They say that your relationship with money impacts your fundraising. What you learned about money growing up, how you feel about people who have money, and what your parents thought of money all shape how you feel and the actions you take when you are asking a donor to contribute to your cause. I think that the same goes for death and legacy fundraising. Your beliefs around death impact your legacy fundraising, even if you’ve never noticed it.

Where To Begin?

Have you ever felt uncomfortable with the idea of legacy fundraising? Something that I’ve noticed is that many people who are new to legacy giving are not sure how they will broach the subject with prospects. Reading between the lines, they’re worried about how they will talk to prospects about death.

Some people have this idea that when you are talking to a legacy prospect about a gift in their will, you are talking to them about their death.

The ‘Death’ Question

The reality is that legacy fundraising does not talk to legacy prospects about dying. In fact, quite the opposite. Legacy fundraising means talking to people about their immortality – how they will live forever.

When you are proposing legacy giving, you are giving the prospect an opportunity to carry their values on into the future through a cause that they believe in. You’re giving them the chance to leave their mark on the world.

Today, I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on your beliefs around money and death. Ask yourself how you feel about these things on a personal level, and see if you can tie this back to how you fundraise. I’ve included some prompting questions below to get you started. Let me know what you learn about yourself in the comments below.

What did you learn about money growing up?

How do you feel about death?

Might someone who is much older than me think differently about death?

What are your feelings around people with great wealth?

How did your parents feel about money?

How do you feel when someone gives you money?