COVID-19 and Planned Giving: Blogs, Videos and Resources to Help You Through This Time

[BLOG]

How to Convert Donors When the Going Gets Tough

Jan 13, 2021

Not to keep harping on 2021, but so far it’s not doing itself any favors. Only a week and a half into January and it’s mostly the same stuff, different year. Like most of you, I’m determined to press on, no matter the circumstances, because there’s more good in the world than the commotion would have us believe—as people like you demonstrate daily. Together, and with your donors, I’m convinced we’ll continue to make that good grow.

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[BLOG]

Special Update: CARES Act Tax Incentives Extended—With a Small Boost

Dec. 27, 2020

The nonprofit community has been given a year-end gift: A couple of key provisions of the CARES Act were just extended into the new year (and, in one case, increased). Let’s take a look at what the new stimulus package means for the nonprofit community and turn that calendar page to 2021.

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[BLOG]

Is Now the Right Time for a Planned Giving Conversation? Yes, and Here’s Why.

Sept. 16, 2020

No matter what’s happening in the world, we humans are wired to seek connection, continuation and control in our lives. So when clients or colleagues ask if it’s appropriate or “right” to continue talking about planned giving in light of the continued pandemic and societal unease, I say yes. Continue the conversations, but be completely in tune with what donors are saying, and not saying, with more sensitivity and empathy and less leaning toward gift acquisition.

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[BLOG]

Engaging Donors During Quarantine: Tips for Successful Marketing & Messaging

July 22, 2020

We know exactly where the majority of your donors and prospects are right now: At home. We’ve been adjusting our marketing plans—and the way we work and live—to fit a “stay home” frame of mind. But let’s face it, Zoom meetings just aren’t the same as the real thing. Getting real with donors in this virtual age is a challenge. So how can your nonprofit continue to deliver content that sparks a feeling of connection, while still practicing social distancing for months on end?

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[BLOG]

FREE! CARES Act Video Tutorial for Your Donors

July 15, 2020

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act shifted the way donors can support charities in 2020. The changes are unprecedented…and so is the confusion around it. Here’s a new way to explain the law: This free video, featuring attorney Lynn Gaumer, who has covered the charitable sector for 25+ years, is yours to use across your web and digital platforms.

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[BLOG]

How to Stand Out in All That Email

July 8, 2020

A short few months ago, we were at the beginning of pandemic awareness and a sudden stay-at-home mandate. This quick turn of events made us more aware of those around us and, I believe, led us to care more about others and their well-being. Craving connection and kindness, we searched for optimism and good news wherever we could find it, including in our email inboxes.

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[BLOG]

How to Get Real With Donors in This Virtual Age

July 1, 2020

We’re people people. Many of us, I suspect, thrive off the energy of others, finding our umph in the little moments with donors that lead to big change. One-on-one coffees, lunches, phone calls, facility tours or meeting scholarship recipients for the first time. It affects us and urges us on in our work. Now, however, there’s a barrier to that connection. Much like the plastic see-through “walls” at store checkouts these days, virtual interactions with donors and prospects have added a new, sometimes foreign layer to the process.

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[BLOG]

Giving USA 2020: Inside the Numbers and a Look Ahead

June 24, 2020

Giving USA released its 2020 annual report last week, but it just felt, well, different. Perhaps you may even feel that it is irrelevant. So much has changed in the first six months of 2020. Let’s take a brief look into the numbers and, more importantly, let’s look ahead to see how Americans are responding and giving this year.

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[WEBINAR]

Planned Gift Marketing During & After COVID-19: A Chance to Pivot or Truly Change?

June 18, 2020

With the continued uncertainty around our health, our finances and our future due to COVID-19, donors are battling a variety of emotions and anxiety—leaving gift planners struggling to find the right messaging for the moment. Combining recent data with Stelter’s 50+ years of experience working with nonprofits across the country, we will help provide you clarity and ideas for paving a way forward.

View webinar »

Download handouts (PDF) »

[BLOG]

3 Critical Factors Impacting Donor Mindset Today

June 17, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic, corresponding economic impact and the sweeping national reflection on racial inequality have created a once-in-a-lifetime scenario wherein every industry is being impacted in one way or another—and planned giving is no exception. What I think will be interesting to watch evolve is this adjustment we’re all making to our outreach. Is this a temporary pivot or is this an opportunity for true long-term change?

