Why do we make it so hard for donors to engage around legacy giving?

It's like we don't want donors to give!

Author

Tracy Malloy-Curtis
September 07, 2022

Just read this from the Agitator blog:

Effort is a Fundraising Killer

Effort, be it physical or mental is often avoided. People will even endure physical pain to avoid mental effort in lab settings. If there are two equally rewarding outcomes we humans tend to follo…

http://agitator.thedonorvoice.com/effort-is-a-fundraising-killer/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=388628&utm_campaign=Express_2022-09-07_01:30&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=388628&utm_campaign=Express_2022-09-07_01:30

Always interesting stuff from Kevin. I've been thinking a lot about effort and the hoops we make people jump through around gifts in wills. And we wonder why response rates to marketing are down and gift disclosures are down (YMMV, but it's a clear trend). I remind people that:

1) Gifts in wills are a type of gift that the donor can make without ever engaging directly with your marketing or your team.

2) They engage with you if they need to or if they feel a real sense of connection with your organization. And there's been a dramatic increase in donors absolutely refusing to share their gift intentions.

3) Yet we make it so difficult (and boring.... next post is about how to make your legacy proposition better)

We make people wade through pages of wonky technical information when all they usually need is your tax ID number. We gate our brochures and other useful information (the marketer in me says "of course"; the legacy fundraiser in me wonders "How many donors walk away because they just wanted basic information without being forced to share their email or risk having someone call them"? We insult them by focusing on the mechanics of wills vs trusts; bury legacy information in a sea of immediate asset gift information. We insult them by assuming they know nothing about planning or what a will is! We ask for too much information: the value of their future gift, whether it's contingent; what type of vehicle; their attorney's information... we even ask them to sign a form (for an entirely revocable gift. (I don't care if you need that information so you can get "credit" for the gift. When your "needs" bump up against the donor's wishes, guess what? The donor's wishes win.)

We saw this in action lately. At a recent focus group of supporters over age 60, 7/8 already had a will. One was just procrastinating :). Several had already included the organization in their will; most wouldn't consider telling any organization they'd included a gift because they had no idea what the future would hold. The information they most needed from an organization website was the tax ID number. And great, inspiring information about the mission and future plans. They didn't want to have to click page after page in search of basic information. They wanted the name and direct contact information for someone to use if they needed to. They wouldn't take a call from anyone they didn't have an actual relationship with at the organization. They didn't care about taxes. While this was just one group, it tracks with a lot of other similar data we've seen over the past few years.

Increasingly, I'm embracing minimalism and ease in legacy marketing and engagement: stripping down websites to what we know the donor wants to see (legacy proposition; tax ID number; inspiring stories; basic useful information; an easy way to contact a real, specific person; a way to notify of a gift or request information; and a good, clear, uncomplicated brochure that is easily downloadable and printable.)

How difficult are you making it for your donors?