The PGM Blog

The largest piece of tax reform since the Reagan administration has been passed and signed by the President. In it, you'll find laws that impact nonprofit fundraising. The real impact from the tax-law changes have yet to be seen, but all of us in the nonprofit world...

Last evening, a client called to let us know about a large planned gift they had closed--a $250,000 gift annuity. It was from from a donor with lifetime giving of $7,200.  Read that again. A guy who graduated more than 60 years ago, and who averaged $120 in giving per...

Thank you, Planned Giving Council of Greater Philadelphia and Malvern Prep for the compliments in the current edition of the PGCGP email newsletter. We’re thrilled the planned giving newsletter is helping Malvern Prep reach its goals!Have you ever sent out a planned...

Free gifts can be seen as suspect in any context, because the concept of fairness is at the core of all human interaction. “You want me to do something for you – what’s in it for me?” Quid pro quo. Tit for Tat. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours … Like it or not,...

It's easy to find technology companies claiming print is dead. But the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) reports print response rates outperform digital. Yet some fundraising marketing experts continue to tout technology-based marketing automation solutions. And...

Serial entrepreneur, international speaker, and soon-to-be published author, Andrew Rosenstein, popped into my office yesterday to show me the outline of his work in progress, “Understanding the Drive of a Rising Generation.” You probably have never heard of Andrew,...

This blog focuses on our primary business, planned giving marketing. But to diversify our subject matter and help fundraisers, we like to feature the work of our friends and colleagues in the community. Please join me in welcoming today’s guest author, Sarah Tedesco....

As a fundraiser, you always feel the pressure to find more planned gifts. Hopefully, this secret will help you connect to more donors and build your planned giving program. An experienced major and planned giving officer called me the other day. He was preparing for a...

As a fundraiser, you know the power of two small words “thank you.” Thank you is an acknowledgement of connection, a humble appreciation of a partnership. These words are always powerful, but sometimes, they are actually prophetic! That's the case of this 2009...

Do you absolutely LOVE to write donor stories? We didn’t think so.  But, as a successful fundraiser,  you understand how powerful a donor story can be to your planned giving program. If you're not working with Planned Giving Marketing yet (who would write a powerful,...