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Finding Prospective Donors for Bequests
Annual Giving Provides Clues for Planned Giving

By Joanne Fritz, About.com

If you are prospecting for donors who might be willing to leave a bequest to your organization, look no further than your own list of annual givers.

A study conducted by a scholar at the Center on Philanthropy (Indiana University), found that:

  • People who named charities in their wills gave more than twice as much annually (more than $2,000 on average) than those who did not.
  • Individuals who said they would consider naming a charity in their wills also gave on average about $500 more annually than those who would not consider doing so.

Other findings from the study included:

  • The people who are most likely to consider adding a charity to their wills are well educated (they hold at least a bachelor's degree); are middle-aged (age 40-60); and report that they are motivated by "doing good" and "doing what is expected."
  • Very few current donors have arranged to leave a gift to a charity in their wills.
  • One in three of those who have not added a gift to charity in their will said they would consider doing so.
  • Income was found to not affect the likelihood that a donor would bequest, or consider bequesting.

Recommendations from the study include:

  • Fundraisers should focus on younger individuals for charitable bequests. Individuals between 40 and 60, the Boomer generation, were found to be a significant share of those who have already named a charity in their will and also those who are willing to consider making a bequest.
  • Just ask. Only nine percent of people with a bachelor’s degree indicated that they currently have a charity in their wills while thirty-nine percent indicated they would consider naming a charity in their wills.
  • Think about a giver's motivation. A unique combination of “doing good” and “doing what is expected” seems to motivate likely bequesters.
  • Fundraisers should not focus only on those with high incomes. Regardless of income, fundraisers have between a one-in-three and one-in-four chance of speaking with an individual who would consider giving to a charity in a will.

Back to How to Build a Planned Giving Program

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