True donor stewardship begins before you know that a gift has been made and continues even after the donor has passed away. A simple, yet strategic stewardship program welcomes your legacy givers into the organization's highest ranks and provides them with a two-way relationship throughout their lives. Building an intentional bond with these future major donors improves your chances or receiving increased gifts from them now, as well as increased or additional legacy gifts in the future. With the average bequest in the U.S. hovering around $60,000, you can't afford to alienate your planned gift donors. Session objectives: • Identify potential planned gift donors in your constituent database • Conduct a descriptive modeling exercise on your current planned gift donors • Learn how a strategically-devised stewardship program can set you apart from other organizations • Create a plan to keep your donors engaged [This topic will be of interest to medium and larger shops with a planned gift program already in place and the desire to become more strategic in their relationship-building with planned gift prospects]

1. © 2017 Blackbaud
Katherine Swank, J.D.
Senior Fundraising Consultant
Target Analytics, a division of Blackbaud, Inc.
Strategic Stewardship for
Planned Giving Programs
Content in this publication is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

2. © 2017 Blackbaud
Katherine Swank, J.D.
At Blackbaud 10 years
20 years legal & development professional; raised over
$200 million
Past president, Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable
State Bar of Arizona & Affiliate faculty, Regis
University’s Masters in Global Nonprofit Leadership
program (retired)
Presenter – NCPG, PPP, AFP, APRA, AHP
Contributor – Prospect Research in Canada: An
Essential Guide for Researchers and Fundraisers,
2016
Industry presentations @ SlideShare/kswank

3. © 2017 Blackbaud
The Discussion
Stewardship’s Role in the Fundraising Continuum
Planned Giving’s Unique Challenges
Strategic Stewardship Check List
Institutional Value of Planned Gifts in Stewardship
The Important Role of Data
Identifying Prospects for Planned Giving
3-Year Strategic Stewardship Planning
Resources

4. © 2017 Blackbaud
The Fundraising Continuum
Prospect
Pool
Identification
Prospect
Qualification
Successful
Cultivation
Timely &
Relevant
Solicitation
Reactive
Stewardship

5. © 2017 Blackbaud
Why do these challenges
present themselves?

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Unique Stewardship Challenges for Planned Giving
Often anonymous
1:4 to 1:11 Known
No legal requirement to notify
End of life decision
Difficult to steward who we don’t know
Pervasive issue

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Historical Actions of Stewardship

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How do we change these
circumstances?

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The Planned Giving Fundraising Continuum
Prospect
Pool
Identification
Informed by
Stewardship
Strategic
Stewardship
w/ Prospect
Qualification
Strategic
Stewardship
w/
Successful
Cultivation
Strategic
Stewardship
w/ Timely &
Relevant
Solicitation
Strategic &
Reactive
Stewardship

10. © 2017 Blackbaud10
Strategic Stewardship

11. © 2017 Blackbaud11
Strategic
Stewardship
 Data
 Analytics
 Financial Resources
 Application
Check List

12. © 2017 Blackbaud
It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.
Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories,
instead of theories to suit facts.
- Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes
Data You Need

13. © 2017 Blackbaud
Not All Data is Created Equal

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Planned Giving: Predictive Data
Giving
patterns
Income
Affiliation
Philanthropic
gifts
Political gifts
Demographic
lifestyle codes
Financial &
consumer habits
14

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Planned Giving: Not Predictive or Unavailable Data
Gift
Amount
Gift trajectory
Age
Gender
Childlessness
Self-reported
contact information
First estate
planning action
15

16. © 2017 Blackbaud
Without data analytics, companies are blind and deaf,
wandering out… like deer on a freeway.
- Geoffrey Moore, Author of Crossing the Chasm &
Inside the Tornado
Analytics You Should Conduct

17. © 2017 Blackbaud
Start by Understanding the Value of Planned Giving Revenue
17
$1,115,000
$1,105,000
$1,760,000
$985,000
$245,000
$185,000
$565,000
$750,000

18. © 2017 Blackbaud
Showing the Value Concept
3 Dimensions of PG
Revocable Gifts
Irrevocable Gifts
Cash from Bequests, Lifetime &
Testamentary Pledges
Track and report
Shows the TRUE VALUE of your planned giving
efforts
 Development managers like it
 Finance office gets it
 Board / Trustees begin to embrace it
 Donor want it
Start with 3 Dimensions of Planned Giving
 GIFT TYPE codes in your CRM
Source: Planned Giving in the Big Picture: Talking About Your Numbers to the People Who Count

19. © 2017 Blackbaud
Create a Planned Giving Inventory
Known Expectancies
Open Estates
Life Insurance Policies
Endowments*
Testamentary Pledges
Charitable Remainder
Trusts
Gift Annuities
EXAMPLE: AS OF JUNE 30, 2016; $28,676,000
Source: Planned Giving in the Big Picture: Talking About Your Numbers to the People Who Count

