Talking Planned Giving: Words that Work
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Transcript of Talking Planned Giving: Words that Work
Words That WorkThe phrases that encourage planned giving
Theory
ActionResults
Results from 20 survey groups including nearly 10,000 total
participants collected during 2013 and 2014 with one goal:
To uncovering the messages and phrases that work to encourage planned giving
Philanthropy as synthetic family
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Theory
ActionResults
Philanthropy uses family bonding mechanisms
• Charitable giving is rewarding (like receiving money)
• But uniquely involves oxytocin-rich social attachment brain regions (used in maternal and romantic love)
“donating to societal causes recruited two types of reward systems: the VTA–striatum mesolimbic network, which also was involved in pure monetary rewards, and the subgenual area, which was specific for donations and plays key roles in social attachment and affiliative reward mechanisms in humans and other animals.” Moll, et al (2006) PNAS 103(42), p. 156234.
Increasing neuropeptide “oxytocin” – a family bonding hormone –increases giving
5Zak, P. J., Stanton, A. A., & Ahmadi, S. (2007). Oxytocin increases generosity in humans. PLoS ONE, 11, e1128
Philanthropy uses family bonding mechanisms
Human touch, when followed by a small gift, elevated oxytocin levels AND subsequent charitable giving
6
Morhenn, V. B., Park, J. W., Piper, E., Zak, P. J. (2008). Monetary sacrifice among strangers is mediated by endogenous oxytocin release after physical contact. Evolution and Human Behavior, 29, 375-383.
Philanthropy uses family bonding mechanisms
The strongest predictor of charitable bequest planning is childlessness
7James, R. N., III. (2009). Health, wealth, and charitable estate planning: A longitudinal examination of testamentary charitable giving plans. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(6), 1026-1043.
Charitable estate giving as “synthetic family”
8
Philanthropy is a “social act”
Charitable giving generated greater activation in brain reward centers (ventral
striatum) when observers were presentIzuma, K., Saito, D. N., & Sadato, N. (2010). Processing of the Incentive for Social Approval in the Ventral Striatum during Charitable Donation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22 (4), 621-631.
9
Philanthropy is a “social act”
Hare, T.A., Camerer, C. F., Knoepfle, D. T., O’Doherty, J.P., and Rangel, A. (2010) Value Computations in Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex during Charitable Decision Making Incorporate Input from Regions Involved in Social Cognition, The Journal of Neuroscience, 30(2), 583–590.
Neural valuation integrates inputs
from social cognition regions
Having empathy
with another
Understanding another’s
perspective Anterior InsulaPosterior Superior Temporal Cortex
Charitable giving is predicted by neural
valuation
Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex
Philanthropy as synthetic family
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Theory
ActionResults
Family words (simple language and life stories)
outperformformal words
(technical, contract, market terms)
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Results
Action
Theory
Market Realm
(exchange)I engage in
transactions by formal contract
Social/ family norms
encourage giving
Market/ contract
norms do not
Social Realm(identity)I help people
because of who I am
Market Realm
(exchange)I engage in
transactions by formal contract
Social Realm(identity)I help people
because of who I am
Use family
language Stories
and simple words
Avoid market
language Formal, legal, or contract
terms
Would you say it in a normal conversation with your grandmother?
Make a gift
where you get an immediate tax deduction, still control the
investment of the assets and receive income from the
investments for the rest of your life with anything left over going to
charity at your death.
where you get an immediate tax deduction, still control the
investment of the assets and receive income from the
investments for the rest of your life with anything left over going to
charity at your death.
Make a transfer of assets
Different groups rate their interest after receiving different descriptions
Does it make much difference?
Describing a CRT
Interested now Not now, but in future
Will never be interested
14%
54%
32%27%
53%
20%
TransferGiftMake a gift where you get an immediate tax deduction, still control the investment of the
assets and receive income from the investments for the rest of your life with anything left over going to charity at your death.
where you get an immediate tax deduction, still control the investment of the assets and receive income from the investments for the rest of your life with anything left over going to charity at your death.
