Comments on: Avoid These Mistakes in Your Next Fundraising Ad

By: Michael J. Rosen, CFRE

Michael J. Rosen, CFRE — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 02:08:52 +0000

Ligia, thank you once again for sharing your wisdom here.

When considering whether or not to share a link to the post with the Director of Planned Giving at Concordia University, you might want to consider the following: Is she a smart development professional? If so, she will welcome the feedback and learn from it. Or, is she self-centered and more concerned about her own ego than the University’s future? If so, she’ll likely be miffed. You know her. So, make your decision based on whether you think she’ll use the information or be hurt by it.

By: Ligia

Ligia — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 01:13:45 +0000

First, I want to thank Michael for letting “rant” on his blog! I love these types of collaborations. And thank you to everyone who has commented. Your feedback has been very helpful and spot on. I focused on the major “infractions’ but I agree that the “You’re never too young to give” line, the fonts used, the disconnect between the article and the website are also grave offences. Tsk tsk tsk!!

We are really due to have a serious discussion on what term can replace “planned giving” for a more donor-centric approach. Admittedly, I’m at a loss and welcome any suggestion anyone has to share. We can’t possibly do worse, can we?!

I only wonder if I should send the link to this blog to the Planned Giving Director, I actually know her. I don’t want to offend anyone but it may be a great learning opportunity for the University.

By: Michael J. Rosen, CFRE

Michael J. Rosen, CFRE — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 05:11:08 +0000

Christina, thank you for the cross-cultural insight. When writing and designing marketing materials, we need to be sensitive to the target audiences and their needs. That’s part of being donor-centered. I appreciate the additional information about font style.

By: Christina Rockwell

Christina Rockwell — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 22:07:43 +0000

The materials for my organization are targeted to many English-as-Second-Language readers. I didn’t know this before I started working here, but using serif fonts can be confusing for people for whom English isn’t their first language–especially if that language is not based on a roman alphabet. Our style guide precludes us from using serif fonts on anything–email included.

I wonder, since it’s a Canadian university (in Quebec, no less), if that issue applies to their choice of font.

By: Michael J. Rosen, CFRE

Michael J. Rosen, CFRE — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:57:11 +0000

Jan, thank you for your excellent question. I wish I had an equally excellent answer for you. Last year, I wrote a blog post that somewhat addresses your question: “Is it Time to Dump ‘Planned Giving’?” (http://michaelrosensays.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/is-it-time-to-dump-%e2%80%9cplanned-giving%e2%80%9d/). While “planned giving” is a term not often understood, it seems to be the best catch-all term we have. Given the relative strength of “planned giving” for SEO purposes, I think you’re probably safe using it as a tab on your website. More often than not, you’ll be driving traffic to your website. So, the folks you drive there will know that they’re looking for “planned giving.” Very few folks will be randomly looking on your site for planned giving information.

Now, having said all that, I need to stress that “planned giving” is jargon. It may be our best jargon, but it’s still jargon. Therefore, we should strive to minimize it’s use when speaking to the public. With the public, we should talk specifics which will be more meaningful for prospective donors and eliminate the need to talk about “planned giving.” For example, if you’re marketing Charitable Gift Annuities, you’ll talk about “giving that provides an income for life” rather than “planned giving.”

So, for your new website, I do think you’re safe with “planned giving” as a navigation tag. Within your planned giving pages, I encourage you to use simple langauge. For example, instead of a sub-tab for “bequests,” have one for “gifts in will.”

By: Michael J. Rosen, CFRE

Michael J. Rosen, CFRE — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:27:08 +0000

Keith, thank you for your insight and cleverness. I’m embarrassed to admit that I did not try loading the URL. I should have. I thank you for doing so and reporting on what you found. I’m stunned that Concordia did not have the sense to coordinate their website with the ad. The ad sends folks to the website to learn about Andrew. Instead, they see a story about Tania! This is a sloppy mistake. Perhaps a redeeming part of the web page is that it provides a contact name and contact information for the Director of Planned Giving. But, why wasn’t that provided in the ad?

By: Michael J. Rosen, CFRE

Michael J. Rosen, CFRE — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:20:52 +0000

Gary, thank you for your kind comments. I just noticed I forgot to mention another design flaw with the ad. The designers used a sans-serif typeface. That’s a typeface without the dangling bits you see with fonts such as Times New Roman. With print media, readers have an easier time reading serif fonts than they do sans-serif fonts. However, designers often think sans-serif fonts are cleaner and prettier and, therefore, they use them despite the fact they are more difficult to read! In many ways, this ad is simply not donor-centered.

By: Avoid These Mistakes in Your Next Fundraising Ad | Nonprofit Communications in Canada | Scoop.it

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 19:00:38 +0000

[...] A great look at a fundraising ad gone wrong–and the reasons why–by pro fundraisers Ligia Peña and Michael Rosen. [...]

By: Keith C. Kerber

Keith C. Kerber — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:13:28 +0000

It appears that in their vigorous effort to be “…doing something for [the] alma mater…” they forgot about “taking care of future…” prospects/donors by providing options – other than a URL – for the DONOR’s PREFERRED method of contact. Does anyone else find it ironic how often a URL is the only contact provided in PRINT media?

Btw: I loaded the URL and “Andrew’s experience” was not there. Not much “peace of mind” in this effort.

By: VP of Development, Make-A-Wish, Alaska & Washington

VP of Development, Make-A-Wish, Alaska & Washington — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:54:30 +0000

Good article. Michael, what would you suggest instead of “planned giving”? We are about to overhaul our website and the current navigation tag is Planned Giving.