Many nonprofit professionals have long believed that those who make charitable bequest commitments will be less likely to make an annual fund gift. The fear, held by CEOs and CFOs in particular, is that legacy gift donors will feel they have already done their part and, therefore, will no longer be receptive to annual appeals.
Now, new evidence busts that planned giving myth once and for all!
As researcher Russell James, JD, PhD, CFP will explain in an upcoming free webinar hosted by MarketSmart, not only will legacy donors continue to support their favorite charities on an annual basis, their support will actually increase once they have made their planned gift commitment, as indicated in the following graph:
Among those who have added a charitable beneficiary to their estate plan, the average annual charitable giving before making the estate gift commitment was $4,210. After making the estate gift commitment, the average annual charitable giving jumped to $7,381! On the graph, the label “Mixed” means we do not know how much of the giving was before or after the addition of the charitable estate plan given the timing of the survey.
While making a planned gift commitment does not necessarily cause one to increase his or her annual giving to charities, the longitudinal evidence now reveals that it most definitely does not cause donors to decrease their annual charitable support.
Recognizing that the average annual giving amounts for this group are quite large, James notes:
Giving among those who later added a charitable component [to their estate plan] was much larger than giving among those who did not. This bears out the reality that (a) consistent donors are more likely to add a charitable estate component and (b) wealthy people are more likely to have a charitable estate component.”
The data reported in the above graph comes from the Health and Retirement Study tracking the charitable giving of adults over age 50, both before and after they add a charitable component to their estate plan.
“[The data] seems to put to rest concerns about cannibalization of current giving resulting from charitable estate planning,” reports James. The graph represents the most comprehensive, long-term analysis of this phenomenon.
Charities can now implement or maintain a planned giving program without fear that it will harm their current giving efforts.
James, a leading philanthropy researcher based at Texas Tech University, will elaborate on these findings and share additional, valuable insights during a free webinar “News from the Ivory Tower: New Research Impacting Gift Planning,” on Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 2:00 PM EST.
James will review:
- The latest demographic trends showing who makes charitable estate plans, when the plans are added and dropped, and who ultimately transfers dollars at death.
- Which words you should avoid to maximize legacy gift disclosures.
- Which types of donor stories elicit the most favorable responses from planned giving prospects.
- The latest neuroimaging data showing how different marketing messages influence planned giving decisions.
While the webinar is free, space is limited. So, reserve your spot today by clicking here.
For a free electronic copy of James’ book, American Charitable Bequest Demographics (1992-2012), subscribe to my blog (also free) over in the right hand column. When you do, you’ll receive a confirmation and a link to James’ book. If you’re already a subscriber and would like the link, please contact me directly.
For additional insights about gift planning, checkout my book Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing. I’m honored to say that my bestselling book is the winner of the AFP/Skystone Prize for Research in Fundraising and Philanthropy. It has been included on the official CFRE International Resource Reading List.
That’s what Michael Rosen says… What do you say?
