The Pentera Blog
New Study Profiles Legacy Society Members
The findings of a new study profiling legacy society members will be presented by Pentera and Indiana University Oct. 16 at the National Conference on Philanthropic Planning.
The presentation is by Pentera President & CEO Claudine A. Donikian and Una Osili, director of research and professor of economics and philanthropic studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The study—which was initiated by Ms. Donikian, funded by Pentera, and conducted by the philanthropy school—discusses strategies about how best to communicate with and steward donors of planned gifts.
"Although there has been a great deal of interest in potential planned giving donors and their motivations, there have been very few studies that study actual gifts made and the behavior and motivations of actual donors," Ms. Donikian said in explaining the reasons for the study. "As an effort to fill this gap, this study aims to understand the planned giving behaviors and donor life cycle trajectories of legacy society members."
The study includes a comprehensive review of existing academic literature on the subject plus an analysis of legacy society membership data.
"Pentera strongly believes in academic research in preference to that conducted and funded by businesses that are not academic researchers in the field of philanthropy," Ms. Donikian said. "That is why Pentera does not conduct its own planned giving research. But we are honored to help with a study by the preeminent philanthropy school and research organization in the world. The findings are enlightening, and I'm sure that gift planners throughout the industry will be pleased to have this new information."
The presentation at 10 a.m. Oct. 16 is titled "Building Lasting Legacies: An In-Depth Look of Legacy Society Members." Study results will be released after the presentation. Full conference information is available at https://www.etouches.com/ehome/82273
