Fundraising 101: 10 Things You Need to Know About Planned Giving

4. Know your 
best prospects
How good is your database? You have a huge head start if you can identify your most loyal donors, those who love your charity and have supported it consistently over the years. Your best prospects often are older, or have never been 
married, or have no children.

5. Go beyond 
the basics
Don't just know your donors' basic demographics; know what words they use and what they love most about your charity, and learn to speak their language. The longer I specialize in planned giving, the more I need to self-edit my technical vocabulary around the average donor. However, those more 
complicated concepts and terms come in handy around donors' attorneys and accountants.