Planned gifts, also called legacy gifts, are often the largest and most transformational gifts your nonprofit will ever receive. But asking for them can feel awkward or complex. It doesn't have to be!
The secret is a donor-centric planned giving marketing strategy. This approach focuses on your donors’ values and their desire to create a lasting legacy, not just on your organization’s needs.
This guide is your complete playbook. We’ll cover the essential materials you need, the right words to use, and the engagement strategies that will help you master marketing planned giving and secure your nonprofit's future.
Key takeaways
- Effective planned giving marketing focuses on the donor’s values and their desire to create a lasting legacy, rather than the nonprofit's immediate financial needs.
- Empathetic, personalized messaging and donor stories as social proof can make legacy giving feel accessible to everyone.
- A standalone microsite gives supporters a low-pressure environment to explore their planned giving options, read donor stories, and easily contact your team.
- Promote planned giving year-round through dedicated emails and integrated newsletter mentions, particularly at key times such as National Make-A-Will Month, major campaigns, and GivingTuesday.
- Create a sense of community by establishing a legacy society and hosting exclusive events for committed donors.
Planned giving marketing FAQ
Marketing your planned giving program can feel like a big undertaking, but the core concepts are straightforward. To get you oriented, we’ll answer common questions you might have before diving into specific strategies and materials.
What is planned giving marketing?
Planned giving marketing is the strategic approach nonprofits use to educate and inspire donors to include the organization in their long-term estate plans. While annual fundraising focuses on immediate financial needs, planned giving marketing centers on communicating various legacy giving options—such as bequests or retirement plan designations—and empowering supporters to leave a lasting impact that aligns with their personal values.
Why is planned giving marketing important for nonprofits?
Planned giving marketing is essential because it educates donors about legacy gift options they may not know exist, explains the process and benefits of each type, and challenges the misconception that only wealthy donors can leave legacy gifts. Proactive outreach clears up this confusion, empowering everyone to leave a lasting impact while securing long-term funding for your nonprofit.
Who should you target with your planned giving marketing?
Nonprofits should promote planned giving to all of their donors, because supporters of every age and gender make legacy commitments. While women are more likely to include a bequest in their wills, men account for half of all bequest dollars committed. Meanwhile, average gift sizes are increasing across all age groups. By casting a wide net rather than focusing on a single demographic, you give every supporter the opportunity to leave a lasting, outsized impact on your mission.
What are the key elements of a planned giving marketing strategy?
An effective planned giving marketing strategy functions as a complete system. It combines foundational assets, consistent messaging, and active donor engagement to build trust and secure gifts.
Be sure to include these elements:
- Educational materials: A dedicated website page or microsite and a compelling planned giving brochure to establish credibility and educate donors.
- A messaging guide: A clear set of phrases, email templates, and guidelines on how to talk about planned giving empathetically and effectively.
- A consistent outreach calendar: A plan that maps out your promotional campaigns, such as dedicated emails and integrated mentions in your general newsletter.
- A stewardship plan: A legacy society to build community and recognize donors, as well as exclusive events for top prospects.
- A tracking system: A structure to measure your results over time, allowing you to see what works and improve your strategies.
These elements all work together to create a seamless, donor-centric journey. By having these pieces in place, you make it easy to inspire a supporter to take the next step, from casual interest to a committed legacy gift.
Foundational planned giving marketing materials
A proactive planned giving marketing strategy starts with having the right information ready before a donor asks. These foundational materials serve as a reference point, making complex giving options easy to understand.
To effectively promote legacy giving, build a core toolkit that includes:
- A dedicated microsite or landing page to act as your centralized digital hub for legacy giving options.
- A compelling printed brochure to provide a tangible, professional overview for in-person meetings and events.
- Pre-written email templates to ensure consistent, empathetic outreach throughout the year.
So, how should you use these assets to successfully promote your program? Take a look at these best practices:
1. Create a planned giving page or microsite
A planned giving microsite is a dedicated, standalone website or focused landing page designed to educate donors about their legacy giving options. Unlike a standard "Ways to Give" page, it acts as a comprehensive digital hub that explains complex gifts (such as bequests and trusts), highlights the benefits of joining your legacy society, and provides a clear, low-pressure path for supporters to start their estate planning.
