The Crescendo Blog
Read the Crescendo blog for the latest changes, ideas and trends impacting charitable gift planning and philanthropy. Our blog features a number of writers on topics that include planned gifts and major gifts marketing, technology, donor motivation, stewardship and giving trends. If you have comments about our articles, please share them on our blog pages.
Captivate & Engage Your Donor Audience
In today's digitally driven world, electronic newsletters have emerged as dynamic and versatile tools in the realm of planned giving and nonprofit engagement. They serve as vital communication bridges, connecting organizations with their supporters and nurturing relationships that extend beyond...
Full Article
Just Released: New Study Shows How Active Planned Giving Programs Beat Downward Giving Trends
Crescendo just released a new study based on a survey of 371 nonprofit organizations with active planned giving programs. The survey showed the fundraising results for these programs and the factors that made most of them successful over the last year.Some of the factors for successful programs...
Full Article
Importance of Highlighting Donor Stories
The importance of highlighting donor stories on your planned giving website is paramount. Whether your focus is planned giving, current giving or general fundraising, storytelling will always remain important. Effectively telling a donor’s story is one key aspect to consider when creating your...
Full Article
Giving USA's Results Don't Need to Be Yours. How to Raise More in 2023
The results of the recently released Giving USA report showed a 10.5% total giving decline (adjusted for inflation). While many organizations experienced a decline in fundraising last year, others saw real growth in donor giving. What made the difference for these organizations with higher...
Full Article
Inspiring the Next Generation: How to Engage Millennials and Gen Z in Planned Giving
There is a common misconception among fundraisers that your planned giving marketing should only focus on your older prospects. Fostering relationships early can help create sustainability for your organization by bringing a new wave of dedicated long-term donors. In this blog, we will explore the...
Full Article
Invaluable Annual Plans for Gift Planners
Do you have an annual plan for your gift planning initiative? Do you have structure for your marketing and stewardship activities? Does your gift planning operate spontaneously?An annual plan is not a goal setting plan or a wish list. It is an action plan. With this plan you have...
Full Article
Providing a Service to Your Donors
Every Nonprofit organization serves a specific purpose. Most detail their purpose through a mission statement that clearly articulates who they serve and why. Local nonprofits usually serve a specific community or region, while national nonprofits serve a large demographic. Both can make a strong...
Full Article
Enhance Your Planned Giving Website
A welcoming planned giving website with timely content is essential for organizations that want to encourage donors to make current and planned gifts. Your website should serve as a valuable resource intended to educate donors about the different ways they can give to your organization and equip...
Full Article
Why Form a Legacy Society?
A legacy society is an important step in securing a nonprofit's future. It allows an organization to build a deeper relationship with its donors and create a sense of community. It is also a way for a nonprofit to recognize the vital impact these donors have on their organization and mission. A...
Full Article
It's Law! How to Reach the Right Donor Profile for IRA-Funded CGAs and CRTs
The President has signed the government spending bill that authorizes IRA-funded legacy gifts. Now is the time to start talking with your donors and clients about this new giving opportunity.Overview of the New LawThe new law permits an IRA owner age 70½ or older to make a one-time...
Full Article
Becoming an Empowered Philanthropist: It's About Knowing Your Options
Periodically, I am given the opportunity to present the value of gift planning in front of an organization’s leadership. I love the “Aha!” moments that invariably happen when the room begins to internalize the implications of giving from wealth and not disposable income. Not only...
Full Article
Four Phases for Philanthropy Stewardship
Does your stewardship need a refresher? Your role as a philanthropy leader is to steward your interested donors into becoming your nonprofit champions. Champions are committed to your mission, to making a significant difference. Champions are priceless!Through your stewardship,...
Full Article
Five Questions When Cultivating Donors for Legacy Gifts
I have learned much in my time working with and supporting nonprofits in their fundraising. One thing that might hold truer than anything else is cultivating donors to make planned gifts generally takes time. Developing relationships, stewardship, decisions, execution and implementation does not...
Full Article
Stewarding your Donors Past the Finish Line
All too often the name of the game in fundraising is WE NEED MONEY NOW! This mentality forces development officers at many nonprofits to direct their attention towards current gifts, leaving long-term gifts including planned giving by the wayside. Despite pressing needs for cash, your nonprofit must...
