For fundraisers, it’s all about the donor pyramid. But the summit of that donor pyramid is the legacy gift. As Angel Aloma and Kevin Moran described — it’s the gold in the golden years of your organization’s database. That’s what makes the relationship with your planned giving department so critical.

Aloma, the executive director of Food for the Poor in Coconut Creek, Fla., and Moran, principal at Integral in Washington, D.C., presented a session on high-value donor strategies and upgrading your donors during a recent fundraising conference.

The pair offered seven steps to properly prospect the gold found in your organization’s database:

• Phone calls to select of donors 65 years and older
• Thank them for past support – some may be lapsed
• Offer prayer for special intentions/petitions
• Offer free course in planned giving
• Those who request/accept free course are hot prospects for a planned gift
• These should be followed up by a phone call from planned giving advisors
• This call could lead to setting up a personal visit with planned giving prospect