In September and October of 2018, I spent time riding on a bus with colleagues from the General Conference office building. During this time of travel, I was able to get to know many people who I was acquainted with but had not taken the time to really get to know. I found these colleagues to be very nice people who love God, are committed to serving Jesus and want to see Jesus come very soon. With all that was on my to-do list I could have easily said I was too busy for these bus trips, but because of the relationships that were developed I’m glad I took the time out of the office. It was time well spent!
Planned Giving & Trust Services is a very busy ministry where we strive to get everything done for our donors while following all the policies and standards. So, with all we must do how can we leverage our time to get to know the passions and priorities of our donors? Just like all our other priorities we need to put it in our schedule.
Deciding on the amount of time to spend on building relationships is a good place to begin. Designating only five percent of your time, or about two hours a week, could be a good starting point.
I attended the East Coast PlannedGiving.Com conference recently and one of the breakout sessions presented ideas on how to build relationships and steward our donors better. It was taught by John Zabinski, the director of Planned Giving for Rowan University with their main campus in Glassboro, NJ. The following are the points that John focused on.
Stewardship in the context of Planned Giving is expressing thanks to past donors and demonstrating effective use of their donation by your organization. This is how donor trust is built, which leads to greater support for the mission of your organization.
Planned Giving is a ministry of relationships. The goal is to build a relationship between the donor and the organization (not a single individual) based upon communication and trust.
Who needs to be contacted? Those who have previously contributed to your organization or included your organization in their final distribution.
How to make the time to contact donors?
- Block time on your calendar
- Prioritize which donors to call
- Create a systematic approach to calling on your portfolio of donors
- Utilize reports of previous contacts
- Use MS Outlook “Task” scheduler as a tickler system to remind you to call
- Utilize a tickler system to follow-up on the calls
Setting Call Dates:
- Birthdays or anniversaries (even anniversaries of a gift to your organization)
- Look at previous types of gifts that were given. Call in the fall those who have previously given a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). Call at the beginning of each year for those who already have a CGA with your organization to explore the possibility of a new CGA.
- Throughout the year make general thank you calls, and give an organizational progress report, to all donors who have not previously been contacted during the year.
The most important element to a successful contact is being organized before you call. Have in mind what you want to say during the call. It is best not to script your contact but have an outline of talking points that will remind you of your call’s objectives and still give you the flexibility to respond to the conversation of the donor. Know what the donor has done in the past with your organization. Seek to pray with your donor, being sure not to exert any undue influence such as praying that the Holy Spirit will move the donor to support only your organization.
Have a list of possible questions to ask:
- Tell me how you first got connected with our organization?
- What does “giving” mean to you?
- What are your ministry passions?
- How does “giving” align with your passions?
- What do you want your donations to our organization accomplish?
After the contact you will want to make notes in your database summarizing the conversation and send a follow-up email or letter. Be sure to include an informational Planned Giving brochure or fact sheet if it is warranted.
What could these contacts look like in your four- or five-day work week? Look at what you do on each day. Find the best time to make contacts. Perhaps you could schedule Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as your time for meeting with donors out of the office, attending meetings, responding to prospective donors who reply to your advertising, and other tasks. Monday and Friday then could be your days to prepare information and make the contacts. Many people use Friday to make their preparations for the next week and then make the contacts on Monday. You may have time while you are traveling also to make contacts. Remember, this need not take up too much of your time, an hour on Friday and an hour on Monday is all it should take.
It’s important to keep these contacts in perspective and use them as a tool for strengthening your relationship with your donor. These contacts are not meant to take the place of face to face visits, they are in addition to those visits. These contacts are NOT meant to pressure or manipulate your donor. You are seeking to thank them for their gifts to your organization, get to know them and respond to their questions. The donor should always be in control of the conversation.
“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, LOVE of what you are doing.” – Pele
May the Lord bless you and keep you as you embark on this wonderful ministry of relationships.