Ask Donors To Consider a Recurring Donor Advised Fund Gift
Donor advised funds are all the craze lately. Now is the time to motivate those donors who want to optimize their tax deductions this year to consider a gift from their donor advised fund. Or, if they don’t have a donor advised fund set up yet, they may wish to consider it.
Did you know that you can already set up a donor advised fund for $5,000 minimum? You don’t have to be a millionaire to start, but it’s a guaranteed tax deduction of $5,000 this year.
But here’s the key. Donors can fund their donor advised fund but then not send any money to organizations. That’s where you come in. You as the fundraiser will have to motivate them to consider giving from their donor advised fund to your organization.
Put a little message on your reply form to remind donor advised fund donors that they can give to you. Include a message in your e-newsletter. Just like with monthly giving, you want to remind your donors that they can help with a gift from their donor advised fund.
But, wait. Here’s the cool thing!
Did you know that you can ask donors to consider recurring gifts from their donor advised fund? Typically, the donor is required to give $50 or more a month. They can set up an end date or leave it open-ended.
The tracking can be a bit tricky because the checks come in from investment firms or their charitable arms, like Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, BNY Mellon Wealth Management and so many others. Be sure to give them the hard credit and give the donor a soft credit in your database, so you can track how much they’re giving.
Donors have a choice to give to you. Some donors will worry more about tax deductions than others. Donor advised funds help with that for sure. And if you can motivate donors to empty their donor advised fund on a recurring basis, even better!
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- Recurring Donations
Erica Waasdorp is one of the leading experts on monthly giving. She is the president of A Direct Solution, a company serving nonprofit organizations with fundraising and direct marketing needs, with a focus on monthly giving and appeals. She authored "Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant" and "Monthly Giving Made Easy." She regularly blogs and presents on fundraising, appeals and monthly giving — in person and through webinars. She is happy to answer any questions you may have about this great way of improving retention rates for your donors.
Erica has over 30 years of experience in nonprofits and direct response. She helped the nonprofits she works with raise millions of dollars through monthly giving programs. She is also very actively supports organizations with annual fund planning and execution, ranging from copywriting, creative, lists, print and mail execution.
When she’s not working or writing, Erica can be found on the golf course (she’s a straight shooter) or quietly reading a book. And if there’s an event with a live band, she and her husband, Patrick, can be found on the dance floor. She also loves watching British drama on PBS. Erica and Patrick have two step sons and a cat, Mientje.
