Hi Reader,

A development director friend told me about a phone call she still thinks about.

Denise runs the two-person development shop at an animal rescue in Asheville. Last winter an attorney called her office. A man named Walter Pruitt had died at 91, and his estate included a bequest to the rescue. $212,000.

Denise pulled his record. Walter had given $50 every November for nineteen years. Never a major gift. Never a meeting. Once he'd sent a handwritten note on the back of a reply card that said, "Thanks for taking the ones nobody else will."

The rescue's entire annual budget for medical care was smaller than his gift.

Here's the part that stuck with her. Nobody had ever asked Walter about his will. Nobody on staff had ever mentioned it. He'd decided on his own, quietly, and the only reason the rescue got the money is that he happened to think of them.

She told me her first reaction was joy. Her second was a cold feeling. How many Walters were on her list right now, and how many of them had never heard the words "leave a gift"?

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THE MAIN POINT

Most small shops skip planned giving for the same reason. It sounds like a big, expensive, lawyer-heavy program that belongs to universities and hospitals. You have two staff members and a shared inbox. So you tell yourself you'll get to it later.

But look at what Walter actually did. He didn't need a planned giving program. He needed to care about the organization for a long time and to think of it when he sat down with his attorney. The program is optional. The asking isn't.

So here's a version small enough to start this month. It's a slow stretch before the year-end rush, and this is exactly the kind of work that gets crowded out in December.

Start with one question. Add a single line to your fall thank-you notes or your next reply card: "Have you thought about including [Organization] in your estate plans? If you'd like to talk, I'd love to hear from you." Not a pitch. Not a brochure. One sentence that puts the idea in their head, and a name and phone number to go with it.

Some people will ignore it. A few will write back. Those few are the whole point.

Look at the right people first. Pull your donors who have given every year for five or more years, regardless of amount. Sort by years of giving, not dollars. Walter would have been near the top. These are the people whose loyalty is already proven, and they're the ones most likely to be thinking about what their life's giving adds up to.

Make it easy to say yes. Create a one-page document called "How to leave a gift to [Organization]." Put on it your exact legal name, your tax ID number, and your address. Add a short line saying that donors should talk with their attorney or financial advisor about what fits their situation. Many donors can also name a charity on a beneficiary form for a retirement account or life insurance policy, so mention that it's worth asking their advisor about. Attorneys and advisors always ask for that name and number, and it's surprising how often a donor's plans stall because nobody could find it.

Talk to the people who say yes. When someone tells you they've included you, call them. Thank them, ask what made them decide, and ask if they'd be willing to share a few words in their own voice. Those sentences become your most persuasive piece of planned giving marketing, and they cost you nothing. You're not asking for paperwork or a signature. You're asking why.

Give them a name. A simple recognition group ("The Legacy Circle" or whatever fits your culture) with a yearly thank-you note is plenty. People who've made this decision want to be seen as part of something. They usually don't want a plaque.

Learn more about planned giving conversations:

• ​8 Common Misconceptions About Planned Giving​
• ​Why Some Donors Are Reluctant to Discuss Planned Giving​
• ​How to Write an Email Promoting Planned Giving (with Examples!)​

One Last Thing...

Denise told me she went back through her records after the call. She found eleven donors with more than fifteen years of giving who had never been asked a single question beyond "will you give again?"

She didn't build a program. She wrote one sentence, added it to her thank-you notes, and made her one-page gift-info sheet over a lunch break.

The first reply came from a woman who'd given $25 a year since 2004. She wrote, "I was wondering when you'd ask."

Walter's gift was a surprise and a blessing. But Denise doesn't want to depend on surprises anymore. The people who love your organization are already thinking about what they'll leave behind. The only open question is whether they'll think of you because you asked, or only if they happen to remember.

See you next week,

Jeremy Reis

P.S. Pull your ten longest-running donors this week and write each one a personal note that includes the estate-plans sentence. Ten notes, one afternoon. That's your whole planned giving program for now.