6 Ways to get Large Unrestricted Gifts
“Planned Giving won’t lead to unrestricted revenue - most donors want to restrict their giving or put it in an endowment.”
That’s what a fundraiser said to me when I spoke about the power of Planned Giving to create a 7-figure unrestricted revenue stream for their nonprofit.
This may be true with old fundraising practices - catering to a donor’s every whim. When you prioritize a donor’s comfort above all else - you neglect the needs of your organization and those you serve. Needs that require unrestricted revenue to keep the lights on!
What if I told you there’s a better way to fundraise?
A way to bring the donor along as a partner, rather than a saviour. Fundraising that encourages trust-based giving for long-term change.
Here are 6 ways to do just that - and get large unrestricted gifts for your nonprofit!
Educate your donors. Your donors are experts in many things - business, law, medicine, cake decorating, maybe even beekeeping! However, they likely don’t know as much as you do about your cause and the issues you're solving. Embrace your role as educator to show how they can create a better world with you.
Give up People Pleasing. If you cater to a donor’s every whim, you will limit the impact of their giving. Embracing your role as an educator means getting comfortable with pushing back against donor misconceptions.
Don’t demonize overhead. In fact, celebrate it! “Overhead” is integral to fulfilling your mission - share this openly with your donors.
Encourage trust-based giving by being worthy of it. This requires full transparency about your organization’s needs and the challenges it faces. Also share your past accomplishments and track-record of success!
Demonstrate how important flexible gifts are by using examples. This may be a story about a surprise estate gift, which allowed you to spend more on fundraising - resulting in significant growth. Or it could be a time when you pivoted your programs due to a crisis - which was made possible by unrestricted revenue.
Have clear organizational values integrated in your fundraising. This encourages well-aligned donors to give to your organization from their values, rather than supporting a specific program.
Planned Giving is trust-based and values-based fundraising. Your donor is likely giving you more than they’ve ever given before - and trusting you to steward it long after they're gone.
And the amazing thing is, once you start fundraising this way, you’ll see donors giving larger gifts in their lifetime - not just through their Wills!
Want to take the first step? Get a Planned Giving case for support. Learn how in last week’s blog!
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