Viken Mikaelian

Thinking of hosting a Planned Giving Seminar? Great—if your goal is to perfect the sound of silence. Most people would rather organize their sock drawer than attend something that sounds like a tax lecture. Want them to actually show up? Call it “Estate Planning for Grown-Ups Who Don’t Want Chaos.” Talk about protecting their family, not charitable trusts. Trust us—once they’ve planned for their dog, their alma mater might just sneak into the will.

Originally published September 9, 2010. Updated for 2025. There’s something graceful—and powerful—about smart messaging. It cuts through noise, builds trust, and moves people to act. And in an attention-starved, AI-saturated world, your website’s copy is either doing that… or driving people away. Whether you’re promoting a church, charity, university, or planned giving program, strong messaging isn’t just important—it’s everything. Especially when it comes to your most valuable screen real estate: your forms, calls-to-action, and sign-up prompts. Some organizations still don’t get it. Fortunately, others do—and the New York Public Library gave us a classic, clear-cut example. Back in 2010, Jeff Brooks over at FutureFundraisingNow.com compared two versions of NYPL’s e-newsletter sign-up page: one clunky, one clean. The contrast was so sharp it became a textbook case of messaging done right. And guess what? It’s still relevant today. Because even now, far too many nonprofits keep making the same mistakes. Let’s revisit this “then and now” table: Bad Messaging Good Messaging 1. “Subscribe to NYPL Newsletters” “Stay Up-to-Date with NYPL News” 2. Requires “contact information” including name Requires only “your email address” 3. Requires choice (“please select”) among up to four different newsletter titles Displays “What you’ll get” box with bulleted list of engaging library information 4. Stilted, two-sentence, 27-word privacy policy blurb with embedded info link Affirming, one-sentence, seven-word privacy policy blurb with embedded info link Why This Still Matters in 2025 The Headline“Subscribe” sounds like work. “Stay up-to-date” sounds like value. Simple shift, big difference. Even better? They dropped “newsletter” and went with “NYPL News.” That sells the product, not the platform. The Ask“Contact information” implies fundraising follow-up. Asking only for an email feels low-commitment. The fewer fields you force people through, the fewer you’ll lose. The ClutterListing four newsletter options forces users to think—too much. Confusion creates friction. The better version replaces it with a “What You’ll Get” list: Library news Service updates Latest programs and events Sneak previews Special announcements That’s messaging that sells the sizzle, not the structure. It taps into curiosity, immediacy, and relevance. The Legalese Nobody wants to read a 27-word privacy policy. “Your privacy is important to us” gets the job done, with a clean embedded link. Short, human, and clear. Translate This to Planned Giving If your site’s donor forms, newsletter sign-ups, or legacy landing pages look like they were written by committee, they probably were. You’re not just losing clicks—you’re losing trust. And trust is the currency of every planned gift. Too many nonprofits bury their value behind technical jargon, legacy content, or cluttered web forms. They over-explain. They under-inspire. And they forget that the visitor is silently asking one thing: “What’s in this for me?” Smart messaging answers that instantly. Final Thought The NYPL example may be over a decade old—but its lessons are evergreen. In fact, they’re more relevant than ever in a world of inbox overload and automated everything. So take a look at your own website. Are you selling the structure—or the sizzle? One converts. The other gets ignored.

Matching gifts amplify donor impact, inspiring larger contributions and attracting new supporters. Smith College and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation leveraged this strategy with our expertly crafted landing pages, blending donor immersion and storyselling. These campaigns seamlessly integrate planned giving exposure into the donor journey—turning a simple match into a powerful, long-term giving strategy.

Do you cut back on food when times are tough? If that were the case, everyone would be slim and trim right about now. Marketing is the meat and potatoes (sorry, bad pun) of any fundraising operation, and cutting back, especially in a tight economy, is a recipe (sorry again) for problems down the road.