Planned Giving Marketing Tip: Slogans Matter

In today’s busy world, an organization needs to communicate—clearly, succinctly and intelligently—what it does and why. While a mission statement is certainly one useful method of communicating the purpose of your nonprofit, a slogan can get that same information out more readily while also achieving your communication goals.

New Client's Praise Reflects Pentera Team's Dedication to Excellence

Pentera staff in every department has been working very hard on a new client’s materials.
They signed up for a Web site that is now live and includes an eBrochure library; newsletter and QuickCards; and eNewsletters and eQuickCards. We are so happy to hear this wonderful feedback as the suite of materials is created. And their comments reflect the Pentera team’s dedication to our clients and to excellence.

• "Just printed out a few eBrochures, and they are fantastic! Great job by everyone at Pentera...”
• “We are really pleased with the eNewsletter designs you sent.”
• “It’s so exciting to see the newsletter! Thanks for the good work.“

Is Your Planned-Giving Web Site Stale?

Your planned-giving Web site can be a valuable resource for your potential donors. It can educate them about the benefits of making a gift, inspire them through touching stories from other donors, and motivate them to leave their legacy by making a gift to your organization. But has the content on your Web site passed its expiration date?

Pentera's Integrated Marketing Strategy Helps Frostburg Promote Planned Gifts

When director of major and planned gifts Cherie Krug came on board at Frostburg State University two and half years ago, the school had a growing fundraising operation but had never really focused very heavily on offering planned-giving options to donors. Also, in the middle of a capital campaign, the need to get started was urgent.

That’s when they decided to turn to respected industry leader Pentera, Inc. for help.

Is Your Web Site Designed for the Planned-Giving Audience?

Your planned-giving Web site can be a wonderful tool to educate, motivate, and inspire your potential donors. It can provide them with information on the types of gifts they can make, help them analyze the best gift to suit their individual needs, and illustrate how gifts from other donors have made an impact on your organization. But what good is all of that information if it’s difficult for your donor to understand?

Why One Client Continues to Choose Pentera as Marketing Partner

All of us at Pentera would like to extend a warm welcome to Tom Fogarty and his team at Crotched Mountain as we work with them on their new integrated planned-giving marketing plan, including newsletters, postcards, and Web site.

Throughout the years we've had the unique privilege of working with Crotched Mountain's vice president of development, Tom Fogarty, at the different institutions where his career has taken him. Most recently this includes Crotched Mountain, a non-profit organization in New Hampshire dedicated to serving children and adults with disabilities and their families.

When asked the reason Tom keeps returning to partner with Pentera, he said, "First of all the customer service is wonderful. Everyone I've worked with at Pentera has been very responsive. You make every effort to customize the pieces as much as possible."

Does Your Web Site Overload Your Donors?

Your planned giving Web site can be a valuable tool to educate your potential donors about your organization and motivate them to support your mission. By following best practices for the design and layout of your site, you increase the chances that you will catch the attention of those potential donors and draw them further into the site for more information. But does your Web site look the same to your donors as it does to you?

Pentera’s Integrated Marketing Strategy Helps Frostburg University Promote Planned Gifts

Frostburg University's Take on Help from Pentera, Inc.:

When director of major and planned gifts Cherie Krug came on board at Frostburg State University two and half years ago, the school had a growing fundraising operation but had never really focused very heavily on offering planned-giving options to donors. Also, in the middle of a capital campaign, the need to get started was urgent.

That’s when they decided to turn to respected industry leader Pentera, Inc. for help. Pentera worked with Frostburg to develop a customized marketing strategy integrating print, Web, and eMarketing to promote planned giving. “Our donors were used to writing a check for the Annual Fund,” says Cherie. “Everything Pentera does for us helps our donors think in a different way. It’s a whole other piece of giving.”

After about a year of consistent marketing, Frostburg began to see results: Donors started asking about making planned gifts.

#1. Featured Strategy: Build loyalty through education and meaningful, relevant communications

The Compass: Creating Your Legacy, Frostburg’s newsletter, focuses on a particular type of gift in each issue. According to Krug, “The language is easy and simple to follow.” She continues, “The examples are great. I have the volunteers working on our campaign read the newsletter; it helps them learn what they’re talking about.”

Pentera’s production of the newsletter is painless for Frostburg: “I say I want to feature gift annuities and maybe some other kind of estate planning; Pentera finds the articles. The ease and convenience of it is just amazing.”

In addition, most issues contain a donor story written by Pentera’s testimonial-writing service and donor-profile questionnaire, two of Pentera’s many creative services. “The donor stories are wonderful,” Krug says. “Something that would take me or someone else here weeks to do is quick, accurate, and beautifully written.”

R. Sam Griffith, president of the FSU Foundation, is a financial advisor in a major company. He doesn’t hand out compliments easily. Yet in a phone call with Cherie Krug and Bernard J. Davisson, II ’81, vice president for advancement and the foundation’s executive director, Griffith praised the Pentera-produced newsletter. “He said, ‘This is one of the best marketing pieces I’ve ever seen coming out of this division,’ ” Krug remembers. “‘It’s clear, it’s easy to read, and it gives great information.’“



#2. Featured Strategy: Donor-friendly Web site that is easy for the novice as well as the expert to navigate

Frostburg knows that while traditionally the newsletter was the main component for a planned-giving marketing program, now it is just one piece of the whole. Their Web site is another major piece.

