Planned Giving

Approximately one-third of all donations are made during the last two months of the year. People tend to be in a giving mood during the holidays and are taking stock of their contributions before the year-end. Since the final months of the year can make or break a nonprofit’s budget, marketing messages to raise important funds kick into full swing beginning as early as Labor Day...

Lemonade, a property and casualty insurance company that uses technology and transparency to create an insurance experience that is fast, affordable and hassle-free, donated $53,174 to 14 charities...

It used to be that the average charity would have to simply ask and the donor would simply give, with no questions asked. All of that has changed. And this change has not dawned on many nonprofits or major gift fundraisers. This can be a major block to success for a major gift officer...

Dialogue with your donors, clients or prospects begins with good data; we all know that one tenet of direct mail—garbage in and out. When we go to the mailbox, a treasure trove of information on fun, as well as vital information, awaits us. Some good, some bad and at most, lame or even useless...

In our sector, we are constantly faced with obstacles of how we can increase charitable giving; but more particularly, how can we get our donors to continue to give over the years. A donor-advised fund is an account sponsored by a nonprofit organization that enables donors to give to charities and receive tax benefits—essentially a charitable savings account…

Ever notice how sometimes when we put on our work hats we cease to be human? How we somehow morph into little robotic “professionals” and become enamored of jargon? “Lybnts.” “Sybnts.” “Recaptures.” Not that those things aren’t important. You need goals and objectives...

Ask your Magic 8-Ball about the state of charitable giving in the next few years, and there’s a good chance it’ll tell you “outlook good.” As long as it’s getting its info from Marts & Lundy and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, that is...

The relationship between nonprofits and donors is always evolving. New, innovative tech platforms for fundraising and management continually emerge on the market. These can increase organizational reach and impact, but there are remaining barriers to new technology for many nonprofits...

Monthly giving is seeing double-digit increases in year-over-year growth, and for good reason. Nonprofits depend on a continuously scalable base of donors and revenue to fund their important missions and services. Among the many options in an organization’s fundraising portfolio, monthly giving offers a more reliable, steady income stream that is resilient to economic ups and downs...

A year or so ago, I joined 20 organizations with a monthly gift. And (sneaky me), I gave them a card that was going to expire a month later. I then tracked what organizations did in terms of “thank you” letters and actions to try to get me back...