20. © 2017 Blackbaud
Visually Chart the 3 Dimensions of PG Comparison
Illuminates visual and
historical TRENDS*
Demonstrates how new
known expectancies can
greatly EXCEED completed
bequests
Shows the ROLE each type
of gift plays in your
fundraising program
Could also add categories
by MGO, PGO, Unit,
Department or geographic
region
* Read the referenced article for more on the this chart and it’s contents
Cash or Equivalents, Life Income Gifts
& Commitments

21. © 2017 Blackbaud
When it comes to some things
you have to look at the quality,
and not the quantity
— A guy named Rehn Williams
The Value Concept for Stewardship

22. © 2017 Blackbaud
Gift Size Chart as Support for
Increased Stewardship Resources
TIME
$DOLLARS
ACTIVITY
Go where the need is most
demonstrated
Are you demonstrating the need?
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
PP
P
Gifts of
$100,000+
$48,000,000
40% were
PLANNED GIFTS
Gifts of $10,000-$100,000
$14,000,000
18% were PLANNED GIFTS
All Other Gifts
$13,000,000
17% were PLANNED GIFTS

23. © 2017 Blackbaud
If you do not know how to ask the right question,
you discover nothing.
- W. Edwards Deming, The Father of the Quality Evolution
More Analytics You Should Conduct

24. © 2017 Blackbaud
Identifying Planned Gift Prospects
15%
Prospect
Research & Data
Mining
Apply Study Results
Self-identification
Predictive Donor Models

25. © 2017 Blackbaud
Data Needed
Constituency and affiliation codes
Additional Data
None
Application
All board and committee members, volunteers, professional staff,
natural affiliations like engaged alumni, patients, donors,
members, parents, etc., age >= 50
Drawbacks
Everyone looks the based on a single constituency or affiliation
code. Ignores data predictive to planned gifts. Wastes marketing
budget and staff time on unqualified and disinterested individuals.
Simple Identification: Affiliation
40% of database
Uses connection to your organization
and no prospect research
CASTS TOO LARGE OF A NET

26. © 2017 Blackbaud
Uses past giving to your organization
and minimal prospect research
LEAST EFFECTIVE METHOD
Data Needed
Giving history, gift amount
Additional Data
Age, income, asset-holdings, liquidity estimate
Application
BEQUESTS - Gifts in past 5 years, income >= $60K, age >= 50
CGA – No gifts in past 3 years, but giving for at least 5 years prior,
liquid assets $100,000-$1 mill, age >= 65
CRT – Gifts in past 5 years, one gift $1,000+ in the past 10 years,
assets of >= $1 mill, age 50 -70
Drawbacks
Ignores younger prospects/current non-donors, as well as hidden
wealth - inheritance, private wealth, retirees and professionals.
2% of database
Simple Identification: RFM + Wealth Factors

27. © 2017 Blackbaud
15% of database
Strategic Identification: Analytics
Uses learned characteristics of planned
gift donors informed by past giving and
affiliation to your organization
MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD
Data Needed
Planned gift notification date, giving history, affiliation
Additional Data (supplied by a vendor)
1,000-10,000+ consumer traits, demographic, marketing habits,
financial and affluence characteristics
Application
PLANNED GIFTS (COMBINED), BEQUESTS, CGA, CRT –
apply a score provided through analytic modeling which takes into
account RFM, Affiliation and Wealth factors in its result
Drawbacks
Is most expensive method; not conducted internally; small
learning curve in understanding the results – yet provides a
highly strategic analysis to your entire data pool and doesn’t
ignore any record in its analysis

28. © 2017 Blackbaud
Make Identification a Progression Toward
Increased Use of Data
Data in CRM
• Giving history
• Loyalty
• Affiliation
• Begin collecting
more data
Purchase Data
• Income
• Charitable giving
indicator
• Lifestyle/stage
code
Analytic Models
• Provide data to
vendor
• Use your
collected data for
segmentation &
marketing
refinement

29. © 2017 Blackbaud
Life may take you to where you least expected,
but have faith that you are exactly where you
need to be
— Unknown
Use Donor Expectations to Guide Stewardship

30. © 2017 Blackbaud
Motivators for Giving De-motivators for Giving
Donors want to make a difference, see real
impact, understand the RETURN ON
INVESTMENT of their gifts
Organization is ACCOUNTABLE for its
results
PASSION for our mission - varies by
income range
> $100,000 Those with more should help
$50,000-$100,000 Make the world better
< $50,000 Meet basic needs
Because of how I was TREATED…
From not being thanked…
To getting an avalanche of needy appeals
Didn’t do what you SAID you would do
Not accountable
Donor FATIGUE

31. © 2017 Blackbaud
Donor’s Expectations for Stewardship

32. © 2017 Blackbaud
The Planned Giving Fundraising Continuum
Prospect
Pool
Identification
Informed by
Stewardship
Strategic
Stewardship
w/ Prospect
Qualification
Strategic
Stewardship
w/
Successful
Cultivation
Strategic
Stewardship
w/ Timely &
Relevant
Solicitation
Strategic &
Reactive
Stewardship

33. © 2017 Blackbaud
?Wouldn’t this
information also
INTEREST…
PERSPECTIVE
planned gift
donors?

