Over the weekend, while reorganizing my digital files, I came across an old blog post from Phyllis Freedman. You see, when I was starting out in legacy fundraising (planned giving), she was my reference point for everything related to legacy marketing and strategy. Below is the content of her post which perfectly captures the importance of good legacy fundraising.
Here goes:
I: Thou shall rethink what 60, 70, 80 even 90 look like.
II: Thou shall use a serif font and large point size font.
III: Thou shall not reverse white type out of color.
IV: Thou shall speak plain English, omit the technical.
V: Thou shall design for “skimmers”.
VI: Thou shall address unspoken donor objection.
VII: Thou shall always include suggested language.
VIII: Thou shall make the materials your own.
IX: Thou shall use testimonials.
X: Thou shall always incorporate a call to action.
XI: You shall always be real in communications with donors.
Bonus commandments:
XII: “Remember XYZ in your will” on all XYZ newsletter mailing panels.
XIII: Thou shalt show the face of your work.
Want to learn more about how to start or reboot a legacy program in your organization? Join the September cohort of my Online legacy Bootcamp (dates to be confirmed shortly) to be added to the waiting list. You will be the first to hear about the details so you can complete your registration.