More Women Make Tribute Gifts, Which Can Be Inspired by Specific Strategy

Two recent findings about tribute gifts may help with your planned giving marketing strategies with prospective donors:

Study Says Funding Women’s Causes Helps Everyone

A new study of focus group participants who are potential planned giving candidates - the vast majority are highly educated donors who make more than $100,000 per year - finds that they believe the increasingly sophisticated marketing of women's causes is having a positive impact on society at large.

Planned Giving Experts Lead Pentera's August Seminar

An all-star lineup of planned giving experts will lead "Building Bridges Between Major and Planned Gifts," this year's version of the popular Pentera Planned Giving Seminar, Aug. 15-17 in Indianapolis.

Pentera CEO Claudine Donikian to Present Planned Giving Study Recommendations at PPGGNY

Pentera President & CEO Claudine A. Donikian will be presenting implications and recommendations from The 2016 Planned Giving Study at the plenary session of PPGGNY's Annual All-Day Conference May 25 in New York City. Presenting with Ms. Donikian is Una Osili, director of research at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Free Webinar by Pentera and Lilly School Presents New Planned Giving Research

A free Webinar on new planned giving research will be presented Tuesday, May 17, by Pentera President & CEO Claudine A. Donikian and Una Osili, director of research at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The Webinar is hosted by the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (PPP).

Estate Plans More Likely to Include Planned Gifts

New research findings show that it is more crucial than ever for planned giving professionals to encourage estate planning. According to updated statistics by planned giving researcher Russell James of Texas Tech University, the use of wills is continuing its decline in the United States while the use of funded trusts is up - and most important, those who do have an estate plan are more likely to include a charitable beneficiary.

Engagement—The New “It” Metric

Potential clients often ask us, “What kind of response can I expect from my marketing? Do you have client statistics?”

New Study Confirms That Men and Women Should Be Asked for Donations Differently

While not specifically about planned gifts, a new study by researchers at Stanford and Columbia universities confirms other research that men and women donors make philanthropic decisions differently and that charities should work with them in different ways.

Understanding Motives of Volunteers May Help with the Ask for Planned Gifts

Like many nonprofits, you likely have a plan to approach some of your organization's volunteers to ask them for planned gifts. A recent panel discussion on research moderated by Pentera President & CEO Claudine A. Donikian included information that could be useful in tailoring that conversation: research on the motivations of volunteers, including whether they are motivated primarily to help others or motivated by receiving some type of benefit.

Groundbreaking Research on Donors to Be Presented at NCPP

You are soliciting a very targeted audience for planned gifts, of course, but most planned giving research has not focused on that audience. Now there is research that is truly relevant: a new study on the characteristics and behavior of actual donors will be presented at NCPP 2015 in a session with Pentera President & CEO Claudine A. Donikian.

Happy Anniversary: Pentera Turns 40!

As Pentera celebrates its 40th anniversary this fall, the nation's top boutique planned giving marketing firm offers a retrospective of the company founded by André R. Donikian, JD, and led by President & CEO Claudine A. Donikian, JD, MBA, since 2008.

The Summit: 5 NCPP Storytellers You Won’t Want to Miss

André R. Donikian, chairman and founder of Pentera, Inc., now in its 40th year, was asked to design The Summit track for this year’s NCPP in Orlando. Here is his take on the five speakers he selected.

André Donikian to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Leader, mentor, teacher, expert, innovator, pioneer, and icon are words used to describe Pentera Founder André R. Donikian, who will be presented a Lifetime Achievement Award September 16 by the Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York (PPGGNY).

Experts Russell James and Claudine Donikian Discuss Words That Encourage Planned Giving

On May 28, planned giving researcher Russell James of Texas Tech University and Pentera CEO & Chief Marketing Officer Claudine A. Donikian will present a session on "Words and Phrases That Encourage Planned Giving" at the annual conference of the Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York (PPGGNY). The presentation is based on new research by James and on Donikian's research of Pentera clients and expertise in marketing communications.

As Sharp as a Hawk’s Talons: Bird Sanctuary Lauds Pentera’s Web Site Design

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, a 2,500-acre swath of Pennsylvania wilderness that is the world's largest member-supported raptor conservation organization, recently joined Pentera as a print and Web client. Here is what Director of Advancement Craig George had to say about the brand new Pentera-designed Web site.

The 5 Types of Legacy Society Names

Would a donor rather be a member of the Old Main Society or the New Century Society? The Willow Society or the Golden Oaks? Or maybe the Order of the Golden Shillelagh?

Baby Boomers Should Be Split for Planned Giving

Last year the youngest Baby Boomers turned 50 while the oldest Boomers turned 68. Does a 50-year-old really have that much in common with a 68-year-old, especially when it comes to planned giving? It behooves planned gift fundraisers to take a different approach than lumping all the Boomers together - a different approach pioneered by Pentera 15 years ago.

New Study Predicts Growth in Charitable Giving

The nonprofit sector "continues on the road to recovery," with growth in charitable giving of just under 5 percent predicted for both this year and next, according to brand new research from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Giving by estates - which makes up the bulk of planned gifts - is expected to do particularly well in 2016.

A Fix for "Lack of Time" Concern

The biggest communications challenge of nonprofits is "lack of time to produce quality content," according to a recent survey of more than 2,000 charities. That quality content largely comes in the form of Web pages, e-mail marketing, and print marketing - all components of Pentera's integrated marketing strategy for planned giving.

Are Your Donor Stories Boring Your Readers to Death?

Storytelling is all the rage in planned giving now, and that has resulted in a proliferation of donor stories that are … sometimes ineffective and even downright boring. They start at the beginning of the donor’s life, describe education, career, family, hobbies, and on and on, taking hundreds of words to get to the point: Why the donor decided to make the planned gift! Sometimes, surprisingly, the gift is never mentioned at all.