34. © 2017 Blackbaud
The master of the garden is the one who waters it,
trims the branches, plants the seeds, and pulls the
weeds. If you merely stroll through the garden,
you are but an acolyte.
— Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration
Pervasive Stewardship

35. © 2017 Blackbaud
Stewardship’s Role in Garnering Planned Gifts
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
PP
P
Planned gifts ARE major gifts
Treat known and potential planned gift prospects
AS major donors
They are!

36. © 2017 Blackbaud
Strategic Stewardship is Proactive Stewardship
Understand the motivators and de-motivators
for giving
Determine who your most PROBABLE
planned gift donors are
Meet the EXPECTATIONS of your donors
even if you don’t know who they are yet!
Provide STEWARDSHIP activity NOW, as if
they’ve already made a planned gift…. MANY OF THEM ALREADY HAVE!

37. © 2017 Blackbaud
Stewardship as an Institutional Priority

38. © 2017 Blackbaud
Become part of the STEWARDSHIP DISCUSSION at your organization
Donors have already told you what they want….
 Current gifts acknowledged in a very TIMELY manner
 Language that shows a SINCERE appreciation
 ACCOUNTABILITY on how donations are being used
 ACCESS to leadership
 The ability to engage in TWO-WAY contact
 Periodic REPORTS on what and how the organization is doing
Everyday Stewardship Checklist

39. © 2017 Blackbaud
 Acknowledgement letter
 WELCOME packets
 Special notes
 Recognition gifts
 Opportunities to INTERACT
 Annual event
Stewardship Checklist for Known Planned Gifts
REACTIVE
STEWARDSHIP

40. © 2017 Blackbaud
 Access to acknowledgement
 SPECIFIC impact examples
 Special reports
 Opportunities to INTERACT
 Advanced notices
 Things that show TREATMENT of others
Stewardship Checklist for Planned Gift Prospect Pool
PROACTIVE
STEWARDSHIP

41. © 2017 Blackbaud
Check List: Strategic Stewardship
Data Quality Data-Keeper Data Collection Data Purchase
Identification Method Prospect Engagement Plan 3-5 Year Focus Tracking & Reporting
Repeat Every 2-3 Years

42. © 2017 Blackbaud
Progression toward INCREASED use of data
3-Year Strategic Stewardship Planning
Start 2017 2018 2019 Add 2017 2018 2019 Full-On! 2017 2018 2019
Stewardship
Written stewardship
plan - Proactive 
Purchase
identification
data

Written
stewardship plan
- Proactive

Dedicated
stewardship budget -
Reactive

Inclusion in
organizational
stewardship
communicatio
ns

Dedicated
stewardship
budget -
Proactive

Access to executive
level communications 
Planned
giving
stewardship
video(s)

Work with
analytics vendor
to identify
prospect pool

Organizational data
review (what’s
available?)

Legend
Completed 
To Do 

43. © 2017 Blackbaud
Real recognition [thus stewardship] is not something you do at certain intervals
in your relationship with donors, nor is it a momentary thing.
It is pervasive.
[Stewardship] is between the lines in the newsletters you write, it is in the tone
of your voice, it is in the welcoming handshakes of the members of your board.
[Stewardship] is inseparable from the people who give it.
- Penelope Burk, Donor Centered Fundraising
Think about Stewardship All the Time
Think About Stewardship All the Time

44. © 2017 Blackbaud
Emlen, Julia, Intentional Stewardship: Bringing Your Donors to Their Highest Level of Philanthropy, CASE 2007
MarketSmart, 3-to-1 Major Gift Fundraising Pad, (request free pad) http://imarketsmart.com/get-started-with-3-to-1-major-
gifts-fundraising/
MiniMatters, sample thank you/stewardship videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL30C895F6055CDEEA
PG Calc, https://www.pgcalc.com/software/bequest-manager.htm (45-day free software trial) Bequest Manager software
Samers, William & Meyers, Steven, Planned Giving in the Big Picture: Talking About Your Numbers to the People Who
Count, http://www.pgdc.com/ncpgarticle/planned-giving-big-picture-talking-about-your-numbers-people-who-count (free
account to PGDC is required)
SmartGiving, Good to Great: Donor Stewardship Makes the Difference, http://www.smart-
giving.com/plannedgivingblogger/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Good-to-Great-Stewardship-Makes-the-Difference.pdf
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, Understanding Donors’ Motivations, http://www.smart-
giving.com/plannedgivingblogger/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Understanding-Donor-Motivations.pdf
Weissman, Jerry, Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Pearson Education, Inc. 2009 (updated and expanded
2012)
References

45. © 2017 Blackbaud
Questions, Comments & Contact Information
katherine.swank@blackbaud.com
843.670.7278 (Mountain Time Zone)
@KatherineSwank
linkedin.com/in/katherineswank
For more information, resources and conversations, visit:
targetcommunity.blackbaud.com (conversational community on analytics, data
and research)
npEngage.com (Blackbaud Experts blogspot)
blackbaud.com/research (Industry research & reports)
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