Once you create a microsite, we recommend adding it to your navigation menu and adding a section on your main “Ways to Give” page that links to it for curious donors who want more information.
Information to include on your planned giving page
Think of your microsite or landing page as your digital planned giving marketing brochure. It provides all the information a prospective donor needs to understand their legacy giving options, the benefits of making a commitment, and how to get started.
Your program’s page or microsite should include:
- Planned giving options: Clearly define each planned giving option by explaining what the gift means for the donor. For instance, if your donor is leaving a bequest, it’s fairly straightforward, as the donor simply allocates a portion of their estate to a nonprofit in their legal will. However, other types of planned gifts, such as charitable gift annuities, are more complicated and need further explanation. Just avoid bogging down your explanations with too much jargon.
- Contact information for the person in charge of planned giving: Your page may not provide all the details your prospects need, or donors may have additional questions. Provide contact information so they can call or email the person in charge of planned gifts at your organization.
- Information about your legacy society: A legacy society is a membership association for people who have made a planned gift to your organization. We’ll go into more detail about these later in this article, but they can be a great resource and community for your planned giving donors. On your page, outline the perks and benefits of being a member.
- A clear call to action: Your page should include a button that links to a form where prospects can request more information or even make their will. Place it in a prominent location and use language that describes the action you want donors to complete. For example, you can say, “Create your legacy!” or “Start your will!”
An example of a planned giving microsite
For inspiration, check out The American Red Cross. They dedicated a whole site to planned giving, redcrosslegacy.org. Then, they linked to it on their main “Ways to Give” page to increase visibility.
When you explore the site, you’ll notice they include detailed landing pages for specific types of gifts, recommended planned gift messaging, the benefits of legacy giving, and tools to get started. Check out the information on their page about bequests:
The easiest way to launch a planned giving microsite
To simplify the process of marketing your planned giving program online, turn to FreeWill’s Planned Giving Microsites. We equip your nonprofit with everything you need to engage donors and educate your audience about planned gifts.
To see how easy it is to launch your microsite, explore our interactive demo:
Your site will help establish trust among donors, making them more comfortable with legacy giving through an easy-to-navigate interface. They’ll have everything they need to better understand their options and even get started with our planned giving tools.
2. Send planned giving information through consistent emails.
Many of your supporters want to make a bigger impact, but may not know what planned giving is or how to make a planned gift to your organization. By educating supporters about their options, you help them meet their philanthropic goals.
As with all effective marketing, repetition is key. A supporter may open an email several times before actually sitting down to add you to their will.
The optimal email frequency: From our work with hundreds of nonprofits, we've found that the most effective marketing strategy includes two to three standalone promotional campaigns per year, along with several integrated mentions in other communications.
- Standalone emails: Campaigns with a single call-to-action (e.g., “Create your legacy”). We’ve found that these are twice as successful at generating legacy gifts as emails with multiple giving options.
- Integrated mentions: Brief reminders that list planned giving alongside other standard giving options.
Examples of email outreach
Your planned giving outreach can take many forms. Give your donors multiple opportunities to learn with your emails:
- National Make-A-Will Month campaigns: Send a dedicated email series every August.
- Postscript (P.S.) mentions: Add a quick legacy giving link to the bottom of general fundraising appeals.
- Legacy donor stories: Share impactful testimonials from existing legacy society members.
- Newsletter features: Dedicate a small section of your regular newsletter to estate planning tips.
- GivingTuesday mentions: Include planned giving as an alternative way to support your major campaigns, such as GivingTuesday.
- Legacy society announcements: Send updates or invitations related to your legacy giving community.
When sending these communications, prioritize email over direct mail. Fundraising data shows that even older demographics are highly responsive to digital planned giving outreach.
We know it can be tough to incorporate this into a packed communications calendar. To save your nonprofit time, use our pre-written email templates featuring effective planned giving marketing language.
3. Design a compelling planned giving brochure.
A planned giving brochure is a key, tangible piece of your marketing toolkit. It translates the complex world of legacy gifts into a simple, compelling, and professional-looking document.
While your website is your digital hub, a high-quality “one-pager” provides a physical touchpoint a donor can hold and review at their own pace. It’s a versatile tool that answers key questions and can be easily shared among donors who respond better to or prefer printed materials. Your team can bring its brochure to events or programming where interested donors will be present.
