The top of the Donor PyramidHow to build personal relationships for bequests,

major gifts and trusts and foundations.

Evelyn Mason Speaker Name

Organisation

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Learning ObjectivesDonor PyramidDonor DevelopmentDonor CultivationPhilanthropyMotivations for Giving

– Major Gifters– Bequestors– Trusts and Foundations

Exploring donor’s visionsMeeting donor’s needsWhat do donors consciously want?

The top of the donor pyramid

Who is there?

Bequest Pledgers

Big givers

Trusts & Foundation

Donor Developmentthe 5 I’s

Cultivation

$

Investment

Involvement

Interest

Information

Identification

The real challenge is to move donors from

Interest

to

Involvement

to

Investment

Cultivation Activities

• Thank donors often

• Get to know them personally – visit & phone

• Invite them to special events

• Host an open house/come-see-tours

• Provide volunteer opportunities

Cultivating Activities

• Recruit to serve on committees, task forces

• Ask their advice - focus groups, advisory councils

• Invite to participate in conferences, seminars

• Make sure they know the CEO and Board

• Report back to them.

Cultivating Activities• Meet with your donors face-to-face once a year and ask for their feedback.

– Spend 80% of the time listening and only 20% talking.

– Ask what advice they have for you.

– Find out how you could be doing a better job of telling your story in the community.

– Share some of the challenges your organisation is facing.

– Let your hair down a bit.

• Host a small-group "CEO Golden Hour" lunch for no more than ten major donors at a time.

– Follow up afterwards to see if they have more ideas for you—and if they have anyone else to send your way.

– Again, spend 80% of the time listening and only 20% talking.

• Have your CEO send out an e-mail to all of your top supporters every month.

– It needs to be more like a personal e-mail “Christmas letter" you would send a family member or close friend updating them on your life.

How much cultivation is required for

the gifts you need?

There are three types of organisational gifts.

Current/operational tied to calendar 100% asking

Capital/project tied to special gifts 50% cultivation + 50% asking

Bequest/ultimate tied to needs of 90% cultivation + 10% asking

the individual

Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners

What do we really want to achieve by all these cultivation activities?

An exchange of values that meets the needs of the donor and advances the mission of the

organisation.

In other words:

True philanthropy is the process of

matching a donor’s vision

with the vision of the organisation

to satisfy the needs of both.

Philanthropy

Based on shared vision & values to

meet specific needs

Development

Uncovers shared values

Fundraising

Gives people an opportunity to act according to their

values.

Kay Sprinkel Grace FIA Conference 2003

How do we build a philanthropic culture?

Build relationships - cultivation

Understand motivations for giving

Explore donor’s vision

Explore donor’s needs

Meet and exceed donor’s expectations

What motivates donors to make a major gift?

VOTINGTo download the app:• To download the app on any smartphone or tablet - enter

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To access the poll:• go to "Program" tab• Then select the "The top of the donor pyramid. How to build personal

relationships for bequests, major gifts, trusts and foundations" session.• Click on "Join live poll".• You can then select your (NUMBER OF SELECTIONS) then click "submit"

What is it that motivates Donors to Give Major Gifts?

1. Community Responsibility and Civic pride2. Tax considerations - deductibility of gifts3. Regard for Volunteer Leadership of the

institution4. Is actually involved in Fundraising program5. Serves on the Board of Trustees, a Major Gift

Committee, or other Official Body of the institution

Motivations continued

6. Has an adult history of being involved in the institution7. Recognition of gift8. Was involved at one time in the activity of the institution – personal benefit9. Memorial benefit (ongoing personal or family)10. Respect for institution Locally11. Respect for institution in a wider circle –Regional, State, National, Global

Motivations continued

12.Religious or Spiritual Affiliations with the institution

13.Great interest in a Specific program within the campaign

14.To match a gift or gifts made by others

15.To Challenge or Encourage other gifts

16.The Uniqueness of the project or the institution

17.The Appeal and Drama of the Campaign Material requesting a gift

Motivations continued

18. Fiscal Stability of the Institution

19. Feelings of Guilt

20. Regard for Staff Leadership of the institution

21. Leverage of Influential Solicitor (person seeking the gift)

22. Belief in the Mission of the institution

VOTE NOW

http://manage.eventmobi.com/en/ars/results/question/7315/144249/313beec26ab363e59883ce43ec10b78a/

Total Responses

1. Belief in the Mission of the institution

2. Great interest in a Specific Program within the campaign

3. tied...

Equal Third

• Is actually involved in Fundraising program

• Serves on the Board of Trustees, a Major Gift Committee, or other Official Body of the institution

• Memorial benefit (ongoing personal or family)

• Respect for institution Locally

$1 Million Givers

1. Belief in Mission

2. Community responsibility and civic pride

3. Equal

Fiscal stability of the institution

And

Regard for Staff Leadership of the institution

What is it that motivates donors to give major gifts?

Jerold Panas

Mega Gifts- who gives them, who gets them

Bonus Books Inc.

What is it that motivates donors to leave a bequest in their Wills?

QUT Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Non-profit Studies (CPNS)Keep Giving Going - Charitable Bequests and Australians

https://wiki.qut.edu.au/display/CPNS/Keeping+Giving+Going

November 2008By Dr Kym Madden and Dr Wendy Scaife

Motivations for leaving a bequest

• Their family was already adequately provided for

• They had no family to provide for

and

The likelihood of leaving a bequest also jumped amongst those who agreed that:

• The charity performance was vital - e.g. looked for charities that were well managed and got results

• Benefactors believed in reciprocity or giving back

• And there was a desire to help those in need into the future

Psychology & Marketing by Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang

Bequest gifts are motivated by a variety of factors:

• a lack of family need • a need to live on • a desire to make a difference to a cause• reciprocity• spite

The most important

motivating factor is...

