The Pentera Blog
How Can You Show Living Donors the Impact of Their Future Estate Gifts?
We recently read that blood banks in Sweden have started texting donors when their blood is actually given to another person, possibly saving a life. You can't demonstrate much more impact than that!
Of course, that's not how it works in planned giving. Many donors won't ever see the impact of their gifts because those gifts will be made by their estates.
But they can see the impact of similar estate gifts. What if every time a bequest is received and the funds used, all living bequest donors received a letter or e-mail about the impact? And the same for other deferred gifts: charitable gift annuities, life insurance policies, beneficiary designations, etc.
It's a form of testimonial; the recipients of the message may think, "That person made a bequest similar to mine, and look at all the good it is accomplishing. My bequest will do a lot of good too."
Your message would be stewarding your donors and encouraging them to maintain their revocable bequest. You may even be inspiring them to increase it.
The message could be short - one succinct paragraph: "We recently received Jane Doe's bequest setting up a scholarship in her parents' names. The first recipient was named this week: John Smith is a sophomore studying agriculture. We are grateful for Jane's gift - as we are for yours! Please contact us if we may be of service in any way."
A message like that would not be hard to create, nor should the send list be difficult to set up.
You could send a similar letter/e-mail to certain prospective donors as well. They may think, "I could do something like that. I think I will!"
The blood banks in Sweden say that the impact texts have inspired many donors to give again. Plus the new policy has been widely discussed on social media, leading to an increase in the number of new donors. It could work with planned giving donors too!