What to include in your brochure
A brochure must be inspiring at a glance. Unlike your microsite, which can host detailed information, your brochure should focus on the highlights. Here’s what you might include:
- Planned gift options: Spotlight the main types of gifts you accept, such as gifts in a will or gifts from a retirement plan. The goal isn't to explain how they work, but to simply show the different ways a donor can make an impact.
- Visuals and branding: Use high-quality photos related to your mission. All visuals, fonts, and colors should also align perfectly with your nonprofit's established brand identity to build immediate recognition.
- Donor-centric language: Use warm, empathetic language that focuses on the donor's impact and their power to “create a legacy.” A study by planned giving expert Dr. Russell James uncovered that framing legacy giving as a way to “support causes that have been important in your life” can increase donor interest from 12% to 40%, compared to “make a bequest gift to charity.”
- Financial benefits: You can briefly note that some planned gifts may offer financial benefits (like tax savings). This should be a secondary point, as the primary motivator should always be your mission.
- A mention of your legacy society: Introduce your legacy society as a special community for donors who have made a planned gift.
- A URL or QR code for your microsite: This is the perfect, low-pressure call to action. It gives interested donors a clear, digital path to learn more on their own time.
- Contact information: Provide a name, phone number, and email for a real person. This makes the next step feel personal and accessible, signaling a confidential, no-obligation conversation.
Messaging tips for talking about legacy giving
When discussing legacy giving, the right words are essential to building trust. A thoughtful approach will make your supporters feel valued and seen, not just solicited.
To craft messaging that resonates, focus on these core principles:
- Use empathetic, positive language by focusing on the donor's ability to "create a legacy" rather than mentioning death.
- Personalize your outreach by using "you" instead of "we" and addressing donors by their first name and preferred title.
- Leverage donor stories as positive social proof to illustrate the tangible impact of a legacy gift.
Here is how to apply these messaging tips to your planned giving communications:
4. Use empathetic planned giving messaging.
Planned giving can be a sensitive topic for supporters. To be donor-centric when communicating about planned gifts, emphasize that they allow supporters to make the biggest impact of their lives. Even though you won’t receive their gift until after they pass, donors can still fully decide how their gift will be used. And with their support, your organization can better plan for the future.
Additionally, remember these best practices when writing or speaking about legacy gifts:
- Don’t mention death. Legacy fundraising research shows that mentioning death decreases a person’s interest in making a legacy gift. That’s because reminders about death cause two reactions in people: avoidance or the pursuit of a lasting impact. Instead of talking about death, focus your communications on how your donors can create a legacy. Avoid language like “leave a legacy” because it implies death. Instead, use language such as “create a legacy” or “make a gift in your will.”
- Acknowledge that this form of giving may be new to your supporters. This can trigger curiosity in prospects instead of making them feel as though they “should have” known about this type of giving already. For example, try using: “Did you know?” or “You might be surprised to learn…” in your outreach.
- Highlight the range of ages making planned gifts. This will help your older donors feel less targeted and like part of a broader audience. For example, you can say: “Supporters of our humane society, from 18 to 88, choose to include us in their will or trust. Would you like information on how to join them?”
5. Personalize your marketing outreach.
When speaking to your nonprofit, donors might feel like they’re talking to an entity rather than a human being. Personalizing your planned giving outreach makes them feel like they’re speaking to a real person who’s interested in their values and needs.
Here are some easy ways to personalize your outreach:
- Use “you” language instead of “I” language. For example, instead of “we need your support to help our nonprofit pursue its mission for generations to come,” you might say, “You can create a lasting impact on a cause that has been important in your life, and your legacy gift will support generations to come.” This simple shift in focus makes your outreach feel like a personal conversation, not a marketing blast.
- Use a donor’s first name in any written communications. Seeing or hearing your first name triggers brain activation in a place called your reticular activating system, or RAS. By using names in your outreach, donors will feel like the content was written specifically for them. Luckily, most email platforms allow you to customize emails with a contact’s first name when integrated with your CRM.
Ultimately, these simple touches show donors they’re valued partners in your mission, making them much more receptive to your planned giving marketing messages. By connecting with them on a personal level, you’ll build the essential trust required for a meaningful legacy conversation.
6. Use donor stories as social proof in your planned giving marketing.
Donor testimonials are among the most effective marketing strategies for illustrating the real-world impact of a legacy gift while demonstrating that your organization deeply values its supporters.
