Here are some basic facts about legacy giving that show how important this income stream is to UK charities:
Legacies provide over £2 billion of charitable income annually.
Legacy income currently represents 34% of the total fundraised income of the top 10 charities in the UK.
Although 35% of adults aged over 40 in the UK say they would give a small percentage in their will to charity and 74% support a charity during their lifetime, the current total legacy income comes from only 7% of the population.
My Christian giving research conducted in 2009 with members of the Evangelical Alliance UK showed that:
Eight out of ten evangelicals are likely to have made a will.
Only four out of eight evangelicals have included a charity in their will.
43% of evangelicals said that they have included a charity in their will compared to 26% of them who had done so a decade ago.
Evangelical donors in the 75+ and 65 – 74 age groups are most likely to include a charity in their will.
The least likely to include a charity in their will are donors from the 45 – 54 age group.
Donors who are single are more likely to include a charity in their will than married donors. (65% vs. 39%)
Why do donors leave legacy gifts? - Here are some reasons to consider:
Legacy donors believe in your charity’s mission. They are inspired by what your charity does to impact lives.
Legacy donors are likely to have first hand experiences of your work. They might have served as missionaries, or volunteers. They might be previous board members, staff or past supporters.
They trust your charity. They know that you will be a good steward of their gifts.
They feel that they have a relationship with your charity and that they know your charity.
They are people who enjoy giving and who want to help people in need.
They are likely to think highly of your cause. They think of your charity’s leaders as men and women of integrity.
They appreciate your charity’s work, how you treat beneficiaries, how you help peoplem share the Gospel etc.
They feel that a legacy gift is a way of honouring the memory of a loved one, a parent, a sibling, a family member who has been involved in your charity or has benefited from your services.
How are you going to use these facts and insights to shape up your strategy and resources on legacy giving?
Wednesday 26 October 2011
Monday 3 October 2011
How to make your charity's newsletters a compelling read - part one
Here is a selection of insights and ideas to help you re-evaluate your charity's newsletters and make them a compelling read:
1. ‘Donor-centric’ newsletters
Think about what you want to achieve with your newsletters. The rule of thumb is to use newsletters to inform donors about your latest accomplishments; to share the vision for the future; to inspire donors so they continue to stay involved; to say Thank You and to invite renewed support.
2. Show how your charity is fulfilling the mission
Use one aspect of your charity’s mission as a key theme. Position your impact stories, statistics, case studies, etc to help donors understand how you are fulfilling the mission they have invested in.
For example, if an aspect of the mission is to educate illiterate women in Africa, a newsletter theme can be: ‘Breaking the cycle of poverty through education’. Use statistics to show how illiteracy causes poverty. Use impact stories to show how literate women are now earning a living. Include a donor interview about what motivates her to help illiterate women. Tell donors you couldn’t have done this good work without them. Share your vision for helping more women and invite financial support.
3. Offer news that interests donors
The word ‘Newsletter’ means ‘bearer of news’. News is something the reader doesn’t know about and something that makes them feel better connected with your cause.
Learn how to spot newsworthy stories that might interest your donors. Ask yourself: why am I telling this story? How will this make donors feel? What action steps do I want them to take after reading this?
Discover new angles on existing stories. Here is an example: ‘Life 1, Death 0 – We saved a life today.’ Highlight new challenges that can be addressed with donor’s future support: ‘We want to say ‘Yes’ to donkey work! – You heard it right. We are looking to purchase 1,000 donkeys in Ethiopia. The can be a great asset to poor families.’
1. ‘Donor-centric’ newsletters
Think about what you want to achieve with your newsletters. The rule of thumb is to use newsletters to inform donors about your latest accomplishments; to share the vision for the future; to inspire donors so they continue to stay involved; to say Thank You and to invite renewed support.
2. Show how your charity is fulfilling the mission
Use one aspect of your charity’s mission as a key theme. Position your impact stories, statistics, case studies, etc to help donors understand how you are fulfilling the mission they have invested in.
For example, if an aspect of the mission is to educate illiterate women in Africa, a newsletter theme can be: ‘Breaking the cycle of poverty through education’. Use statistics to show how illiteracy causes poverty. Use impact stories to show how literate women are now earning a living. Include a donor interview about what motivates her to help illiterate women. Tell donors you couldn’t have done this good work without them. Share your vision for helping more women and invite financial support.
3. Offer news that interests donors
The word ‘Newsletter’ means ‘bearer of news’. News is something the reader doesn’t know about and something that makes them feel better connected with your cause.
Learn how to spot newsworthy stories that might interest your donors. Ask yourself: why am I telling this story? How will this make donors feel? What action steps do I want them to take after reading this?
Discover new angles on existing stories. Here is an example: ‘Life 1, Death 0 – We saved a life today.’ Highlight new challenges that can be addressed with donor’s future support: ‘We want to say ‘Yes’ to donkey work! – You heard it right. We are looking to purchase 1,000 donkeys in Ethiopia. The can be a great asset to poor families.’
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)