Category: Planned Giving Marketing

Illustration of diverse community members embraced by protective hands, symbolizing the role of community foundations in supporting and safeguarding local giving.
Planned Giving Marketing
Sarah Pinto

Don’t Underutilize Your Community Foundation

Can you name your local community foundation? More importantly: do you know what they really do? Far from being competitors, community foundations are powerful allies for nonprofits. They manage complex gifts, build sustainable endowments, connect you with donor-advised funds, and even handle planned giving for teams without in-house expertise. Think of them as gardeners of local philanthropy – planting, tending, and growing generosity so your mission can thrive for years to come.

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Perfect! I've added the image with: Alt text: "Vintage typewriter with text 'This year I will...' symbolizing the promise to finally write a will
Estate Planning
Viken Mikaelian

Four Keys to Motivate Wills

If even Abraham Lincoln, Prince, and Picasso skipped writing wills, what chance do the rest of us have without a nudge? That’s why no single message works for every donor. Some need a wake-up call about the risks. Others respond to inspiring visions of their legacy. Still others want practical answers or simple first steps. The most effective campaigns don’t pick one approach—they balance all four: fear, inspiration, education, and simplicity. Because different people need different keys to finally act.

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An image of a doctor giving a Primer in Health Care Advance Directives.
Planned Giving Marketing
Joshua Keleske

A Primer in Health Care Advance Directives

Advances in modern medicine can prolong lives of seriously ill individuals, though not always with hope for improvement. While some view extended life as meaningful, others may see artificial prolongation as extending suffering. The Florida Legislature recognizes individuals’ fundamental right to make medical decisions regarding life-prolonging procedures. Through advance directives like living wills, health care surrogate designations, and anatomical gift declarations, adults can plan ahead for health care decisions and ensure their wishes are respected.

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Charity event - group of donors exchanging conversation while having wine
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

While You’re Planning Your Next Chicken Dinner, They Are Planning For Their Deaths

Bequests are quietly transforming nonprofit fundraising—but most organizations are stuck chasing galas, events, and short-term wins. In this sharp critique, we explore why legacy giving is the most overlooked revenue stream and how tools like LegacyPlanner™ remove friction and drive real results. With insights from clients like Smith College and JMU, this piece calls out outdated board thinking and offers practical steps to modernize your strategy. Bequests aren’t gravy—they’re the foundation. Ignore them, and the money passes you by.

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Online Will Planners: Should Your Nonprofit Have One?
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Online Will Planners: Should Your Nonprofit Have One?

Online will makers are everywhere you look these days. From FreeWill, Rocket Lawyer, Trust & Will and GivingDocs to the comprehensive LegacyPlanner, it feels like everyone is offering their own version. And sometimes it seems like they all just appeared overnight, too. But the truth is, the industry has been around for decades — both US Legal Wills and LegalZoom had online versions more than 20 years ago.

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An image Hardball in Leadership No Excuses Just Results.
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Hardball in Leadership: No Excuses, Just Results

Whiners don’t win—leaders do. If your comfort zone is begging for 2–4% raises and hoping for a part-time job post-retirement, this isn’t for you. Hardball leaders don’t play it safe—they make bold moves, take calculated risks, and push their teams toward excellence. The nonprofit world is plagued by a softie mentality, where comfort trumps results. But real impact demands urgency, accountability, and grit. Step up, toughen up, and lead like a winner—because playing it safe won’t get you to the top.

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Vibrant tree with deep roots and silhouetted people holding hands, symbolizing unity, legacy, growth, and community impact
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

Build a Legacy Society People Actually Join

Most legacy societies fail quietly—created with enthusiasm, then forgotten. This guide breaks that cycle with a proven roadmap to build or revive a legacy society that truly works. You’ll learn how to choose a name that resonates, attract founding members, keep them engaged, and most importantly—sell through stories, not just tell them. Whether you’re starting from scratch or dusting off an old initiative, this is your actionable playbook for legacy giving that inspires and endures.

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Intelligence centers for data analytics
New Opportunities
Viken Mikaelian

Planned Giving Analytics: Right Tool, Right Scale

Some nonprofits are exploring expensive analytics platforms for planned giving—complete with dashboards, donor heatmaps, and predictive scoring tools—”intelligence tools” as they are called. Often, these are rebranded business intelligence tools that have been given a “legacy twist” and called innovation. But here’s the question: Is this the right tool for organizations like yours? These platforms can generate meaningful insights… if you have 2,000,000+ prospects to analyze. But when your donor file has less than 100,000 people, do you need predictive algorithms to tell you who cares about your mission?

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Where’s Your Elevator Pitch?
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

The Elevator Opens: Are You Ready to Talk Planned Giving?

Master your elevator pitches. You have eight seconds to make an impression—are you ready? Whether it’s a reunion, a luncheon, or a chance encounter, your ability to start a meaningful conversation about legacy giving matters. This guide offers 25 ultra-brief, donor-specific elevator pitches you can memorize and use anywhere. Organized by giving vehicle and donor motivation, each one is crafted to spark curiosity and open the door to deeper discussion.

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Watercolor rendering of children at play under a bright sun
Planned Giving Marketing
Viken Mikaelian

A Legacy of Hope: How Planned Giving is Transforming Lives at St. Jude

Through legacy gifts, donors like Angela and Terrell Richards and Hilda and Arnulfo Miramontes are transforming lives at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Their stories show how planned giving—through wills, trusts, and heartfelt commitments—ensures children battling catastrophic illnesses receive lifesaving care, free of charge. This article honors their legacies and invites readers to consider their own. Because leaving a legacy isn’t about wealth—it’s about impact, compassion, and giving children a future worth fighting for.

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