It’s that time of year, friends.
Not the holiday season, although the Christmas music and holiday displays at your local stores may say otherwise. We’re talking about National Philanthropy Day—celebrated each year on November 15.
In years past, we’ve shared tips to thank donors and provided you with free social images. This year let’s think about it from another angle: how can we play a part in diminishing the air of exclusivity often tied to the word “philanthropy,” so that all supporters believe in their capacity to make a planned gift, regardless of income, assets or social standing?
Planned giving is inclusive, after all.
Consider these six tips to nurture your prospects’ gift-giving power.
#1—Walk With Them, Not Ahead of Them
It can be a challenge (and rightly so) to get annual targets and monetary goals out of your head when talking with prospects and donors. But rushing the gift will often get you into trouble. In fact, it’s the #1 mistake in fundraising.
Instead, meet the donor’s needs. Everyone has three motivational needs (credited as Self-Determination Theory, first presented in 1985):
- Autonomy (having a choice; being in control of one’s actions and behaviors)
- Competence (feelings of mastery; knowing you’re good at what you do)
- Relatedness (feeling connected to others; a sense of belonging)
Create opportunities to fulfill those needs through marketing and conversations. For example, an article on how to prepare to meet with an estate planning attorney can help prospects feel more competent. Inviting donors to join a legacy society or affinity group can help them experience a greater sense of belonging.
Tip: Offer your donors autonomy through choices. Give donors the ability to make decisions, whether choosing how you communicate with them, how to direct their gift, or how they would like to continue to be involved.
#2—Listen
Perhaps one of the hardest yet most rewarding skills is listening. It means you’re not the one who’s the center of attention; your prospect is.
Good listeners:
- Ask questions for further discovery and insight.
- Make prospects feel supported and valuable.
- Are cooperative, not competitive, listening to understand.
- Gather information to best help the prospect believe in their worth.
Listen to Simon Sinek’s “The Art of Listening” for tips to up your listening game.
#3—Build Love
Like personal relationships, love takes time. Time to grow, deepen and stay present. In planned giving, we build love, evolving it from interest to like, like to love. Finally, love to commitment.
The most successful nonprofits we work with get out of the way when building love between donors and their nonprofit’s work. They find creative, compelling ways to connect supporters, in meaningful ways, to the work and the people they are helping.
#4—Reinforce Their Identity As Philanthropist
The word “philanthropist,” conjures well-known humanitarians like Andrew Carnegie and the Rockefellers. Twenty-first-century philanthropists also come to mind—Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, MacKenzie Scott and Warren Buffett.
“They have millions, billions! I’m never going to have the financial resources to be a philanthropist” is what many are left thinking.
It’s our job to erase that narrative and, I believe, the sense of superiority tied to the word. We are all equally worthy of being philanthropists. The very word itself, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, is anyone who gives their time, talent or treasure to make positive change happen for humanity regardless of their wealth or status.
How?
As donors strengthen their connection to your work, it becomes part of their identity, says Stelter Client Strategist Kit Lancaster, in her blog “How to Help Your Donors Feel Connected.” This encourages people to behave in ways that are consistent with that identity.
For example, if someone develops an identity as a clean water advocate, they are more likely to volunteer time to protect waterways or donate to causes that do the same.
Tip: Use nouns and an active, present voice. Instead of “thank you for your support,” try “thank you for being a supporter.”
#5—Show Them How
Philanthropy, by its nature, projects positivity which, in turn, attracts more people to want to be involved in it.
But many of our prospects still believe that:
- They don’t have enough assets to be able to make a planned gift.
- It’s too hard; it’s a complicated process to make a planned gift.
Use these two strategies to dispel those ideas:
1. Show them that planned giving is a great equalizer. No matter the size, nearly everyone has an estate. Talk repeatedly about these types of gifts:
- Gifts in a willBeneficiary designations
- Percentage and blended giving
Bonus: Some gifts, like a charitable gift annuity, also provide the donor with an additional source of income after they retire.
2. Connect them to the advantages of making a planned gift. A good idea? Set the three words below to memory; use them in all prospect touchpoints.
- Simplicity. “Just one sentence in your will can spark transformational change in the work we do.”
- Flexibility. “Remember, you can change your plans at any time to reflect life’s changes.”
- Versatility. “You have options! You can donate an item, a specific amount of money, a gift contingent upon certain events, or even a percentage of your estate.”
#6—Encourage Them to Believe: “People Like Me Make Gifts Like That.”
A great story evokes emotion and inspires action. Your organization’s wonderfully unique donor stories are gold. Use them to show how people from all walks of life made a gift to support your mission. This type of social proof demonstrates to your supporters that “people like me do things like this,” as Dr. Russell James says.
Storytelling helps persuade hesitant supporters and reminds them that they, too, already have the tools and resources for an impactful planned gift.
Read these Stelter blogs for more tips and motivation to write captivating donor stories:
- How to Write Donor Stories That Make Prospects Take Action (With clear steps to tell powerful planned giving stories.)
- Testimonials That Work: How to Get Them and How to Write Them (Stats back the power of testimonials. It’s social proof.)
What are your plans for National Philanthropy Day? We’d love to hear how you encourage prospects to see their gift-giving powers. How do you get them to see that, yes, they too are philanthropists?