Social proof is the psychological phenomenon in which people want to act like their peers. When prospects see people just like them making legacy commitments, it normalizes the process and inspires them to do the same.
To maximize the effect of your donor stories, ensure they highlight:
- The tangible impact: Clearly explain exactly what the donor's legacy gift will achieve for your mission so prospects can visualize their own impact.
- Deep appreciation: Publicly validating the donor shows your broader audience that your organization treats its legacy supporters as true partners.
- Peer inspiration: Sharing these stories is highly effective at driving action. In fact, data shows that using social proof makes donors 15% more likely to express interest in leaving a bequest when they believe they are "one of many supporters" doing the same, and gift size increases by almost $6,000.
On your Planned Giving Microsite, include several forms of social proof. Testimonials, photos of your legacy society events, and longer donor spotlights all show prospective donors that planned giving is a popular option. Even simple language choices, such as "many of our supporters choose to establish planned gifts because..." will demonstrate that planned giving is an accessible and easy option.
To keep your stories donor-centric, focus on the gift's impact and the donor's background, rather than the gift's size. Elon University created a Donor Stories page featuring inspiring examples of legacy donors. This example talks about how a legacy gift from an alumnus provided financial support to students at the school:
Donor engagement strategies to market planned giving
Beyond broad outreach, the most successful planned giving programs rely on high-touch engagement to nurture their top prospects. Moving from passive marketing to active relationship-building helps secure long-term funding.
To deepen relationships with your planned giving donors, prioritize these engagement strategies:
- Create a legacy society to establish a formal membership program that gives committed donors a lifelong sense of community.
- Host exclusive events such as informational luncheons or private dinners to build deeper trust with your most engaged prospects.
Here is how to implement these high-touch strategies to move donors toward making a gift:
7. Create a legacy society to deepen relationships with planned giving donors.
A legacy society is a formalized membership program designed to recognize, honor, and steward donors who have committed to leaving a planned gift to your nonprofit. It’s a key part of a donor-centric planned giving marketing strategy and gives donors a lifelong sense of community and connection to your cause.
Your society members can spread the word about your nonprofit. And you can deepen your relationship with these donors by hosting exclusive events, recognizing them publicly, and inviting them to volunteer or advocate for your mission. This can also lead to more gifts or plant the seeds for larger gifts in the future.
This example from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation outlines the benefits of their legacy society, as well as the guidelines for eligibility. They’ve also named their society after their founder:
Once you’ve picked a society name and logo, you may want to send new members a welcome gift. This can be a pin or a letter from your CEO or board thanking them for their bequest.
8. Host exclusive events for your engaged legacy giving prospects.
Invite your most engaged prospects to small, exclusive events. Whether virtual or in-person, these high-touch gatherings help supporters feel a deeper connection to your team, your mission, and other loyal donors.
Keep the focus of your events on the donor's values and the impact their gift could have, not on your organization's needs. Here are a few event examples:
- Informational luncheons, where you can provide more details about planned gifts
- Tours of your facilities, where prospects can meet the team or executives
- Dinners or formal house parties hosted by one of your board members or executives
During these events, make donors feel like valued partners by introducing them to key leaders, like your board members or executives. Be sure to have copies of your planned giving brochure on hand for an easy, tangible follow-up for anyone who expresses interest.
These events are a "conversion" tactic, so they’re best reserved for prospects who are very close to making a planned gift—those who have been responsive to your outreach and just need a few more personal touchpoints.
Additional resources for your planned giving program
Ultimately, a planned giving marketing strategy is how you move from being a passive recipient of “someday” gifts to a proactive partner in your donors' legacies.
This guide has given you the playbook. Now, it’s up to you to get started and start securing the transformational, long-term funding your mission deserves. Remember, FreeWill’s Planned Giving Suite is designed to power your entire system and make planned giving more accessible for your donors. Start there, and legacy giving will become a solid revenue stream for your cause.
To learn more about managing and growing your planned giving program, keep exploring with these additional resources:
- Planned giving software: Picking tools to grow legacy gifts
- 10 types of planned gifts your nonprofit should know
- How to start a planned giving program: Step-by-step guide
- Make-a-Will Month marketing: 3 tips to boost planned giving
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