Make a transfer of assets
2014 Survey (A/B)1,101 Respondents
Make a gift
and in exchange receive a guaranteed lifetime income from
the charity.
and in exchange receive a guaranteed lifetime income from
the charity.
Enter into a contract with a charity where
you transfer your cash or property
Does it make much difference?
Describing a CGA
Interested now Not now, but in future
Will never be interested
13%
44% 44%
29%
48%
23%
ContractGift Make a gift and in exchange receive a
guaranteed lifetime income from the charity
receive a guaranteed lifetime income from the charity
Enter into a contract with a charity where you transfer your cash or property and in exchange
2014 Survey (A/B)1,101 Respondents
Formal terms lower charitable interest
Interested Now
36%
22%
Will Never Be
Interested
14%
23%
2014 Survey, 1,417 Respondents, Group F/G
Get an immediate tax deduction and still receive income from your investments for the rest of
your life by making a gift where you control the investment of the assets, but anything left over
goes to charity at your death.
Get an immediate tax deduction and still receive income from your investments for the rest of
your life by making a gift
using a “Charitable Remainder Trust”
where you control the investment of the assets, but anything left over goes to charity at your
death.
Formal terms lower charitable interest
Interested Now
50%
23%
Will Never Be
Interested
8%
19%
2014 Survey, 1,418 Respondents, Group F/G
Receive a tax deduction and make a gift that pays you
income for life
Receive a tax deduction and make a gift that pays you
income for life called a “Charitable
Gift Annuity”
Formal terms lower charitable interest
Interested Now
26%
15%
Will Never Be
Interested
23%
30%
2014 Survey, 1,422 Respondents, Group F/G
Immediately receive a tax deduction for 70% of the value of a house or land by
making a charitable gift of the property, but keeping the right to use it for the
rest of your life.
Immediately receive a tax deduction for 70% of the value of a house or land by
making a charitable gift of the property, using a “Remainder
Interest Deed” but keeping the right to use it for the
rest of your life.
Interested Now
23%
12%
Will Never Be
Interested
12%
14%
2014 Survey, 1,246 Respondents, Groups D/E
Make a gift to charity in my will
Make a bequest gift to charity
Formal terms lower charitable interest
Usefamily words
(simple language and life stories)
not formal words (technical, contract, market terms)
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Action
Results
Theory
SOCIAL examples influence
charitable estate decisions
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Theory
Action
Results
Wanting to avoid thinking about mortality reminders may increase power of status quo/social norms
Avoidance
Johnson, E. J., & Goldstein, D. (2003). Do Defaults Save Lives? Science, 302, 1338-1339.
NationConsent to Donation
"Opt In" Consent
Denmark 4.25%Germany 12.00%
UK 17.17%Netherlands 27.50%
"Opt Out" Consent
Sweden 85.90%Belgium 98.00%Poland 99.50%
Portugal 99.64%France 99.91%
Hungary 99.97%Austria 99.98%
I don’t want to think about it
AVOIDANCE of contemplating mortality reminders may explain
influence of status quo/social norms in organ donation
3,000 testators in the normal process of completing their wills were randomly assigned to one of three groups
Many of our customers like to leave money to
charity in their will. Are there any causes you’re
passionate about?
Would you like to leave any money to charity in your will?
No reference to charity
Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team (2013) Applying behavioural insights to charitable giving
1 2 3
5.0%
10.4%
15.4%
Charitable bequests are influenced by a simple social example
Charitable plans among
1,000 testators
Charitable plans among
1,000 testators
Charitable plans among
1,000 testatorsMany of our customers like to leave money to
charity in their will. Are there any causes you’re
passionate about?
Would you like to leave any money to charity in your will?
