Are you undermining your legacy giving program without even realizing it?

It’s an exciting time for legacy giving but a fraught one as well. Interest is up! But so is competition. It’s hard to get investment in planned giving and it’s often limited to current asset gift marketing of dubious value. And old ways of doing things are, well, old.

A legacy gift is the result of the entirety of the donor’s experience with your organization, starting with their very first gift or other interaction and continuing through every subsequent engagement.

It’s ridiculous to think that even the most excellent legacy marketing campaign can have an impact on a donor who feels ignored, unappreciated, or disconnected from your organization. Or one who walks away after their first gift or two. Donor retention is horrific. That alone is one of the biggest threats to your legacy revenue.

Why, then, is legacy marketing so often contained in an entirely separate track from other fundraising and marketing? Whether outsourced to a third party, or managed in-house by the planned giving team, disconnected, siloed legacy marketing is increasingly untenable: inconsistent data, disconnected creative, uncoordinated donor messages, and a fractured donor journey result.

Legacy giving must be embedded as part of every donor experience, every marketing channel, and every fundraising area. Planned giving teams must be at the table with direct marketing colleagues, communications teams, giving officers, donor service staff, and the agency of record. And competency in legacy messaging and donor motivation should be a baseline competency for any fundraising/marketing department.

So much of fundraising and marketing is based on triggering immediate action – a gift, a click – then on to the next ask.  When legacy professionals are at the marketing table, we can advocate for a longer view, better stewardship, and a more holistic understanding of donor engagement.

It's one reason I joined a full-service, integrated direct marketing agency like MWD rather than a specialized vendor and why we encourage our clients to consider their legacy marketing as an integral part of their direct marketing program.

Consistent, frequent drip messaging is the foundation of legacy marketing. But as marketing calendars get more crowded, and costs continue to rise, we can’t simply add additional campaigns to the schedule – these messages must be carried by others.

Organizations need to develop a compelling proposition for bequests and other deferred giving that is consistent with the organization’s overall proposition but framed with future gifts in mind.  

Leave the silo and engage with your colleagues. Together, you can create a compelling legacy proposition that carries across all message channels and all fundraising programs, flowing into a seamless donor journey that supports your donors’ legacy giving decisions – and your organization’s financial security.

Tracy Malloy-Curtis, (she/her), JD, Vice President, Legacy Giving, is a 20-year veteran in legacy giving and major gifts fundraising for advocacy and social justice organizations nationwide. She leads the legacy giving practice at MWD.