Full Article
Marketing Matters for QCDs
A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a wonderful way for donors who are 70½ and older to make a gift from their IRA to support their favorite causes. While QCDs are a good gift for nonprofits to market year-round, they are even better to market near the end of the year since donors...
Full Article
Learning From the Policies and Practices of Mature Gift Annuity Programs
The American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) recently released the results of the 2021 Survey on Gift Annuities. Conducted every four years, the survey provides insight into gift annuity policies, practices and trends. This survey featured responses from 152 of the most mature gift annuity...
Full Article
Grow Your Legacy Community and Create Champions
When seeking to improve your planned giving program, focus first on putting together your game plan by creating two key moves management strategies: 1) a bequest marketing funnel, and 2) a legacy funnel. Yes, there are other important pieces to developing a planned giving program, but a clear game...
Full Article
Are Videos Popular for Gift Planning?
Everyone seems to be a fan of videos. Most of us have viewed videos for tutorials, breaking news or a musical concert. Videos can be informative, entertaining and engaging.Videos are also popular for gift planning. I hope the thought of including videos on your nonprofit website is being seriously...
Full Article
Waiting for Your Planned Giving Website to Launch?
When your planned giving website is ready to launch and you have access to all your outreach tools such as planned giving enewsletters, email blasts, surveys and more, hopefully you have a marketing plan in place. A plan allows you to set attainable goals and develop a schedule for planned giving...
Full Article
Two Tools to Connect with the Post Pandemic Donor
As we gradually turn the corner following the unforeseen events brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to adapt to the changing needs of your donor audience.We have all been affected by this ever-changing landscape, whether we are working from home, social distancing to aid our...
Full Article
With Changes in Donor Expectations Comes New Opportunities for Nonprofits
Seasoned gift planners have seen several technology-based paradigm shifts during their careers. In the 1980s, after personal computers became readily available, companies like Crescendo released gift planning donor illustration software, allowing gift planners to produce professional illustrations...
Full Article
New Year... New Ideas
As we turn the page on another unique and interesting year, we tend to ask ourselves a similar question. “What’s next?” What are we going to do this year that we didn’t do last year? How do we grow and mature? It is natural and beneficial to review and remember your successes...
Full Article
What Can Happen When Collecting Proceeds from IRA Custodians: An Interview with Kimberly Jetton
Receiving notification from a donor indicating she has left your organization as a beneficiary of her retirement plan can be an incredibly joyful moment. This news is often a cause for celebration, especially when such an anticipated gift could be used for an organization’s visionary...
Full Article
Inspiring Your Donors about IRA Gifts
Your donors have meaningful connections to your nonprofit mission and want to make a difference. Are you ready to help them give in easy ways? Has your organization marketed IRA Charitable Rollover gifts, also termed QCDs – qualified charitable distributions?The IRA Charitable...
Full Article
New Study: Key Takeaways from COVID-19
The world has changed and so has philanthropy. How has COVID-19 impacted fundraising for major and planned gifts? A new study just released by Crescendo shares stories and interviews of fundraisers, philanthropy consultants and donors during COVID-19. It also features some of the best practices seen...
Full Article
How Can I Measure the Success of our Planned Giving Program?
Have you felt like a deer in the headlights when your board or leadership asks you to report on the performance of your planned giving program? You are not alone. It is important to remember that planned giving is a long-range game. While it can be very helpful to consider how much money you have...
Full Article
Wrapping Up the Year with an End of Year Gifts Campaign
The new year is quickly approaching and what better way to wrap up your marketing efforts for 2021 than by starting an end of year gifts campaign. By using your website, social media, email and print materials, you can start planning early to maximize your available resources. Here are some tips on...
Full Article
Why Do I Need a Planned Giving Website?
Donors and prospects typically want to complete their due diligence and check out a nonprofit's planned giving website before making any decisions about a planned gift. Without a resourceful, educational and inspirational planned giving website in place, donors will miss out on learning why they...
Full Article
Social Engineering: Understanding the Importance of Cybersecurity
Email is not what it once was. In the past, we could receive an email from friends and family and not hesitate to open it. The joy of receiving an email from a loved one quickly turned into urgency as you raced to open it and see what they wrote. That feeling of trust and joy is exactly what...
Full Article
Charitable Giving from IRAs
There are many ways for donors to give to their favorite nonprofits. A donor may give an asset to a nonprofit as an outright gift during life. Some gifts, like charitable gift annuities, create a “split interest” and provide an income stream to the donor and the remainder to a...
Full Article