No reference to charity
Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team (2013) Applying behavioural insights to charitable giving
The social example also increased the average amount of bequest gifts
Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team (2013) Applying behavioural insights to charitable giving
$5,610 $5,291
$11,333
No ask Simple Ask Social NormUsing £1=$1.70 exchange rate
Charitable plans among
1,000 testators
Charitable plans among
1,000 testators
Charitable plans among
1,000 testators
The social example dramatically increased total charitable dollars
Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team (2013) Applying behavioural insights to charitable giving
$280,500
$550,264
$1.75 million
No ask Simple Ask Social NormUsing £1=$1.70 exchange rate
among1,000 testators
among1,000 testators
among1,000 testators
The social norm increased charitable bequest intentions
Interested Now
30%
23%12%
Will Never Be
Interested
9%
12%14%
2014 Survey, 1,866 Respondents, Groups D/E/LateG+H
Many people like to leave a gift to charity in their will. Are
there any causes you would support in this way?
Make a gift to charity in my will
Make a bequest gift to charity
Family words (simple language and LIFE STORIES)
outperformformal words
(technical, contract, market terms)
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Set social norms with family words (Life Stories)
not formal words
New Survey
If you were asked in the next 3 months, what is the likelihood that you might GIVE money to _____?
If you signed a will in the next 3 months, what is the likelihood you might leave a BEQUEST gift to _____?
v.
Instead of testing question wording, now
testing impact of marketing messages for
40 national charities(4,560 participants)
Baseline BEQ GiveAmer Cancer Society 26.79 36.77The Red Cross 25.93 41.12ASPCA 24.18 33.77Habitat for Humanity 24.01 34.90Amer Heart Association 23.17 33.95Natl Cancer Coalition 22.56 34.54Breast Cancer Res Fnd 22.53 33.93Natl Breast Cancer Fnd 22.43 33.48The Amer Humane Assn 22.23 33.91The Alzheimer's Found 21.40 32.00Susan G. Komen Br Canc 21.39 29.22Dana Farber Cancer Inst 21.13 29.63American Diabetes Assn 20.84 32.54World Wildlife Fund 20.82 29.08Guide Dogs for the Blind 20.80 31.46The Alzheimer's Assn 20.80 31.86American Lung Assn 20.78 31.40MD Anderson Cancer Cr 20.59 30.53UNICEF 20.37 32.31The Salvation Army 19.98 31.44
Baseline BEQ GiveWildlife Conserv Soc 19.90 29.26Goodwill Industries 19.65 34.42Big Brothrs/Big Sisters 19.47 30.49The United Way 18.97 28.97Joslin Diabetes Center 18.91 29.18Canine Compan for In 18.90 29.67Fnd Fightng Blindness 18.77 28.37AIDS Project LA 17.71 25.64Prevent Blindss Amer 17.51 28.32San Fran AIDS Found 17.39 25.49Nat Audubon Society 17.33 24.24YMCA 17.16 28.12Boys and Girls Clubs 17.14 30.10Girl Scouts 16.71 31.27YWCA 16.21 24.42Amer Indian College F 15.97 22.33CARE 15.86 24.69Boy Scouts 14.51 23.56United Negro Coll Fnd 14.13 21.90Ducks Unlimited 13.60 19.49
Social NormsFormal Evidence
Information indicating that it is common for Americans
to leave 5% or 10% to charity. Sharing survey
results showing agreement with concept.
