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 impact and build awareness in different ways. Local nonprofits can appeal to not only those that they serve, but also the community around them. Larger, national nonprofits can have a broader outreach but require additional funding and planning. Depending on their mission, both can be very successful.
One thing that does not change, whether you operate on a local level or national, is the service that you provide to your donors. You are providing an especially valuable service when it comes to your planned giving donors. While you can help your donors create a life-changing gift, you are also giving your donor’s the opportunity to change many lives.
Relationships
A beautiful aspect to any nonprofit is the relationships they create by pulling together like-minded individuals and families to serve a similar cause. More often than not, many planned giving donors are looking to the next stage in life. Usually retired, they are looking to fill their newly acquired time with loved ones, friends and those that support the same cause they do. A legacy society is a great networking opportunity to expand their social outreach as well as professional relationships.
Passion
Whether it is a social, environmental, cultural or faith-based organization, local and national nonprofit organizations create passion for their donors. Donors are given the opportunity to stand up and support their favorite cause. Planned giving donors are given an even greater opportunity to invest their time, money and legacy into the mission they feel will impact their community or even the world. Most planned giving donors gain a sense of ownership to the mission; giving them a sense of responsibility to ensure that the mission they love remains strong.
Transparency
When donors give to their favorite nonprofit, they are confident knowing exactly where their donations are going. For a local nonprofit, sometimes they can see firsthand the impact in their community. For a larger nonprofit, they have the ability and resources to provide donors with details on how their donation impacted their cause.
Acknowledgment
All donors, especially planned giving donors, want to leave this world in a better place than they found it. Most donors like to be recognized for several reasons. The first reason is leadership, to lead by example. Acknowledgement allows others to see the type of impact their peers are making, and to instill in others the same passion they have. The second reason is reputation. Giving a gift to your favorite nonprofit shows your community, family and friends where your priorities lie. Third, is gratitude; everyone likes to feel appreciated. This is a tough world we live in; a simple thank you can change a donor’s day, week or year.
Security
Most local and national nonprofit organizations accept a variety of future gifts or planned gifts. This can be done through a donor’s estate, a trust, their retirement funds or other vehicles. Making a planned gift not only helps the security of the nonprofit, as these gifts can be quite large, but the security of the community at large. Both local and national nonprofit organizations can offer services to their donors by providing assistance in their estate plans, ensuring that the donor’s family is taken care of along with the mission.
Deductions
Maybe the most well-known benefit a nonprofit can provide to their donors are tax benefits. Nonprofit organizations are tax exempt, making any donation tax deductible for the donor. This allows the donor to continue to make an impact while also reducing their tax liability. Also, this gives the donor the sense that they are contributing their hard-earned income to a worthy cause rather than the IRS.
It is important to remember that every nonprofit’s unspoken purpose is to make future generations stronger than the ones before. The only way that is possible is by creating stronger, smarter, reliable and secure donors, creating champions for your mission.
We can help! For assistance with ways to serve your donors contact Crescendo.
