1. Uncover who among your supporters has a donor advised fund. Just ask them the very simple question: Do you have a donor advised fund?

Every single one of your supporters wants to have a meaningful life and wants to be remembered fondly after their lifetime.

Ya don't know what ya don't know

There's a very well-known planned giving marketing vendor running around talking about "email readership." Here's what I mean. One of my pals sent me the following. The "marketing" vendor said they garner these email stats for their clients:

Call reluctance is a term used in sales but it applies to fundraising too!

I know, I know... you love your planned giving newsletter.

Question: Does more donations made over many years (longevity of giving) truly lead to an increase in the likelihood of leaving a gift or the likelihood of considering one?

You've probably heard about charity monitoring organizations such as Charity Navigator, CharityWatch and GiveWell, right? People will often visit these sites in an effort to determine if your organization is legitimate and worthy of their hard-earned cash.

I like to make up words and phrases. Here's a list of some of them and what they mean:

According to the 2014 U.S. Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy volunteerism among high net worth individuals last year was strong. Seventy-five percent of respondents to the survey said they volunteered with at least one nonprofit organization. Fifty nine percent volunteered more than 100...