Spendthrift Heirs Formal Evidence
Statistics showing how rapidly heirs typically
spend inheritance from published academic
research
MessageGive-
BEQ GapGap 50+
Gap Male
Gap Female
None 10.2 14.0 7.7 11.7Spendthrift Heirs (Formal) 9.4 11.4 8.4 10.1Social Norms (Formal) 8.8 11.7 7.5 9.7Heirs + Social Norms 8.0 10.2 6.4 9.0
“when discussing which charities they had chosen to remember, there
was a clear link with the life narratives of many respondents”
Life storiesSummarizing a series of interviews with planned
donors, Dr. Claire Routley wrote…
Charitable bequest decision making emphasizes “visualized
autobiography” brain regions Contrast Brain Region
MNI co-ordinates
Peak p FWE
Clust-er p FWE
(1) Beq> Give Lingual Gyrus -2, -78, -2 .004 .000Precuneus 26, -66, 42 .102 .009
(2) Beq> Vol Lingual Gyrus 2, -80, -4 .007 .000Precuneus 30, -66, 40 .180 .004Precentral Gyrus -34, -3, 36 .397 .001
(3) Beq> (Give+ Vol) Lingual Gyrus 0, -78, -4 .001 .000Precuneus 26, -66, 42 .007 .001
James, R. N., III & O’Boyle, M. W. (2014). Charitable estate planning as visualized autobiography: An fMRI study of its neural correlates. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43(2), 355-373.
With new images or pure text (no significant difference)
Deceased bequest donor life stories
MessageGive-Beq
GapGap 50+
Gap Male
Gap Female
None 10.2 14.0 7.7 11.7Spendthrift Heirs (Formal) 9.4 11.4 8.4 10.1Social Norms (Formal) 8.8 11.7 7.5 9.7Heirs + Social Norms 8.0 10.2 6.4 9.0Deceased Beq. Stories 6.7 7.5 4.4 7.5
With new images or pure text (no significant difference)
Living bequest donor life stories
E.g., “School janitor Lester Holmes died in 1992” becomes “School janitor Lester Holmes signed his will today”
MessageGive-Beq
GapGap 50+
Gap Male
Gap Female
None 10.2 14.0 7.7 11.7Spendthrift Heirs (Formal) 9.4 11.4 8.4 10.1Social Norms (Formal) 8.8 11.7 7.5 9.7Heirs + Social Norms 8.0 10.2 6.4 9.0Deceased Beq. Stories 6.7 7.5 4.4 7.5Living Bequest Stories 4.4 4.3 3.3 5.0
Which of the four message
types worked best for which of the 40
charities?
Living donor stories outperformed all other messages for 40 out of 40 charities tested
Which charities saw the biggest improvement?
Largest improvement• Wildlife Conservation
Society• World Wildlife
Federation• Canine Companions
for the Blind• Guide Dogs for the
Blind• Big Brothers / Big
Sisters of America
The stories featured gifts benefiting
wildlife, dogs,
and youth and two unrepresented categories
(symphony and hospital chapel)
The bequest donor concept helped all charities, but the story cause still mattered
With new images or pure text (no significant difference)
Effect of More Stories1st 4 Stories: Janitor, pet groomer, carpenter, symphony patron
2nd 3 Stories: fisherman, coach, physician
MessageGive-Beq
GapGap 50+
Gap Male
Gap Female
None 10.2 14.0 7.7 11.7Deceased 1st 4 stories 6.8 7.5 5.5 7.6Deceased All 7 stories 6.6 7.5 5.4 7.4Mixed Dec/Liv 7 stories 6.0 7.2 5.0 6.6Living 1st 4 stories 4.8 5.7 3.9 5.4Living All 7 stories 4.1 2.5 3.0 4.7
• Tell as many life stories of living planned bequest donors in as many places as possible
• This helps to set a social norm by example using appropriate language
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Action
Results
Theory
Bequests to friends and family (v. charitable bequests) more heavily involve brain regions of Emotion (mid/posterior cingulate cortex; insula) and Memory (hippocampus)
Can a charitable bequest represent a loved one, and thereby connect with this memory and emotion?
Synthetic Familycharity
represents loved one
Familyemotion & memory of loved one
Female, 63 widowed
‘The reason I selected Help the Aged...it was after my mother died...And I just thought – she’d been in a care home for probably three or four years. And I just wanted to help the elderly...I’d also support things like Cancer Research, because people I’ve known have died...An animal charity as well, I had a couple of cats.’
