August 2004

Five ways to promote bequest gifts by Gwen Chapman

Subject lines that sink or swim by Madeline Stanionis

What's up online by Dan Weeks 
   
 

Five ways to promote bequest gifts
By Gwen Chapman

DO YOUR SUPPORTERS know you need and accept bequests? Do they know you accept bequests of any amount?

I'm constantly amazed to hear from donors in focus groups that they didn't know the nonprofit organizations they've supported for years need and accept bequests — of any amount. These same donors are familiar with the concept of legacy giving. Many have received communications — often from their alma mater — asking them to make planned gifts.

Donors like the idea of leaving a legacy for future generations. But they typically think a charitable bequest is out of their league. They read articles and hear news stories about individuals leaving mega-gifts to nonprofit organizations. They believe they couldn't afford a bequest. In most cases, these donors have never been asked to consider leaving bequests to the nonprofits they support.

Here are some steps you can take to ensure your supporters know your organization needs and accepts bequests:

1. Include articles on bequest donors in your newsletters. Avoid featuring celebrities and people of wealth. Instead, write articles about donors with whom the reader will easily identify. Write about the relevance of your organization's mission to the donor and her motivation to leave a legacy. Include a photograph of the donor in everyday surroundings, like the donor's garden or sitting in her living room.

2. Ask groups of senior volunteers, donors, and other supporters to meet with you to help explore how your organization can increase revenue from bequests. Everyone loves to be asked for advice. And seniors have much wisdom to share — if we would just listen. You can also use this as an opportunity to get feedback from supporters about materials you plan to use to promote your bequest program. Only five of the 100 people you invite may attend the meeting. But you'll have sown the seed with the remaining 95, who may be more predisposed to read future communications from you on the subject of bequest giving.

3. Reference bequest giving at events. At some events, it might be appropriate to acknowledge the latest person to notify you that she has included a bequest for your organization. Or perhaps you can honor a bequest donor who has passed away, or tell attendees about a recent accomplishment as a result of bequest gifts you've received.

4. Decide on a bequest tagline and include it at the foot of your letterhead. For example, "Leave a legacy of hope for future generations. Include ABC in your will." It's helpful if your tagline is unique to your organization. But even the simplest tagline will have a subliminal effect on the readers. So don't wait until you come up with the perfect phrase before you begin using one.

5. Mail at least one bequest mailing each year. Mail to the widest possible audience your budget will allow, including lapsed loyal donors and other loyal non-financial supporters. Use the communication to emphasize that you need and accept bequests of any amount. And invite readers to request more information and notify you if they've already included your organization in their estate plans.

 

    
Subject lines that sink or swim
By Madeline Stanionis

YOU'VE GOT about one or two seconds to capture your constituent's attention and convince her that of the many e-mail messages bombarding her in-box, yours is the one she simply must read. No pressure, eh?

A good subject line will help get your e-mail opened and read. And if your donor doesn't open and read your e-mail, well, obviously, she can't make a gift or take action. So, it's worth spending some time honing your sub line skills.

The basics

 Length. E-mail programs vary as to how many sub line characters will be seen by your reader. Be on the safe side and keep yours to about 50 characters.

 Shouting symbols ($, !, CAPS, *) will land you in the spam filter. Avoid 'em.

 Also stay away from words like Free, Sale, Viagra, Teens, etc. Keep up-to-date on words to avoid by checking www.emailsherpa.com or www.clickz.com.

Tease, tell, or take action?

The best e-mail message delivers the exact offer at the exact moment that your constituent wants it. Your job is simply to use the subject line to "tell" your supporters what's up.

 A crisis occurs overseas and a relief agency delivers an e-mail letting donors know how they can help: "Send a blanket to Bumgarian flood victims."

 The same holds true for e-mails that help your users take care of business, like: "Order your Annual Golf Shirt Gala tickets now" or "Your membership expires soon — renew today."

 Messages that have time-sensitive content fall into this category as well: "Six vegan-friendly ways to decorate Easter eggs," delivered a few days before Easter, of course.

However, you probably don't always have these opportunities. That's when you do a little teasing.

 An e-mail landed in my box last week with this sub line: "The movie President Bush doesn't want you to see." That works for me . . . I want to find out just what that movie is.

 Another way to tease is by being a little clever. Quick, easy-to-scan clever — not obscure references to old episodes of Leave it to Beaver clever. Puns, alliteration, sarcasm, etc. Like, "It's beginning to look a lot like justice . . ." sent just before the holidays by Earthjustice, an environmental law organization.

Finally, it's always a good idea to call your readers to action. The best "take action" e-mails are:

 Specific. Less "Tell them no," more "Tell Big Tobacco to stop selling to children."

 Well-timed. See above.

 Local, if possible. "Tell Big Tobacco to stop selling to Boston children."

What's in a name?

Have you noticed how many spam e-mails use your own name in the "From" field or subject line? Yep. A lot. That, combined with the fact I've never seen a benefit from using personal names in subject lines, means I don't recommend personalizing your sub lines. Many of my colleagues have experienced otherwise, though, so you may want to test it.

 

Madeline Stanionis is Vice President and Creative Director at Donordigital, 182 Second Street, San Francisco CA 94105, phone (415) 278-9444, fax (415) 901-0112, e-mail madeline@donordigital.com, Web www.donordigital.com.

 

   
What's up online
By Dan Weeks

Do you know scat? Take the mammal scat identification quiz! Find out which species left the scat and show your nature-loving friends that you really know your, uh, stuff. Just visit www.enature.com/challenge/ScatChallenge.asp

Enature is owned by the National Wildlife Federation (featured in this column in December, 2002), but it runs independently. Enature's Web site features regional wildlife guides (just enter your zip code), experts for both adults and kiddies (remember Ranger Rick?), a bird of the day (complete with audio), a list of threatened and endangered species in your state, and an easy way to keep an online list of the plants and animals you see.

 

Want more? Sign up to receive Successful Fundraising Online every month via e-mail.