Call your legacy society members

If this doesn't apply to you, please forgive the nudge in advance. It isn't my intent to offend.

There are some basic self-evident strategies for planned giving. The mere mention of them results in people looking at me and saying, "Well, duh, of course."

Here's one: Everyone in your legacy society should be called at least once a year.

That's obvious. So obvious, that it might never have made it into your fund-raising plan. Or, so obvious, that it feels like an inconsequential and somewhat tedious task, one of those things you never quite get around to.

But it needs to be done. No excuses! That's right. I mean you. Whether your legacy society has 10 people, or 100, or one thousand. Every single one of those people deserves a call from someone in your organization at least once a year.

For one thing, it's simply good stewardship. Most of your planned giving donors have probably become legacy society members by virtue of a bequest intention. Well, remember, bequests are revocable. With the stroke of a pen, they can write you into the will for more (perhaps giving you the portion that was going to another cause that never talks to them). Or write you out of the will entirely (perhaps giving "your" portion to another cause that does stay in touch).

Second, it's an old rule of thumb that a planned giving donor, stewarded well, is likely to make a second planned gift within a couple years after their first legacy commitment. Old rules of thumb get that way because they are true more often than not. It's especially true for annuity donors, but holds for others as well. I guarantee it is one of the best uses of your time.

General mailings or your quarterly newsletter don't cut it. I'm not against a schedule of mailings; they just don't suffice for this purpose.

Here are a few guidelines:

Schedule time for them. Staying in contact with people shouldn't be a burden or a hassle. Most people only find the task tedious because they go so long in between contact that they feel nervous about getting in touch again, they don't know where to begin or because they feel like they need to "catch up" and they don't have the time to do so. Take some time in your daily routine to devote to staying in contact and it won't be so hard for you. Don't try to do all of the calls at one time. Spread them throughout the year, a handful each month, or each week.

Your call needn't be long. Just a “thank you” and a “how are you doing?” Yes, for many of your legacy society members, the phone rarely rings, so your call will be welcome. You can preempt a long conversation by saying "I only have 10 minutes before a meeting; I just wanted to say 'hi.'"

Your call shouldn't be scripted. In fact, it should feel spontaneous and completely unrehearsed. "I was going over some progress reports on the great work we're doing, I saw something that made me think of you, and I thought, let me just pick up the phone and call." If you haven't spoken to them in a long while, there's no need to try to bring them fully up to speed.

Two final notes:

If it's been a looooong while since you've spoken (perhaps there's been no personal contact since the gift opening?) ... Just say, "I'm sorry I haven't been in touch. I'd love to catch up when we have time but I just wanted to say hello and see how you are." Something to this effect will show that you are thinking of the person. Don't get trapped into thinking you have to make excuses or over-explain everything that has happened since your last contact.

If you can't reach them by phone, send a personal handwritten "I tried to reach you" note. Nothing pre-printed or canned.

Try not to get so wrapped up in your daily jobs responsibilities that you forget some of the people who are most important to your cause. You will feel great after one of these calls -- and that's reason enough right there to go ahead, pick up the phone, and call one of your legacy society members.