Bequest charity representing loved ones
“‘[In my will I have a gift to] the Cancer Research. My father died of cancer and so I have supported them ever since he died.’
Male, 89 married (Routley, 2011, p. 220-221)
Since many charitable bequest gifts appear to be in honor of a loved one, what happens when we specifically ask about making a charitable bequest honoring a friend or family member?
Do you have a deceased friend or deceased family member who would have appreciated your support of an International relief organization such as CARE or UNICEF? Also tested for living friend or family memberAlzheimer’s The Alzheimer's Association, The Alzheimer's FoundationDiabetes Joslin Diabetes Center, The American Diabetes Association
Wild Birds Preservation National Audubon Society, Ducks UnlimitedWildlife World Wildlife Fund, Wildlife Conservation SocietyMinority College Fund United Negro College Fund, American Indian College Fund
Blindness related nonprofit Foundation Fighting Blindness, Prevent Blindness AmericaYouth-related charitable Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, YMCA, YWCA, Big Brothers / Big Sisters of America, Boys and Girls Clubs of America AIDS research and care San Francisco AIDS Foundation, AIDS Project Los AngelesAnimal welfareAmerican Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The American Humane Association
International relief UNICEF, Care Cancer research American Cancer Society, National Cancer Coalition, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Guide dogsGuide Dogs for the Blind, Canine Companions for IndependenceBreast cancer researchBreast Cancer Research Foundation, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
If so, please state your relationship to them and write at least 25 words describing their interest in or connection with this cause.If you signed a will in the next 3 months, what is the likelihood you might leave a BEQUEST gift honoring a living [deceased] friend or family member to _____
Testing the tribute bequest
Change in charitable bequest intention for those with family/friend connection
Total Age 50+ Male FemaleMemorial reminder +14.0 +14.0 +13.5 +14.0Living reminder +9.2 +9.3 +7.7 +9.9
Connection reminder + tribute bequest offer
increases interest
Average share with family/friend connections to each cause
Total Age 50+ Male FemaleMemorial reminder 22.1% 27.1% 19.5% 23.6%Living reminder 34.2% 36.1% 30.4% 36.6%
Change in charitable bequest intention for those with family/friend connection
Total Age 50+ Male FemaleMemorial reminder
+11.7 +12.2 +11.0 +12.1
Memorial reminder(after other messages)
+15.0 +14.0 +15.3 +14.8
Living reminder
+9.4 +11.3 +6.4 +10.0
Living reminder (after other messages)
+9.2 +9.1 +7.9 +9.9
Connection reminder + tribute bequest offer can be “stacked” with other bequest messages
Giving – Tribute Bequest Total
Age 50+ Male Female
Memorial reminder(after living/ deceased stories)
-4.2 -1.7 -6.5 -3.1
Living reminder (after living/ deceased stories)
-3.3 -2.3 -2.4 -3.7
Donor stories + tribute reminder eliminates giving-bequest gap for those with friend/family connections
DONOR STORY
TRIBUTE REMINDER
DONOR STORY
DONOR STORY
Do tribute bequests work better/worse
for different types of organizations?
Memorial LivingDiabetes 16.9 Wild birds 12.8Alzheimer’s 16.0 Diabetes 12.7AIDS 14.1 AIDS 11.4Minority college fund 14.0 Alzheimer’s 11.2Cancer 12.6 Int’l relief 10.4Breast canc. 11.7 Blindness 10.3Wild birds 11.1 Pets 9.5Int’l relief 10.9 Cancer 9.4Pets 10.6 Guide dogs 9.3Blindness 10.2 Breast canc. 8.6Guide dogs 9.2 Minority
college fund 7.4Youth 7.7 Wildlife 6.1Wildlife 7.1 Youth 5.2
ImpactChange in charitable bequest intention for
those with family/friend connection
FrequencyLikelihood of reporting a family or friend
connection with the cause
Memorial LivingCancer 46% Pets 56%Breast canc. 39% Breast canc. 54%Alzheimer’s 29% Cancer 49%Diabetes 28% Wildlife 41%Pets 28% Diabetes 38%Wildlife 18% Youth 37%Guide dogs 15% Alzheimer’s 30%Youth 15% Guide dogs 23%Int’l relief 14% Wild birds 18%AIDS 11% Minority
college fund 18%Wild birds 10% AIDS 17%Blindness 9% Int’l relief 16%Minority college fund 8% Blindness 15%
Impact and frequency vary with cause
Do memorial or tribute bequests work better or worse for different family members?