“The Web site is a great way for a relatively new donor base to go online and learn about planned gifts,” Krug says. “It’s easy to navigate and very helpful. We’re finding more and more that even our older alumni are on things like Facebook, so the electronic component is very important.”

The easy-to-navigate Web site includes diagrams for illustrating the ways to give to Frostburg as well as easy-to understand detailed descriptions and benefits that donors can read while they do their planning.

Frostburg’s site also includes Pentera’s signature interactive feature, the Life-Stage Gift Planner™, which Pentera pioneered over a decade ago. The Life-Stage Gift Planner™ allows donors to explore various gift options most appropriate to them based on the financial and personal issues they are facing during their particular life stage. As Frostburg is focusing on bequests, the site gives examples of various types of language that a donor can easily access and use when updating or writing a will.

The Web site is very flexible and kept up-to-date. Every month, an article spotlighting current trends in planned giving is posted to keep donors coming back to learn more. Pentera also keeps Frostburg’s site fresh with new donor stories and automatic updates with any changes to legislation or rates.

Frostburg trusted Pentera’s industry knowledge, experience, and willingness to customize their products to Frostburg’s needs. And as a result, the integrated marketing strategy has made a huge impact on their planned-giving department.

As Cherie Krug says about working with Pentera and its expert, friendly, and helpful staff, “…it is just amazing. It’s been a great experience.” And more important, donors are directly benefiting too. They are being educated and cultivated and in turn are responding and asking about planned gift options.

For more information about how you could achieve success with your planned giving marketing like Frostburg has, contact us at info@pentera.com or 317.875.0910, ext. 251.

Is Your Marketing Ready for the New Year?

With the end of 2010 quickly approaching, now is the perfect time to review and analyze your marketing strategy to ensure that your 2011 marketing plan is as effective as possible. While each of your marketing pieces, from planned-giving postcards to eNewsletters, has its own message and purpose, they also work together as a part of your overall integrated marketing campaign. But are you forgetting a key piece of the puzzle?

Sarah Lawrence Joins Pentera's Exclusive Integrated Marketing Clientele

Pentera would like to extend a warm welcome to Sarah Lawrence College as we begin working with them to develop their new planned giving Web site, as well as a comprehensive integrated marketing campaign, including print newsletters, postcards, eNewsletters, and print advertisements.

With a diverse student body and a strong reputation for its rigorous academic standards, Sarah Lawrence College has a long, distinguished history of offering its students a personalized education, tailored to meet each student's unique interests and abilities. Sarah Lawrence chose Pentera because of the unique combination of industry-leading content and unparalleled customization options that we offer through our planned giving Web sites, eMarketing products, and print materials. We are excited and honored to help them educate, motivate, and build lasting relationships with their potential donors.

For more information about Pentera's integrated marketing strategies and programs, please visit http://www.pentera.com/, email info@pentera.com, or call 317-875-0910 x251.

Is Your Planned Giving Web Site Hidden?

Your planned giving Web site offers your potential donors a wealth of information. It illustrates the ways that a potential donor can make a gift, demonstrates how those gifts can help support the mission and future of your organization, and allows your viewers to explore the best options for their situations. But what impact can that Web site have if no one can find it?

What's Driving Online Giving? The Answer May Surprise You...

Your organization's Web site can be a valuable tool to educate, motivate and, most important, communicate with your donors about how they can make a gift to your organization and support your mission. Recently, more and more organizations are also using their planned giving Web sites as a simple, convenient tool for donors to submit gifts online.

But what drives a donor to make a gift through your Web site?

Is Your Web Site Counting the Wrong Visitors?

How many times have you visited a Web site only to quickly leave after realizing it's not what you're looking for? Even though you may not have been on that Web site for more than 10 seconds, your visit is still tracked within the site's analytics possibly distorting how the site's traffic is perceived. So how can you weed out those accidental visitors?

Tracking Your Marketing's Success Through Analytics

How do you measure the success of your planned giving marketing program? By the number of reply cards you receive? By the number of phone calls or e-mails that follow your planned giving newsletter or postcard mailing? In an increasingly online world, more and more potential donors are using the internet to research their options. This means that your potential donors are going to your planned giving Web site to research gifts before they contact you. With so much going on behind the scenes how can you know that your marketing is making an impact?

Does your Web site have a personal touch?

by Leila A. Wheeler, Marketing Associate, Integrated Marketing Department

Donor stories have the ability to inspire, motivate, and move potential donors. They can take an informative marketing piece, such as a planned giving newsletter or a postcard, and bring it to life by giving it something extra—a personal touch.

Does your Web site have that same personal touch?

Because these personal giving stories resonate with potential donors, organizations have used them throughout their marketing pieces for years, not only to recognize the loyalty of those dedicated individuals who have made a gift, but also to effectively illustrate how gifts can help their organization.