Give and Take

Myths (& Facts) on Planned Giving
Giving
Viken Mikaelian

Myths (& Facts) on Planned Giving

Get your board on board and let them see the value of planned giving with these Myths and Facts. You can also purchase the expanded professional version of this post in PowerPoint. Perfect for your next board meeting or legacy society event. You can also evaluate your board’s readiness here. Engaging a board is critical for long term sustainability. The board of directors plays a critical role in the growth of your organization. And since many are “community players” they themselves can influence gifts. Want to make your job easier and be more successful? Engage with your board, and engage

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Are You Irresistible?
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Are You Irresistible?

Sales and marketing are different things. Sales, or stewardship, is direct contact, and the point is to make a sale. Marketing is more about building awareness of your brand, your mission and your vision. Though it creates bonds in less personal ways than sales, marketing enables you to cast a wider net and create a sales funnel that directs revenue your way.

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Gone Without Trace: Man Bequeaths $2 Million to Uncle Sam

I don’t think any of us would be in this business if we didn’t believe that philanthropy, giving, the act of charity – no matter how humble – ennobles everything it touches. But I don’t know whether to laugh or cry just now, because I learned recently that a man in Florida willed his house to the U.S. government so the sales proceeds could be applied to defray the National Debt.

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“Monkey See, Monkey Do” Fundraising:

E-Marketing Is Not the Answer If you really think you can run a planned giving program on autopilot with outsourced help that supplies electronic tools online such as tax reference libraries for prospects and financial advisors, articles on gift laws, automated email blasts, complicated calculators, etc., this article is for you. One of the scariest things I see is that many fundraisers are entirely, foolishly depending on this stuff (which no one reads) and on the Internet for marketing, and worse, simultaneously abandoning direct mail and other print media for outreach to new donors and prospects.  It is terrifyingly stupid,

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Headless Fundraising: Where is the Leadership?

I was invited to speak at a national charity conference with over 800 attendees. I know some of them were Directors of Operations and Chief Executive Officers. So where the heck were they hiding? The conference featured something for everyone, topic-wise — from operations and finances to strategies and fundraising philosophy, they had it covered. The conference was a huge success… except for my session, which was on planned giving marketing.  Read on.

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“Planned Giving” vs. “Gift Planning”

Our clients, friends and prospects often ask which term is better to use for their marketing efforts, “Planned Giving” or “Gift Planning”. This is a decades-old dispute and I am getting tired of it. So I decided to write this blog to end the argument. If anyone is ready to spar, sharpen your blade (well, pencil is okay). A few nonprofits have migrated to Gift Planning because it sounds more “sophisticated.” Others argue that Planned Giving has been around too long and it’s time for something “new.” And some “feel” it makes better sense and sounds better. This is all

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Transparency Is Its Own Reward

“Transparency” is just a trendy term for “operational openness.” Openness can work in a nonprofit’s favor. It allows donors and prospects to see that your organization is being run responsibly. It assures them that the money it raises is being used to further its mission. But a charity that tries to keep too many secrets may end up with the feds imposing a little “transparency” of their own. In the legal system, this is sometimes called “discovery.” Case in point: The Kabbalah Centre International. Just to recap, the IRS and a grand jury in the U.S. District Court of the

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