Tribute bequests are more attractive for ascendants, less for descendants or friends
Family and friend words associated with interest in a tribute bequest(ranked by strength of correlation)
Positive Non-significant Negativegrandmother +7.5 dad girl -12.8family +3.5 children boy -13.7mother +2.4 uncle kids -8.4aunt +2.6 sister girls -12.1grandfather +2.7 mom friends -3.5husband +3.6 wife boys -11.6
cousin brother -6.4parents daughter -6.1son child -5.8father friend -1.4
Describing the family member’s charitable connection with positive emotional language
predicts interest in tribute bequestBest 20-word statistical model to predict interest in tribute bequest
(Maximum R2 Model With All Words Appearing 100+ times except those describing the cause, appearing in the question, or not independently meaningful from 7,726 separate descriptions of relationship and their charitable connection)
Positive word Avg. Diff. Negative word Avg. Diff.us +11.78 boy -14.08
lovers +11.06 girl -12.98happy +10.42 involved -8.92love +9.87 donation -6.88we +8.98 kids -6.59
loved +8.66 organization -2.12grandmother +8.34 money -2.09
passed +8.31 friends -0.83donate +8.15family +5.83help +5.33my +4.21
Simple language and starting with honor
Interested Now
23%16%13%
Will Never Be
Interested
17%21%21%
2014 Survey, 1,961 Respondents, Groups B/A/H
Honor a friend or family member by making a memorial gift to charity in
my last will & testament
Make a bequest gift to charity in my last will & testament in honor of a
friend or family member who appreciated the charity's work
Make a bequest gift to charity in my last will & testament in honor of a friend or family member who was
passionate about the charity's work
Simple reminderSample courtesy of Phyllis Freedman, President of SmartGiving and
“The Planned Giving Blogger”
the previous study, 22% increased their intentioneven more when given the option to “Honor a friend or family member by making a memorial gift to charity in my last will & testament”
Among those initially asked the best phrased charitable bequest question, even without any reminders as in
• Ask about family/friend connections• Share the option of honoring a family
member by making a tribute gift to charity in the will
• Tell stories of those whose plans include tribute gifts
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Action
Results
Theory
Social Desirability
Bias
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
The motivational effects of tax
benefits are clear when measured
directly
People are unlikely to report giving as motivated by personal benefits like tax deductions
Interested Now
50%
33%
31%
Will Never Be
Interested
8%
14%
20%
2014 Survey, 1,904 Respondents, Groups D/E/F
Receive a tax deduction and make a
gift that pays you income for life.
Make a gift that pays you income for life and
receive a tax deduction.
Make a gift that pays you income for life.
Mentioning tax deductions increases charitable interest
Interested Now
26%
12%
11%
Will Never Be
Interested
23%
33%
42%
2014 Survey, 1,826 Respondents, Groups F/B/D
Immediately receive a tax deduction for 70% of the value of a house or land by making a charitable gift of the property, but
keeping the RIGHT TO USE it for the rest of your life.
Make a charitable gift of either a house or land, but keep the RIGHT TO USE for the rest of your life and immediately
receive a tax deduction for 70% of the value of the property.
Make a charitable gift of either a house or land, but keep the RIGHT TO USE it
for the rest of your life.