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[BLOG]

With a Pandemic Raging and Rates Dropping, Nobody Expected This Jaw-Dropping Windfall

May 28, 2020

In mid-May, we released our Planned Giving Pulse Survey #2, which captured—among other gems—PG officer’s accounts of their most successful ways of engaging with donors in recent weeks. One of our favorites is a classic tale of making lemonade out of lemons.

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[BLOG]

How to Take Care of You While Working (and Living) From Home

May 26, 2020

We’ve been at this for two months now—working, living, wondering: Will life ever be the same? We’re getting there, but it’ll take a while. What will the new normal look like anyway? The cliché phrase, however, provides some comfort now. We truly are all in this together. Me, you, our families, your nonprofit. We’re all in this together. And we’ll figure it out. In the meantime, we’ll look after one other. With that said, how are you?

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[BLOG]

Stelter Planned Giving Pulse Survey #2: 3 Uplifting Discoveries That Made Us Smile

May 20, 2020

Since March, The Stelter Company has been polling nonprofits across the country that have established planned giving programs to learn how the pandemic is affecting their efforts. Last week, we released our Planned Giving Pulse Survey #2, which captures the latest impact on nonprofit marketing programs, job stability and planned giving budgets nationwide. The results are both inspiring and sobering.

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[BLOG]

A Short-Term Guide for Marketing Planned Giving: A plan for the next 90 days

May 13, 2020

For the past couple of months, I’ve been working nonstop from my desk in the basement, next to the foosball table. Don’t worry, I’ve got a window. And my cat, Bob, to keep me company. I’ve spent countless hours helping my colleagues and our nonprofit clients think about how to market planned giving right now. Like, actually HOW to move forward when the old paradigms have crumbled and we’re revising the script as the play unfolds.

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[BLOG]

How to Have the Best Video Meetings + Free Zoom Backgrounds

May 5, 2020

Many of us are still working from home, with days hopping from one video meeting screen to the next. While there are hints that we may open up businesses again in some regions, we’ll likely see more of video meetings, now that we’ve gotten to know the technology better. How can we make the most—and get the most—from our video meetings? By sharing a few best practices, hopefully we can spare you from talking to walls and other video meeting mishaps.

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[VIDEO]

Notes from Nathan

May 1, 2020

Let’s dig a little deeper into a critical topic I mentioned last time—stewardship. Here are a few best practices and creative ideas for your stewardship marketing efforts to help ensure you make the most impact during these uncertain times.

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[BLOG]

Legacy Challenges in the Time of COVID-19: What Should You Do?

April 24, 2020

Do you find yourself—or at the very least, your boss—questioning everything these days? As a general rule, humans prefer certainty to uncertainty. When things are uncertain or unknown it impacts our mindset. Times of great uncertainty typically fuel anxiety that can lead to aversion, analysis paralysis and indecision. Today, I hope to give you a little clarity around some questions that have popped up more than a few times in the past month.

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[VIDEO]

Notes from Nathan

April 23, 2020

If you’re like me, you’re losing track of what week of social distancing we’re on. Is it week 5...week 6? Whatever the week, you’re likely in the ‘now what’ phase of your fundraising efforts asking, “How should I be engaging my donors and prospective donors?” Here are 3 ideas that we’ve seen others, like you, having success with.

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[BLOG]

How to Fine Tune Your Marketing for Relevance During Uncertain Times

April 22, 2020

When the world is hyper-focused on the present, how do you promote transformational, long-term giving? First and foremost, it’s important to remember that the impact you’re making is more critical now than ever. Likely, part of the reason many charities will survive these trying times, is because of the foresight donors had years ago to make a planned gift with them in mind.

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[BLOG]

3 Must-Haves for Stewarding Donors Successfully

April 16, 2020

Today I’m sharing examples of stewardship marketing strategies that our clients have found successful. Our partnership with nearly 1,500 nonprofits involves helping them educate donors about planned giving and offering donors the opportunity to act on making a planned gift easily. And while it is extremely important to stay top-of-mind with your donors during this time, we know that in the current environment this messaging needs to change.

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[BLOG]

3 Tips on How to Engage Donors When Face-to-Face Isn’t Possible

April 14, 2020

Face-to-face donor meetings are on an indefinite hold. This means major and planned gift officers across the country are finding themselves indefinitely grounded from the thing they love to do most: visiting one-on-one (in-person) with donors. Even after we’re all allowed to go back to our “normal” lives, it’s highly unlikely that a donor (specifically older donors) will be inviting anyone into their living rooms or kitchens any time soon.

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[VIDEO]

Hello From the People of Stelter

April 9, 2020

It can be hard working from home alone, with no smiling faces to boost your spirit. So, we’ve done a little something about that! Please enjoy our “Hello” video from the Stelter crew working hard for you each day. We hope it makes you smile a little.

