An internal/external marketing activity any organization can employ, financial planning seminars can help build a broader awareness of the need for financial and estate planning by everyone, not only the very wealthy. Since charitable giving is an integral but sometimes forgotten part of financial planning, people attending these seminars are being educated to the concepts of planned giving in a favourable way.
The people from whom you draw financial support need valid reasons for making major gifts to your charity. Often, planned gifts represent their own security, a portion of the estate for which they’ve laboured all of their lives to accumulate. They need logical reasons why making these gifts at these particular times will help them achieve their objectives. They need to know that making this gift won’t jeopardize their financial well-being. You must resolve their natural hesitancy and doubts, and replace them with confidence and determination.
Something must happen to prompt people to act decisively in a way that will help them gain their personal objectives, and this may include some planned giving. since the charities they support stand to benefit fro such planned gifts, the gift planning officer must catalyze this action.
Seminars provide such an approach in a low-key, non-threatening way. The public sees them as a popular and safe event to attend. Certainly no reputable charity is going to lock the doors at a public meeting and not let the participants out until they donate! There’s also a perceived safety in numbers. You can attend a seminar, ask pertinent questions of knowledgeable people, and remain anonymous, not singled out as someone specifically to be called upon for a planned gift.
So how does the charity benefit?
When your organization sponsors a seminar, you are being associated with investments, capital assets and creative retirement planning. You can follow up by contacting people and asking questions which would otherwise be inappropriate. This gives you the opportunity to establish a personal relationship, without which you will never be in a position to even suggest that a planned gift might fit in nicely with the aims of the donor.
How do you attract people to seminars?
You can make three basic assumptions when offering public seminars on personal financial planning topics: • There is sufficient interest in these topics for a seminar to succeed. • If you market the seminar properly, and give the target audience what they both want and need, your seminar will succeed. • People like to be with successful people, and they feel more comfortable at financial seminars when there is a good-sized crowd.
Co-sponsors not essential, but can work well
On occasion, your organization might co-sponsor a seminar with a financial institution such as a bank, trust company, law or accounting firm. While this might be helpful in attracting high-profile speakers, the downside is that you might have less say in the program.
I have not had much success with co-sponsorship, and don’t find it a problem, since I insist on the very best allied professionals, and our seminars have worked well independently. Other charities, however, have had good luck partnering.
Sponsorship or not, the for-profit organization you work with should have a good reputation because, while you will not be exchanging donor-client lists with them, you are exposing your most important supporters to them, and tacitly are endorsing them through association. The reverse, of course, also applies. They, in turn, are endorsing your organization as a very worthwhile charity, so there is an equitable exchange. Such cooperation also leads to an excellent exchange of benefits:
- You are now associated with recognized estate and financial planning experts;
- you will be introduced as a community-minded charity to people with whom you have had little or no previous contact;
- the for-profit co-sponsor’s public image is enhanced by its association with a reputable charity within the community;
- the for-profit is introduced as a knowledgeable expert in financial planning matters to people with whom it also may have had little or no previous contact;
- the for-profit is providing a needed service to its own clientele;
- the workload in planning and coordinating the seminar is shared, and sometimes the expenses are borne by the for-profit out of its public relations budget. Be sure that you arrange for interesting speakers. Even though the advice and counsel is free, if people make the time and effort to attend, they want the best information available, presented well. ensure that the speakers not only know their subject, but are also stimulating presenters. If your participants are bored and you invited them, your organization will be blamed.
Who attends the seminars?
Since you just beginning to cultivate your donors in the area of planned giving, the first two or three seminars would be offered to both the general public and your organization’s top donors. The primary goal being to reposition your charity in the minds of potential donors as having the sophistication to attract and manage these types of gifts, you will want the largest exposure you can get. Then, after hosting a successful first seminar, for your next attempt you can simply send out hand-written invitations to:
- people who have attended previous seminars
- people who have requested further planned giving information
- board members, past and present
- other participants
- other key volunteers
As a rule, don’t advertise unless the ad is being donated.
What topics should you cover?