Mentioning tax deductions increases charitable interest
InterestedNow
28%
27%
21%
Will Never Be
Interested
17%
20%
25%
2014 Survey, 1,782 Respondents, Groups E/A/C
Get an immediate tax deduction by making a gift where you still control the
investment of the assets, and receive income from the investments for the rest of
your life with anything left over going to charity at your death.
Make a gift where you get an immediate tax deduction, still
control the investment of the assets and receive income from the investments for the rest of your life with anything left over going
to charity at your death.
Make a gift where you still control the investment of the assets, and receive income from the investments for the rest of your life
with anything left over going to charity at your death.
Mentioning tax deductions increases charitable interest
Philanthropy is a SOCIAL act using the mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Social Desirability Bias It is good to note benefits, but don’t identify personal benefits as the motivation
People who join the legacy society make a “second gift” because
their example can influence others to make the same commitment.
People join the legacy society so that everyone will know how philanthropic
they are.
Age and gender
differences
Difference in older (50+) v. all respondents
QuestionsI Will
Never Be Interested
Definitely Interested
NowAll gift of cash +0.1% +2.4%
All bequest gift +8.5% +0.6%All tribute bequest +10.1% -0.2%
All TOD +13.2% -0.2%All donor advised fund +13.9% -0.2%All gift of stocks/bonds +14.3% +0.0%All retained life estate +15.9% -0.9%
All CGA +16.8% -2.3%All CRT +25.2% -1.9%
A larger share of older adults are decidedly resistant to bequest
giving and planned giving
Older adults are initially more resistant to bequest giving but more responsive to
bequest marketing
No Messa
ge
Spendthrift
Heirs
Form
al Socia
l Norm
s
Both Heirs & Norm
s
Deceased 1st 4 st
ories
Deceased All 7 st
ories
Mixed Dec/L
iv 7 st
ories
Living 1st
4 storie
s
Living All 7
storie
s0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
All50+
Give
-Beq
uest
Gap
Older adults are initially more resistant to
bequest giving but are more responsive to
bequest giving marketing{ { { {
{ { {{
}
Change in charitable bequest intention for those with family/friend connection Total Age 50+
Memorial reminder +13.97 +13.96Living reminder +9.22 +9.33
Older adults initially more resistant to tribute bequest concept (survey #1) but more
responsive to tribute bequest reminder (#2)
Average share with family/friend connections to each cause
Total Age 50+Memorial reminder 22.1% 27.1%Living reminder 34.2% 36.1%
Will Never Be Interested
All 50+
All bequest gift 15.9% 24.4%
All tribute bequest 20.3% 30.4%
All gift of c
ash
All beq
uest gi
ft
All trib
ute beq
uest
All TOD
All donor a
dvised
fund
All gift of st
ocks/ b
onds
All life
estat
e
All CGA
All CRT
-6.0%
-4.0%
-2.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
Fem
ale
- Mal
e Di
ffere
nce
in
perc
enta
ge "
inte
rest
ed n
ow"
Women have relatively higher interest in cash gifts, equal for bequest gifts, lower for
other planned giving
Other Phrasing Odds and
Ends
Results
Action
Theory
What about other estate giving phrases?
“leave a legacy” or “continue my
support”?
“Leave a legacy” not helpful
Interested Now
22%
26%
Will Never Be
Interested
14%
12%
2014 Survey, 1,072 Respondents, Group G-early/C
Leave a legacy gift to charity in my last will &
testament
Make a gift to charity in my last will & testament
“Continue my support” had mixed results
2014 Survey, 2,223 Respondents, Group H-early/C (unspecified), G/H (specific dollar or percentage),
Continue my support of my favorite charities
through a gift in my last will & testament
v. Make a gift to charity in my last will & testament
Slight decrease for unspecified
bequest.
Slight increase for specific
dollar bequest.
