Bequests and Legacies Archives

The Shocking New Realities of Direct Mail Fundraising

June 15, 2026

Jeff Brooks

I don’t want to annoy with a “good old days” story. But listen to this: Back in the day – like back in the 20th century – donor acquisition was so much easier (and less expensive) than it is now. It was a dependable and…

Your Easy Guide to a Bequest Conversation

March 30, 2026

Christiana Stergiou

Bequests and Legacies

Let me be honest with you: I used to dread picking up the phone to talk to donors about gifts in wills. I’m an introvert who doesn’t work well with strangers, and the idea of having these conversations felt overwhelming.…

Nervous about Bequest Conversations? Here’s How to Start

March 23, 2026

Christiana Stergiou

Bequests and Legacies

In this quick video (under three minutes) interview, Professor Russell James, Professor of Charitable Financial Planning at Texas Tech University, shares his “4-S” Method for talking to donors about bequest giving. It goes like this: Story 1: What’s new at…

Your Bequest Promise: The 1st Step Toward Those Big Bequests

March 16, 2026

Christiana Stergiou

Bequests and Legacies

How do you talk to donors about the benefits of including your organization in their will? Let’s start with how not to do it: As you know, you are going to die eventually, and you will probably leave some kind…

Bequest Fundraising Is a Very Big Deal

March 9, 2026

Jeff Brooks

Bequests and Legacies

How I used to think about charitable bequests: They were exceedingly rare, pretty much magical events. They came out of nowhere. They were entirely unpredictable. They were a big deal. Often transformative. Celebrated. But they “just happened.” All we could…

How Fundraising Words Are Different from Sales Words

June 24, 2024

Russell James

Bequests and Legacies, Donor Psychology

Excerpted from The Storytelling Fundraiser by Professor Russell James. The full book (along with many other fundraising resources) is available for free at Encourage Generosity. Isn’t fundraising just sales? Whether it’s a used car or insurance or scholarships, sales…

Fundraising Lessons from Jedi Masters

May 27, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Bequests and Legacies

When it comes to bequest-aware fundraising, we sometimes have to look at our work in a new way. That can be difficult. I think we are entering a new era. The value and huge size of bequest giving from donors…

Your To-Do List for Skyrocketing Income in the Coming Years

May 20, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Bequests and Legacies

We’ve been focusing for the past couple of weeks on the research that shows us how important bequest revenue from donors can be – two to four times as much as ordinary donation revenue. But it doesn’t just happen. There…

5 Ways You Can Think Differently about Fundraising to Raise More

May 13, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Bequests and Legacies

I was in High School in 1977 when Star Wars hit the screens. Sometime in the first week, my friends and I went downtown to the one theater in Seattle that was showing it. The line went all the way…

The Study That Opened My Eyes – and It’ll Open Yours Too

May 6, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Bequests and Legacies

There’s something new in the fundraising world – though it isn’t really new. It’s more of a new insight into something we’ve known about for a long time. This insight comes from a study of a group of long-time donors…

The Fundraisingology Lab is open this week. Doors close Fri, Feb 20.

The Shocking New Realities of Direct Mail Fundraising

Your Easy Guide to a Bequest Conversation

Nervous about Bequest Conversations? Here’s How to Start

Your Bequest Promise: The 1st Step Toward Those Big Bequests

Bequest Fundraising Is a Very Big Deal

How Fundraising Words Are Different from Sales Words

Fundraising Lessons from Jedi Masters

Your To-Do List for Skyrocketing Income in the Coming Years

5 Ways You Can Think Differently about Fundraising to Raise More

The Study That Opened My Eyes – and It’ll Open Yours Too

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