Tips for Bequest Prospecting With Direct Mail

In a session she co-presented on using direct response in planned-giving marketing at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2006 New York Nonprofit Conference earlier this month, Amy Gill, director of gift-planning strategy and stewardship at The Nature Conservancy, spoke about how the organization has used direct mail to address the topic of bequests. For starters, Gill stressed that organizations should not be shy about discussing bequests with their members via direct mail because most people age 18 or older can and should have a will, it’s easy to add a charitable bequest to a will, and her organization has found that members find it appropriate for charities to talk about estate planning.