Planned giving is not about death and taxes

Encouraging donors to make planned gifts is a high-stakes, super-important part of your job as a fundraiser. A vanishingly small number of your donors are going to take you up on it, and in most cases you won't see a dollar for many years -- but those donors are critical to your success.

Are you "selling" planned giving right?

MarketSmart thinks you might not be: Your planned giving offers need to change.

The main point: It can't only be about death and taxes.

It's easy to get caught up in the complexity of planned giving vehicles, and spend all your time explaining them.

That's not what motivates donors to say yes!

Here are some of the topics that actually get donors thinking about planned giving:

the meaning of life

how to deal with their digital inheritance (choosing digital heirs)

how to pass on their legacy (ethics, morals, lessons learned, etc.)

how to have a catharsis while thinking about lessons learned

how to tell your story (memoirs, autobiography)

In other words, you need to talk less about the features of planned giving and more about the benefits. Like any other kind of successful marketing or fundraising.