7 Steps to Craft a Winning Planned Giving Campaign

Planned giving is a powerful tool for nonprofits to secure long-term financial stability and support their mission. By encouraging donors to include their organization in their estate plans, nonprofits can receive significant gifts that will continue to benefit their cause for years to come.

Unlike a larger-scale fundraising campaign, planned giving campaigns are typically smaller and more personal in nature. The pool of planned donors isn’t nearly as large as an annual fundraising or even a major gift fundraising campaign and the donor-base tends to be older. With these factors in mind, let’s explore how you can craft a planned giving campaign that engages potential donors.

Step 1: Understand Your Audience

The first step in creating a successful planned giving campaign is to identify your target donor base. Consider factors such as age, income level, interests, and their existing relationship with your organization. For example, donors who are considering planned gifts, are more likely to be in the latter half of their life. A study by the [Giving USA foundation](https://givingusa.org/just-released-special-report-leaving-a-legacy-a-new-look-at-planned-giving-donors/#:~:text=The average age at which,younger%2C at 50 years old.) found the first-time planned giving donor to be 50 years of age.

By understanding your audience, you can tailor your messaging and the channels you use to reach these donors.

Tip: Leverage AI as your research assistant. Use it to analyze donor demographics, giving history, and even social media trends to create a detailed picture of your ideal planned giving donor. But remember, AI can't replace intuition. Use the data to inform your strategy, but don't let it dictate your approach.

Step 2: Set Specific Goals

Don't just aim for "more planned gifts." Get specific with clear, measurable goals for your campaign. Because planned giving is a long-term fundraising initiative, often requiring years for the gifts to come to fruition, your goal may be to increase interest in your organization’s planned giving program and increase the number of potential leads in your planned giving pipeline.

Instead of more typical metrics such as the number of pledges and the total value of gifts raised, consider focusing on metrics such as donor engagement and requests for information.

Tip: Use the SMART goal framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to help you form goals that set you up for success.

Step 3: Develop a Comprehensive Campaign Plan

Once you have defined your goals, you need a path to achieve those goals. Create a detailed campaign plan that outlines the following:

• Outreach: Determine the channels you will use to reach your target audience, such as email, social media, direct mail, and personal outreach.
• Stewardship: Create a plan for nurturing relationships with planned giving donors and providing them with regular updates on the impact of their gifts.
• Timeline: Set deadlines and milestones to ensure your campaign stays on track.
• Budget: Determine what resources you need to achieve your campaign goals.

Tip: If you need support creating custom donor plans, consider leveraging a donor engagement platform like Momentum. Momentum automatically creates and updates donor plans for every donor in your portfolio so that you know when to reach out, provide updates, and make an ask.

Step 4: Craft Compelling Messaging

Spend some time crafting the messaging. Peruse through your donor testimonials and impact stories–emotionally resonant stories can help cut through the marketing clutter to connect with donors.

Highlight the benefits of planned giving for your organization and the community emphasize the lasting impact of planned gifts to help your organization achieve its mission.

Tip: If you don’t have planned giving resources outlined already, consider putting together some information material for potential donors. This will help them become familiar with planned giving and how this type of donation could benefit them and your organization.

Step 5: Outreach and Engagement

To reach your target audience, leverage multiple channels, including:

• Email: Send targeted emails to potential donors highlighting the benefits of planned giving. This one-on-one communication method can be a great way of providing information and awareness around planned giving options.
• Social media: While often used for other fundraising campaigns, consider your demographics before spending too much time or dollars on this channel. Social channels, such as Facebook, skew slightly older but may not meet your target demographic.
• Content: Gate the planned giving informational resources so that interested donors need to submit their information before downloading the resource. This can help you understand who is interested and reach out with more information.
• Direct mail: Send personalized letters to potential donors.
• Events: Provide information about planned giving opportunities at fundraising events. Use QR codes on flyers to help track interest.

Tip: While it can be challenging to track the effectiveness of channels like direct mail, other channels, like email, social media, and website content, provide a variety of metrics that can tell you if your messaging is resonating.

Step 6: Stewardship and Thank You Activities

Effective donor stewardship is essential for building strong relationships with planned giving donors. Provide them with regular updates on the impact of their gifts and express your gratitude for their generosity. Consider offering incentives or recognition for planned giving donors, such as naming opportunities or special events.

Tip: Once someone has committed to a planned gift, do not stop contacting them. This donor should be consistently communicated with to check in, offer gratitude, and opportunities for involvement with the organization.

Step 7: Measuring Success and Iterating

Go back to the goals you outlined in step one. How did your campaign perform? What could you do differently to better engage potential planned donors in the future? Spend some time analyzing the campaign data to identify areas of improvement.

Tip: Use your campaign as a learning process. Conduct a retro with relevant stakeholders to walk through the goals, messaging, and data to inform your next planned giving initiative.

Takeaways for your planned giving campaign

A well-executed planned giving campaign can have a significant impact on a nonprofit's long-term financial stability.

By following the guidelines outlined in this article, you can create a successful campaign that will help you achieve your fundraising goals and build lasting relationships with your donors. But, in case you want the TL;DR, here are a few quick takeaways:

• Identify your target audience to ensure your marketing on the right channels
• Choose channels that align with audience habits
• Regularly connect with donors once they’ve committed to a planned gift

To help you identify potential planned givers and further develop relationships with these donors, explore Momentum, a donor engagement platform designed for fundraisers. Develop custom donor plans, leverage generative AI to craft hyper-personalized communications, and save time updating your CRM–Momentum syncs information to your CRM in real-time.

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