundraiser”: A Wave of the Past?

Nonprofits did not do well last year, and you wonder why. I recently came across a job listing that read something like this: “[A nonprofit] is seeking a planned giving advisor. This is a junior position for a fundraiser with 3 or so years of experience who wishes to move into planned giving. Focus is on bequests, CGAs, and marketing.” Now, for those of us who have been in the trenches of planned giving for a while, that one little word—junior—jumps

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Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

From Likes to Donations: The Currency of Nonprofit Marketing

You’ve seen it before: a nonprofit posts about a successful event on its Facebook page (or LinkedIn, or Twitter, or Pinterest, or…) and racks up thousands of likes and shares. The team high-fives and takes a bow and … then what happens?

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Estate Planning Goals Illustration: property disposition, charity, life insurance, living will, trust, succession planning
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Importance of Estate Planning: Why You Need an Estate Plan

Let’s face it: Estate planning isn’t exactly a dinner table conversation starter. But trust me, it’s one of those adulting tasks that’s way more important than we often give it credit for. So, what’s all the fuss about?

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Giving Magazine, Karen Alonso on Cover, United Way Las Vegas, AFP Chapter President

Giving Magazine

For those who drive change — not watch it. Join the top 1%.

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