A number of our clients have recently faced a wonderful "problem": The response to their Pentera planned giving marketing campaign was greater than anticipated, leading to questions and concerns about how to follow-up with those prospective donors.
"I am really happy with the number of responses," wrote one gift planning officer. "But I am a little concerned that my boss seems to think that more requests for information should translate into more planned gifts immediately. How do I explain that the process of cultivating these donor prospects usually takes time and finesse?"
Most of the responses received by these organizations were in the form of requests for follow-up materials to a newsletter, eNewsletter, postcard, or ePostcard. The follow-up piece is typically a guide booklet that explains more about the charitable gift or the charitable planning topic that was presented in the planned giving marketing campaign. A reader who requests a follow-up piece is "highly engaged" with your organization.
Here are some cultivation tips (and explanations for the bosses with too-high expectations):
Here are additional touches you can do with these highly engaged prospects for planned gifts: