Mentioning Tax Deduction Up Front Increases Charitable Interest

When marketing to donors, how much should you focus on the tax benefits of a charitable gift? Some research has indicated that tax benefits are a small part of the charitable gift decision, and some in planned giving have suggested downplaying tax benefits in marketing. But here's the rub: Researchers also know that the answers to their survey questions are often affected by "social desirability bias": Who wants to admit that one of their main reasons for making a gift to charity might be the tax benefits?

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:

Giving USA: Philanthropy Sets Record in 2015; Climate for Planned Gifts Looks Good

Philanthropy in America continued its record-setting pace in 2015 - increasing 4% from the year before and averaging more than a billion dollars a day - according to Giving USA™ 2016, the just-released annual study. Bequests, which tend to fluctuate from year to year based on very large gifts, were up 2%, the least of four giving categories. But study authors cited several factors that should help the climate for bequests and other planned gifts.

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.

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).

Identifying Your Donor’s Empathy Type Can Help with Gift Conversations

There are two different kinds of empathy, and identifying the type that is more prevalent in a particular donor can help when it comes to your gift conversations. That's the conclusion of new research presented at a session moderated by Pentera President & CEO Claudine A. Donikian at last year's annual symposium on philanthropy at Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

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.

Wealthiest Women Cite More Reasons to Give; One-Size-Fits-All Marketing Does Not Work

New research shows that the wealthiest women cite more and different reasons for giving to charity but also that high-net-worth women and men are more alike than the general population in their philanthropy. The 2015 study from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University also found that one-size-fits-all fundraising programs are inadvisable for nonprofits.

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?”

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.

Georgia Tech Seeks Director of Gift Planning

Pentera client Georgia Tech is searching for a new colleague to join its gift planning team and also expects to expand staff in the near future.

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.

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).

The In-Home Donor Visit

By Chandra Towers Blatt
Senior Marketing Consultant

When I was a planned giving officer for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), I was often invited by my donors to their homes for lunch. Between bites of Campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches - and sometimes Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers, all common offerings when donors discovered that I was quasi-vegetarian - I learned many things, and you can too.

Bequests Lead the Way as Giving Reaches New High

Giving in the U.S. hit a record high last year - $358 billion - and the news for planned giving was especially good, with bequests increasing more than any other category, according to the just-released Giving USA report.

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.

The Amazing Story of the First American Charitable Gift Annuity

The history of the first American charitable gift annuity (CGA) and its connection to the American Revolution is told in stirring detail by Ron Brown, director of gift planning at Fordham University, on his Web site, www.giftplanninghistory.org, which he keeps up to date with new articles about the history of charitable gift planning.

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?