A successful planned-giving campaign takes it slow, nrturing relationship with older donors that will far outlive their immediate cash-generating years.

By Mark Walker

9. Establish a donor-recognition program that includes longevity and cumulative giving as the focus, and then provide simple incentives that relate to the founder or the organization’s beginnings.

Indicators to monitor and evaluate this process should include the level and type of personal contact, growth in the number of donors who place an organization in their will, the number of annuities and trusts set up by older donors, and the amount of cash generated by accelerating existing planned gifts. Sometimes when a donor passes on, it could take years for his estate to be processed and a check to be sent to a charity — unless someone is monitoring these gifts.