This depends on the needs of the audience, the time allowed and the purpose of the seminar. Wills are an excellent, and universal topic. Everyone needs a will, the essential ingredient of any financial plan, and the topic is also very flexible.
Viable seminar topics, in fact, cover the whole range of estate planning: wills, lawyer/client relationships, retirement, passing of one’s estate to one’s heirs, the use of trusts and insurance, powers of attorney and charitable financial planning. Every one, however, should include the following components:
- Welcome
- Five-minute backgrounder on your organization
- Introduction of the speaker(s)
- Presentations
- Questions and Answers
- Wrap-up and Thank-you
- Refreshments and the opportunity to talk to the speakers one-to-one
What about timing?
Timing is a crucial element in seminar planning. Consider not only when the audience will be physically present but also when they will be in the most receptive state of mind.
Time of year – people will be more likely to attend your seminar before or after a major event in their lives. This may be before or after the vacation season, or for `snowbirds’ before they go to their winter home or after their return. Another major event may be dramatic and well-publicized changes in the tax law. These changes stir up a lot of interest and increase attendance at financial planning seminars.
As far as time of day and day of the week is concerned, there is no pat answer. It depends on the target market’s activities and the duration of the program. Nonetheless, in my experience, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 1 and 3 p.m. seem to be the best days and time to schedule a seminar of this type. The length of time you should allocate for the seminar itself will depend primarily on the participants’ tolerance and ability to absorb the subject matter. If the topics are important and well-presented, people will stay.
Where should the seminars be held?
The best place is obviously where participants feel most comfortable and where the setting fits the topic. If possible, choose a neutral setting, such as a meeting room of a local hotel. Where there are budget constraints, public schools or local government facilities also fit the bill nicely.
The seminar’s over. What next?
One of the main reasons for the failure of planned giving programs is lack of follow-up – to a seminar what cultivation is to seed planting. Since your goal is a harvest of gifts from pleased donors, following up on a prospective donor, while ideas and impressions are still fresh, is an essential step in the cultivation process.
Remember, however, that you are offering a service. Your follow-up must be done in a low-key, professional manner. In fact, you can- and should – begin the process at the seminar itself. Ask the participants to complete an evaluation sheet, which allows you not only to prepare for the next seminar, but also to measure their level of interest.
One week after the seminar, send the participants a thank-you letter for their attendance. Within two to three weeks, call them, thanking them again for their interest, and asking if they have any unanswered questions – especially if they have indicated an interest in a particular area of estate planning on their evaluation sheet. This friendly call is also an excellent time to once again gauge their interest and commitment to further action.
Financial planning seminars give your organization an excellent chance to open a dialogue with potential donors on the subject of planned giving within their overall financial and estate planning. Not an end in themselves, but one of several means to an end, they can help educate and motivate potential donors to include charitable giving within their financial planning.
Checklist for successful Financial Planning Seminars
Six Weeks Out
- Set the seminar date
- Recruit the speakers
- Meet with the speakers
Five Weeks Out
- Arrange advertising and other promotion. Advertise in newspapers on the Wednesday and Saturday before the seminar, and/or send invitations.
- Arrange accommodations
- Invite board members, etc
- Arrange audio-visual
- Arrange refreshments
Three Weeks Out
- Prepare planned giving information
Ten Days To Go
- Confirm seminar room setup and numbers
- Finalize agenda
Seminar Date
- Meet with the speakers and review materials and other requirements
- Arrive on location at least one hour in advance to ensure all is well
- Set up a literature display
- Place a Welcoming Agenda on every seat
- Greet and seat your guests as they arrive
- Begin the seminar with a Welcome to the participants
- Introduce yourself and review the Agenda
- Present your organization’s programs
- Introduce the speakers
- When the presentations are complete, moderate a Question and Answer period
- Wrap up the seminar and thank the speakers and participants
- Hand out evaluation forms
- Announce refreshments
- Mingle one-on-one with speakers and participants
Jackie Gorenstein is Director of Planned Giving for The Canadian Arthritis Society.
