Identify the Best Donor Personas for Planned Giving

Identifying the best donor personas for planned giving is all about understanding who is most likely to make long-term, legacy-based contributions—and why. These donors aren’t just generous; they’re deeply aligned with your mission and often thinking about the impact they’ll leave behind. Here’s how to pinpoint them:

Step-by-Step Guide to Identifying Ideal Donor Personas for Planned Giving

1. Analyze Your Existing Donor Data

• Look for patterns among donors who’ve already made planned gifts.
• Key metrics: age, giving history, lifetime value, engagement level.
• Focus on those who’ve given consistently over time, not just big one-time gifts.

2. Segment by Demographics & Psychographics

• Age: Baby Boomers and Gen X (typically 45–75) are prime candidates.
• Values: Those who care about what their legacy will be AND are committed to your mission.
• Lifestyle: Retirees, professionals with stable income, or those with estate plans in progress.

3.  Use Engagement History

• Track event attendance, volunteerism, and responses to legacy-related campaigns.
• Donors who engage beyond just giving money are more likely to consider a planned gift.

4. Survey & Interview Donors

• Listen: Ask your current planned giving donors what motivated them to give.  
• Ask: What are their motivations, values, and future giving intentions?
• Use: This qualitative data to enrich your personas with emotional and behavioral insights.

6. Leverage Predictive Tool

CRM systems are more frequently embedding predictive analytics to flag high-potential planned giving prospects. This is helpful, but not the end of the story. Do your own research on top of these tools, too (human touch is important). One of the largest gifts of my career came from someone whose wealth screening information told us that he could give a maximum of $5,000 over a 5-year span. He gave us over 10 million dollars!

7.Create Detailed Donor Personas

Use the data you mined above  and information from the relationships you have formed to build profiles like:

“Margaret, 68, retired teacher, long-time supporter of education initiatives. She values legacy, attends annual galas, and prefers handwritten thank-you notes. She’s considering her estate plan and wants her donations to reflect her lifelong values.”

This is one example of a persona, there will be others. Understanding the felt needs of your personas helps tailor your messaging and outreach to be more effective in communicating with planned giving donors.