Smith College already had a robust and successful marketing program, delivering highly targeted, segmented, and personalized multi-channel communications with frequency and consistency. So how do you improve an already successful program?

Cast a wider net. While conventional wisdom suggests only a small segment of donors represent the bulk of planned giving opportunities, we learned that Smithees aren’t conventional. So, we tested the fringes of the planned giving prospect file to see how younger, less-frequent donors would respond.

Personalized Direct Mail, Reunion Campaigns, Gift Annuity Marketing

More leads and more gifts are coming from donors who previously weren’t included in the marketing. Younger alumnae are making gift commitments in response to reunion mailers versioned by class year. And less frequent donors are funding gift annuities in response to mailings with personalized gift illustrations.

When a millennial returned to his alma mater to work in the planned giving office, he noticed nobody was paying attention to his peers. Nearly all the marketing was focused on donors of a certain age.

Aware of several beneficiary designations from younger alumni, PGM profiled them for a series of postcards and display ads. The copy was derived from their testimonials with an emphasis on how easy it was to include Westminster in their plans.

Personalized Direct Mail, Reunion Campaigns, Gift Annuity Marketing

The campaign inspired not only the donors’ peers to step forward, but members of older generations, too. While commitments from younger donors won’t materialize for many years, they serve to build traction for the Thring Society and create more stewardship opportunities with these highly engaged donors.

French Hospital Medical Center tried an off-the-shelf solution with a generic design and edgy copy, but edgy didn’t resonate with their donors. No one responded. So, French turned to PGM for help.

French and PGM collaborated to create materials that leveraged the strength of the Dignity Health brand and celebrated their Legacy Circle members. The warm, authentic, voice of real donors served to inspire other members of their community to follow their lead.

Donor Profiles, Reply Mailers, Bequest Intention Mailers

Within days of the first mailing, the planned giving office was receiving new inquiries and bequest intentions. The same donors who had ignored “edgy” were responding to “authentic.”

United Church of Christ had a robust planned giving program at the national level and passed down literature and programming to their conferences and congregations. But we learned through surveying church leaders and congregants that national programs don’t always resonate at the local level.

Flip the script. Rather than making the national setting’s content and programming available to churches with the hope they’d use it locally, PGM worked with United Church Funds to develop content and programming that is dynamically customized for each church and ministry. Beginning with a PGMicrosite™ and a pastor’s portal, each participating church has an online presence with content and materials designed just for them.

PGMicrosites™, Custom Marketing Solutions

Congregants interested in making a planned gift have confidence in knowing they can discuss their intentions with their pastor or church’s designated planned giving representative, and direct their giving to the missions and ministries that matter to them most.