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

Many of these same supporters will contemplate the creation of or revision to an estate plan. And, every time they do, your organization has a big opportunity to acquire a planned gift. But how do you know when the opportunity has arisen? That's the big question isn't it?

Here are some of the many life events that trigger this kind of thinking:

• Birth of a child, grandchild, niece or nephew
• Death of a family member or friend
• Illness or injury of a family member or friend (or themselves)
• Weddings or divorces
• Injuries, sicknesses and diagnoses
• Even hearing about a friend's estate causing lots of problems for others— such as their children (as a result of errors, omissions or assumptions by others... after their death of course)
• And any other major events

People might even consider a planned gift at the precise moment when they are:

• Opening a new financial account
• Buying or selling securities
• Purchasing or revising a life insurance policy
• Buying real estate
• Selling a business
• Or even simply looking at items they own and want to "hand down" such as jewelry or furniture

And

• Viewing old photographs or videos (especially if they somehow relate to your cause)
• Getting a call from an old friend or long-lost family member
• Writing memoirs

Because of every bullet-point listed above, your planned gift marketing needs to be ever-present and ubiquitous but at a low cost— not an easy task. Here's the easiest way to accomplish this. Put the following words everywhere you possibly can:

"Please consider making a gift to {your organization} in your will and financial plan."

• on emails;
• business cards;
• letterhead;
• mailers;
• reply forms;
• booklets;
• magazines;
• articles;
• photos;
• banners;
• invitations;
• research reports;
• website pages, etc.

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