2. 1. Overview / Getting Started 2. Best Practices 3. What Works

3. Overview / Getting Started

4.  The Basics – before you begin marketing…  Follow American Council on Gift Annuities (ACGA) Guidelines and Best Practices  www.acga-web.org/

5.  State registrations  Set minimum ages & gift amounts  Consider maximums if you are JUST starting  Have an updated Gift Acceptance Policy  Make sure Legal, Finance and the Organization are all on board and aware of the liabilities

6.  CGAs are NOT bequests  More transactional  Common to have more than one  Many establish CGAs as an alternative to CDs  CGAs are a “gateway gift”

7.  Specific mailings  Ads in newsletters/magazine/e-newsletter  Articles in newsletters (donor profiles, tips, etc.)  Flyers/buck slips with acknowledgements or other mailings  Emails  Social media

8.  When is the best time to market CGAs?  Year-round – consistency and frequency is important, never know when a CD might mature  April & November – tax time  In a good economy – depending on your budget, consider mailing or increasing quantities during strengthening stock and real estate market  When tax laws change, or when donors are thinking about money and taxes  When rates change

9.  Keep it simple  Would you like to increase income?  Receive a tax donation?  AND support your favorite charity?

10.  Having any ad is better than no ad

11.  Having a donor-featured ad is better than a text-only ad (postcard, etc.)

12.  Have a donor-featured ad with a reply/return is best  Privacy is key

13.  Create a basic flyer to send in response to requests  Visits – leave behind, or Send as a follow-up

14.  Basic outline flyer

15.  Application form Feels “official” Cuts down on age “mistakes” Ready to go when the donor is ready

16. Best Practices

17.  Step 1: Know Your Audience  Look at all these features of CGA donors in several slices: Nationally, For Similar Institutions, For Your Institution Specifically (Use ACGA’s Survey of Charitable Gift Annuities)

18.  Demographics of CGA donors (age range, sex, couples, families, DGA/FDGA)  Volunteers  Consider targeting by age – starting no earlier than 60

19.  Giving History  Loyal donors (have been giving for several years)  Current bequest donors  People who’ve already inquired about any type of planned gift  Motivation for making a gift

20.  Step 2: Know your Goal – match your marketing efforts to your goal e.g. New program needs volume/Older program needs younger donors/gift sizes depending on your existing pool Hint: Smaller budgets will need to focus on the highest chance for success

21.  Step 3: Use Your Audience Demographics and Goals to Target Your Efforts  Feature an existing donor who is similar to your audience  Wide-reach: magazine/newsletter ads  More Targeted: specific postcards or e- mail/direct mail to appropriate age range/giving history  Most Targeted: Individual letters to prospects and existing annuitants

25.  Step 4: Manage Expectations  CGAs just don’t appeal to as wide a range of people as annual fund gifts or even bequests. Recognize that your response rate will reflect this.

26.  Goal of marketing is to start the conversation, not close the gift – each lead is valuable. These are all major gift prospects.

27. What Works

28.  What do I say in my marketing materials?  It’s about bringing in the inquiries, not the gifts. Keep it simple!

29.  Share your mission – it is important to approach this as a gift, not an investment. Why do donors choose your mission?  Share the benefits and the mission: Create income for today and a legacy for tomorrow.

31.  Thank you messages work!  Working with major gifts: “Enhance Your Impact”  Repeat, repeat – Over time and through different vehicles

33.  How do I want them to respond?  Include a reply device (avoid postcard responses)  Prominently provide other ways to contact you  Send them online (back to privacy)  Track your success

35.  Marketing CGAs Online (email, e-newsletter, social media):  Call to action: Contact Us!  Have an updated rate chart  Email: time with mailings Consider leading with a donor story Try including rate chart Could personalize based on their age range.

36.  Organization e-newsletter: donor story or advertisement  Social media: depends on the organization  Video

37.  What Doesn’t Work:  Oversharing - Too much copy (emphasize mission through photos)  Small font  Bad photos (hazy, bad lighting, unflattering)  Promoting legacy club/society as motivator  Promises of “guaranteed” income  Sounding like a financial institution

43.  Nicole Engdahl  Special Olympics Nengdahl@Specialolympics.org  Meg Roberts  The George Washington University Mroberts@Gwu.edu  Stacy Raine  The Nature Conservancy Sraine@Tnc.org