The Pentera Blog
Are You Factoring the Latest Giving Trends into Your Planned Giving Marketing Strategy?
Due to a spike in inflation and a wobbly stock market, 2022 was a disappointing year for many fundraisers—especially the fourth quarter, which saw a drop in total money raised and people making donations.
While discouraging, an off year is certainly not unprecedented and nonprofits should quickly dust themselves off and adjust their marketing to fit the new landscape. Here are a few steps nonprofits can do now:
- Cultivate small-dollar donors: While the amount donated in Q4 of last year was down compared to 2021, it was down only 1.7%, according to a recent report by the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. The bigger decline was in the number of people making donations, which dropped by 10%, largely due to a decline in those donating $500 or less. That means now is probably a good time to redouble efforts to attract and retain small-dollar contributors.
- Change the criteria for your planned giving marketing lists: Because 2022 was an unusually off year for giving across the board, you may want to take that into account as you cull your donor lists for potential planned gift prospects. For example, if your nonprofit normally pulls potential planned giving donor lists from those donating five or more times in the past ten years, you may want to change your criteria to include people who have donated less consistently, such as three or four times in the past ten years.
- Request and market deferred gifts: Uncertain times are an ideal opportunity to remind donors about gifts such as bequests and beneficiary designations—legacy gifts that “cost nothing now.”
The challenges of 2022 are the opportunities for 2023 and beyond. At Pentera we stay up to date on the dynamic planned giving environment, and we understand that new developments often call for new ideas. For more information about our services and how we help our clients find the best and most timely planned giving marketing solutions, please visit our website at pentera.com, or email us at info@pentera.com.
You can read the full Fundraising Effectiveness Project report here.
