Building PGTS Relationships During Social Distancing
All challenges come with new opportunities and every dark cloud has a majestic top side where the sun shines bright. So, in these challenging times of global pandemic how can North American Division (NAD) Planned Giving & Trust Services (PGTS) departments take these COVID-19 lemons and make lemonade? We have a few suggestions below!
Most likely your office has gone virtual and you find yourself working from home, isolated from everyone else when a key component of your job is meeting with people. Keep in mind many others are in the same circumstance and, if people are at home, they should be available to be contacted by PGTS office staff. If you are using your smartphone it may not cost anything but your time. Time is what most people have an abundant supply of during this novel Coronavirus pandemic.
Prayer is always needed and appreciated during a time of crisis. Checking on your members/donors during this time of emergency, offering them hope and offering to pray with them could go a long way toward building a stronger relationship between your organization and your members/donors.
What about those appointments you are no longer able to make in person? Video conferencing may be an effective alternative. There are many of these services that you may use for free, i.e., Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet. Search for VIDEO CONFERENCE CLIENTS for a complete list. Some of your members/donors may be reluctant to use this technology, but if you gently encourage them, and help them with any technical difficulties, they may find it exciting to try something new.
Some of your hourly personnel may have difficulty accessing your office data since they have not been allowed to work from home in the past and may not have access to your electronic files via a Virtual Private Network (VPN). If they have a smartphone with unlimited talk minutes, they could be making short calls to your members/donors who may be isolated because of social distancing. Office staff, as well as directors, could also take the time to hand write some letters to your members/donors. Nothing shows a personal touch like a handwritten letter, and while we are all stuck in our homes you can be sure the letters will be read. Whatever you decide to do make sure you have the approval of your Human Resources Director for any work that is being completed by hourly employees while at home.
During this period of crisis many families may be thinking of planning their estates. Social distancing may make this an opportune time to make a plan to provide for their families. Letting your constituents know about online tools that will help them plan for their families while isolated at home may spur them to start the process. If you do not have these online planning tools available on your website you may offer a link to the new United States PGTS website https://willplan.giftlegacy.com/?pageID=99&destPageID=wills that provides a secure, free, online estate planner.
Along with not being able to meet with your members/donors one on one you may also find yourself canceling educational seminars. Zoom offers the ability to create webinars that can take the place of these seminars and answer questions that families may have during this time of uncertainty. You could work with a local church and send out a meeting link to their church members, then record the webinar and place on their social media sites or your own website as an on-demand webinar.
Most Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) organizations are communicating with their members/donors online during this global pandemic. Making PGTS a part of this online communication from your organization could provide a helpful service and build relationships with members/donors.
Let’s pray that God will use this crisis for something good, stay positive and provide a needed point of contact during this time of isolation to our members/donors. PGTS can still make a positive impact in the lives of our members/donors during this crisis.