USA study

The most significant demographic predictor of charitable estate planning is the absence of

children.

James, R. N., III. (2009a)

Health, wealth, and charitable estate planning: A longitudinal examination of testamentary charitable giving plans.

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(6), 1026‐1043.

Health and Retirement Study (HRS)

Cross-sectional probit analysis of the 2006 HRS and longitudinal conditional fixed-effects logistic analysis of the 1995-2006 HRS indicated that charitable estate planning was positively associated with age, wealth, education, religious attendance, volunteering, charitable giving, and the absence of children or grandchildren.

In all specifications, the absence of children was a dominant predictor of charitable estate planning.

An Australian Reality Check

Dr Christopher Baker’s research

Encouraging Charitable Bequests by Australians

Swinburne Business School

Asia‐Pacific Centre for Social Investment & PhilanthropyFebruary 2014

www.swinburn.edu.au/business/philanthropy/research/reports.htm

DatasetNational review in 2012 calendar year (with the exception that in Queensland the files accessed were processed in 2010).

Segments

• 3793 total valid probated files studied = 5%

• 373 intestate estates

• 738 first estates (willed estate, with surviving spouse)

• 2661 final estates (willed estate, without surviving spouse)

Relevant Results - Motivation

The participation rate in charitable bequest giving for:

• All wills was 6.5%.

• First estates (with a surviving spouse) was 3.8%

• Final estates (with a will and without a surviving spouse) was 7.6%

But the greatest issue is...

Having children limits gifts in wills.

Only 4.5% of final estates with a surviving child or children included a charitable bequest compared

with over 30% without.

Dr Christopher Baker

What is it that motivates Trusts & Foundations to support your NFP?

Grantseekers Budget Toolkit

by James Aaron Quick and Cheryl Carter New

Motivations for T&F• Alignment between T&F and the NFP• They are looking for targeted investment• They want to fund a project that offers a potential

solution to a problem• They want you to persuade them that your project is

the best investment they can make• They want you to show them that you are business like

(not pulling heartstrings) and have a very good chance at solving that problem

Motivations for T&F

They want to see that your project can demonstrate measureable outcomes.

T&F Workshop advertisement...• Kim Thomas, program officer at Meyer Memorial Trust, who will explain

why she doesn’t want nonprofits to convince her their work fits her funding priorities. Instead she wants groups to educate her about how a grant will position their organization for greater impact.

• You’ll also hear from proposal-writing expert Michael Wells who will stress the importance of planning before writing. He’ll share two planning exercises you can use to ensure your project or program is as well thought-out as possible, to gauge a grant’s impact on your organization, and to convey the long-term sustainability of your project.

2005 Contributions - Australia: $11.4 Billion By Source of Contributions

Source: Giving in Australia report 2005: A Philanthropy

Australia Fact Sheet

Foundation, $0.50B

4% Corporate,

$3.20B28%

Individual, $7.70B

68%

5%8%

15%

72%

Giving USA 2013$335.17 billion

Corporates

Bequests

Foundations

Individuals

How do we build a philanthropic culture?

Explore donor’s vision

Explore donor’s needs

Meet and exceed donor’s expectations

Explore donor’s visionAsk open ended questions

• Get them to speak 80% of the time.

• Ask donors to talk about and identify the history and roots of their giving philosophy.

• "Did your parents participate and engage in civic and community life?" "What did that look like?" "What values have you carried on in your own life?"

• Perhaps their approach to money traces back to childhood. "Did you receive any lessons about money as a young person that stick with you today?"

• Another good question is, "What keeps you up at night?" In other words, what does the donor really care about? Is it the environment, their community, youth? What is it about those issues that compel them?

• As you begin to paint the picture of the donor's giving priorities, ask "How do you see yourself contributing to that issue? Is it with your time, ideas, relationships, voice or money?"

Listening the gift!

• The key here is that you are not telling them why they should give to your organisation.

• You are asking them why they give to any organisation, then which ones in particular, and why some concerns stand out as priorities in their minds.

How do we build a philanthropic culture?

Explore donor’s needs – conscious and unconscious needs

Meet and exceed donor’s expectations

What do donor’s consciously want from you?

• Donors want you to do something that creates measurable impact

• Donors want to hear from you and communication with you in ways that are akin to their preferences, not yours

• Donors want to be connected to the difference they are making

• Donors want to feel appreciated and know that they matter to you

• Donors want access to the key leaders, whether that be one-on-one, special speaking events or Q&A sessions, or through electronic media

• Donors want it to be easy for them to give when and how they want to give

• Donors want to be reassured regularly that they made the right decision when they decided to invest in you.

Unconscious needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

You will have to meet the donor’s needs

As with Maslow’s hierarchy

• Make them feel loved

• Make them feel valued

• Make them feel fulfilled

How do we build a philanthropic culture?

Meet and exceed donor’s expectations

This takes time and costs money

Everyone must be involved.

What do all these things have in common?

Donors seek personal relationships

You aren't just pushing buttons and getting revenue.

You're interacting with people's hearts and minds.

Heart and Mind

Donors don’t give to institutions. They invest in ideas and people in whom they believe.

G.T. Smith

In good times and bad, we know that people give because you meet needs, not because you

have needs.Kay Sprinkel Grace

Questions