Slight increase for percentage
of estate bequest.
Should we avoid using
“death” words?
Avoiding added “death” words has little effect
Interested Now
23%
23%
Will Never Be
Interested
14%
12%
2014 Survey, 1,317 Respondents, Group E/F
Make a gift to charity in my last will & testament
that will take effect at my death
Make a gift to charity in my will
Avoiding added “death” words has little effect
Interested Now
12%
15%
Will Never Be
Interested
33%
32%
2014 Survey, 1,218 Respondents, Group B/E
Make a charitable gift of either a house or land, but keep the right
to use it for the rest of your life and immediately
receive a tax deduction for 70% of the value of the property.
Make a charitable gift of either a house or land, but keep the right to use it until you die and
immediately receive a tax deduction for 70% of the value of
the property.
Any special phrasing for bank
account or retirement
account transfer-on-death
beneficiary designations?
2014 Survey, 2,214 Respondents, Groups G/H/D
Slight improvement with a percentage option
Interested Now
14.4%
14.0%
11.6%
Will Never Be
Interested24.1%
29.0%
25.6%
Make a gift by naming a charity as a transfer-on-death beneficiary
for some percentage of a bank account or retirement account.
Make a gift by naming a charity as a transfer-on-death beneficiary
for 10% of a bank account or retirement account.
Make a gift by naming a charity as a transfer-on-death beneficiary on a
bank account or retirement account.
Interested Now
12%
12%
Will Never Be
Interested
26%
26%
2014 Survey, 1,246 Respondents, Groups D/E
Make a gift by naming a charity as a transfer-on-death beneficiary on a bank account
or retirement account.
Leave a gift by naming a charity as a transfer-on-death beneficiary on a bank account
or retirement account.
“Make a gift” or “Leave a gift” no difference
Interested Now
12%
9%
Will Never Be
Interested
26%
31%
2014 Survey, 1,203 Respondents, Groups D/C
Make a gift by naming a charity as a transfer-on-death beneficiary on a bank account or retirement
account.
Make a bequest gift by naming a charity as a
beneficiary on a bank account or retirement
account.
Don’t use “Bequest”
Are people more responsive to
leaving a percentage of the estate, a specific dollar amount, or
unspecified?
Interested Now
26%
21%
15%
Will Never Be
Interested
12%
14%
28%
2014 Survey, Groups C(606)/H(855)/H(855)
Make a gift to charity in my last will & testament.
Make a gift to charity of a specific dollar amount in
my last will & testament.
Make a gift to charity of a percentage of my estate
in my last will & testament.
Unspecified > dollar amount > percentage gift
Among 18,323 descriptions of the “Typical characteristics of a person who supports this cause” what words best predicted who was interested in making a gift to the organization?
Emotional language when describing “Typical characteristics of a person who supports this
cause” reflects interest in current givingBest 20-word statistical model to predict interest in current giving
(Maximum R2 model with all words appearing 100+ times except those describing the cause, appearing in the question, or not independently meaningful, from 18,323 separate descriptions for various charitable causes)
Positive word Avg. Diff. Negative word Avg. Diff.pain +12.9 liberal -11.8myself + 9.7 funds -7.8survivor + 9.2 fund -6.7heart + 8.9 benefited -6.2willing + 7.1 money -5.4our + 5.6caring + 6.3should + 4.6cure + 4.9lost + 5.2kind + 5.6life + 4.2love + 3.3friend + 2.2help + 2.5
• Use family words (stories and simple words) not formal words
• Use social examples/norms• Tell life stories of planned bequest
donors • Talk about benefits – in the right way• Ask about family/friend connections to
the cause and give the option of a tribute gift in the will
• Tell life stories of donors whose plans include tribute gifts
• Keep communicating to older donors
Philanthropy as synthetic
family: a SOCIAL act using the
mechanisms of FAMILY bonding
Words That WorkThe phrases that encourage planned giving