Watch video »

[BLOG]

Tips on Isolation From Someone Who Couldn’t Go Outside

April 8, 2020

When you were younger, did you ever dream of becoming an astronaut? Perhaps you wanted to boldly go where no person had gone before, which makes sense as you eventually landed on fundraising. But did you ever give any thought to the fact that astronauts spend extraordinary amounts of time inside? A situation many of us are finding ourselves in right now.

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[WEBINAR]

COVID-19 + CARES Act = A Change in Your Vision for 2020

April 7, 2020

In this unprecedented time, the world is changing daily. Stelter wants to keep you aware of developments critical to your organization's ability to survive and thrive. In our one-hour webinar, we tackle two topics: the CARES Act and marketing during COVID-19. First, Lynn M. Gaumer, J.D., Stelter's senior gift planning consultant, will teach you how the CARES Act impacts your donors and your organization. Then, Stelter's president, Nathan Stelter, will discuss the subtle art of adjusting your planned giving messaging in light of the new act, COVID-19 and the economic downturn. We end with a panel disscussion answering attendees' questions.

View webinar »

Download handouts (PDF) »

[BLOG]

Why Now is the Right Time to Steward Your Donors

March 31, 2020

Right now, and over these next few months, your priority isn’t stewarding gifts. It’s stewarding people. Your people—donors, volunteers, board members and those who’ve shown they care about you and what you do—are in need of connection and community.

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[BLOG]

[FREE DOWNLOAD] Let Your Donors Know About the New Tax Incentives

March 27, 2020

The president has signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This is designed to help taxpayers, businesses and nonprofits facing economic hardship in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn. Here are several key provisions of the CARES Act that relate to the nonprofit sector:

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Download Donor Letter (DOC) »

[BLOG]

Lessons From the Coronovirus War Room

March 26, 2020

On March 12, we stopped the Stelter presses (the literal print presses as well as the email queue) and attacked the virus with the weapons we had on hand—creativity and thoughtfulness. (Plus our guts, we always trust our guts.) As we dug in, we spotted words, images and calls to action that had changed meaning.

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[VIDEO]

Addressing Today’s Marketing Challenges

March 25, 2020

As we navigate the new normal, Nathan Stelter, the President of The Stelter Company, shares our thoughts on three consistent themes and questions we’ve been hearing right now. He covers why framing, fluidity and proactive partnerships are today’s marketing best practices. Above all—it’s time to show our human side.

Watch video »

[BLOG]

How to Make the Most of Your Social Distancing Time: Planning & Education

March 24, 2020

By now, most of us are finding ourselves working from our homes. Perhaps you’ve carved out a quiet office space or turned the dining table into a desk over this past week. True, our working-from-home situations are unconventional right now, like those breakfast dishes sitting on top of file folders. But this unusual time of isolation also provides bandwidth to think about those big ideas—for you, your work and your planned giving program.

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[BLOG]

We Love These 10 Easy Hacks From People Who Work From Home | Part 2 of 2

March 19, 2020

Earlier, I wrote about the basics of optimizing productivity while working from home — covering the first five of our 10 hacks. Now we’re ready to explore the clever ways people bring an extra layer of joy and professionalism to their home office. Picking up where we left off …

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[BLOG]

We Love These 10 Easy Hacks From People Who Work From Home | Part 1 of 2

March 17, 2020

I’ve never worked from home for more than two or three consecutive days. So when coronavirus shutdowns went viral last week and The Stelter Company sent employees home to work, I quickly imagined my future: Afternoons on the couch watching the final season of “Schitt’s Creek” with one hand holding a muted iphone to my ear and the other sunk into a box of Nut-Thins.

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[EMAIL]

A Message From The Stelter Company About COVID-19

March 13, 2020

To our valued clients and friends, It’s hard to put into words the whirlwind of emotions that this week’s COVID-19 news has wrought on our communities, our families and our work. With the announcements of canceled events, curtailed travel and closed schools, I’m sure your lives have been shaken up. At The Stelter Company, our focus is always on people first—whether that’s our valued clients, your invaluable donors or our amazing staff. People come first!

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[BLOG]

Marketing in the Time of Coronavirus

March 11, 2020

Lately, we’ve been dusting off our notes from recessions past and conjuring up selective memories of global crises that spilled into our everyday lives. It’s wince-worthy work. But we’re here to calm your nerves and remind you of the simple steps to take when the future feels uncomfortably gray.

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