Improve the power of your response with writing that grabs your readers’ attention. Unfortunately, nonprofits are known for writing from an institutional point of view (what we do), rather than a client-centered perspective (how you benefit). Writing that paints a clear picture for the reader, involves them emotionally, and conveys the personality of your organization is often an overlooked opportunity to forge a bond with your donors and increase your response rate.

To help you get the most impact from your writing, I urge you to attend a free  webinar called “Writing it Right – Why the Words and Format Matter in Business” by Alan Siege on Wednesday, August 5, 1 pm – 2 pm, ET.

He will discuss how to write effective e-mails, memos and reports with an emphasis on ensuring that the message you need to give and the action you want the recipient to take, is clear and well presented.  He will analyze each approach and give examples where, when done well, there is little or no ambiguity.  He will also provide examples that the participants can take with them as “take-aways” that provide added value.

Learn more: Writing it Right – Why the Words and Format Matter in Business

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Lorri Greif is on a mission to make Planned Giving a “household word” in the nonprofit community. I support her mission, because I, too believe that nonprofits need to plan for their long-term sustainability and planned giving is a key component. To help nonprofits understand what planned giving is and how it can benefit their organization, she is offering a free webinar.

Guest Blog Post by Lorri Greif, CFRE, President, Breakthrough Philanthropy

After consulting for several years now, it’s become clear to me that “planned giving” is actually more of an exotic than commonly understood term. Lots of nonprofit leaders know the words, but so many don’t know what it really means or the incredible impact it has on a nonprofit’s bottom line. If better knowledge and understanding about the topic prevailed, it would become far more widespread among charities – no question about it.

When I bring up planned giving in conversations with nonprofit leaders, both professionals and board members, I can’t believe how often I get one of the following reactions:

You know, we have to get into that at some point – we keep talking about it but we don’t do anything;
We’re not ready for it yet;
We can’t afford to hire someone with planned giving expertise;
What’s planned giving?

If you fall into one of the above situations, please sign up for my FREE webinar on July 21st at 1:00 PM: Planned Giving: Here’s What It Is, Here’s What It Takes

Planned giving
brings in a practically guaranteed cash flow
strengthens donor loyalty
leads to larger gifts
is a nearly perfect  way to grow endowment

If your charity is around for more than seven years, has a growing and committed donor base of individuals (people), and a mission with a logically long time-frame, you and your donors can be reaping the excellent benefits of this type of fundraising program.

Planned giving is not just gift annuities.  Planned giving isn’t only for seniors.  Planned giving is not always too complicated and complex. Planned giving is simply another charitable option for your individual donors and successful programs will inevitably help support your charity forever. It takes two things, the willingness to ask (as is the case with every charitable gift) and the willingness to wait – sometimes it’s referred to as deferred giving, for obvious reasons, and it’s usually a longterm proposition.

Planned giving programs present an image to the world of longevity, credibility, financial stability, and serious impact. It says, our mission is ongoing, our supporters believe in us, and we plan to always be relevant.

Keep in mind that today’s planned giving solicitation helps tomorrow’s budget or endowment, and believe me tomorrow is definitely coming.  Hopefully planned giving will become more of a “household word” by then. I’m going to keep working on it!

RESOURCE: Breakthrough Philanthropy

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