storytelling: how to transform annual donors into legacy prospects

Title of Presentation

StorytellingHow to Transform Annual Donors into Legacy ProspectsBev Cooper, BAAssociate Director of Development (Planned Giving)University of Saskatchewan

Leah Eustace, MPhil, ACFREChief Idea GoddessGood Works

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan June 8-10 juin 2016

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 20161

Leah Eustace, MPhil, ACFRE

Principal and Chief Idea GoddessGood Works@[email protected]

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016Leah2

Bev Cooper, BAAssociate Director of Development (Planned Giving)University of [email protected]

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 20163Bev

Session Overview Science of Storytelling Overview of Planned Giving at U of S Legacy Mailing Series

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016Leah4

Science of Storytelling

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016LEAHOver the last 50 years or so, weve learned more about what goes on inside our brain than all of the 5,000 years of human civilizationNow we know that all our actions and decisions, good and bad, are guided primarily by intuitionOur conscious brain has a very small part to play in how we think and actWhat does that mean to fundraising? In simple terms people give when theyre emotions are engaged

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Artwork courtesy of Mark Phillips www.bluefroglondon.comEmotion vs Logic

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 20162:10PMLEAHDecisions are activated by unconscious part of our brain (called the limbic system) . The rational part, which governs our logical thoughts and the language, only comes into play afterwards to justify our decision.In other words, we make giving decisions emotionally, then justify them logicallyAnother interesting finding comes from neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, who studied people who had received brain injuries, in which only the part where emotions are generated was impairedIt all started 30 years ago, when Dr. Damasio was visited by a patient named ElliotElliott had gone through a surgery where part of his brain in the frontal cortex had to be removed because of a small tumour hed developedElliot was a successful businessman and had been a model father, husband and citizenAfter the surgery, something strange started to happenHe started taking hours for a simple decisions a normal human being would make in secondsFor example, even a decision to shave or not in the morning would take hours as he started analyzing the pros and cons of shaving and the effect it would have on his lifeThis behavior eventually lead his business into bankruptcy and his wife ended up divorcing himDr. Demasio was able to determine that during the surgery, one important neural connection which connected Elliots conscious mind with the part of his brain that controed the emotional faculty (the amigdala) was severedHe was left only with his conscious mind to make decisionsSo, for every decision, his brain went into overdrive he didnt have the luxury of consulting his emotional brain to make the intuitive decisionIn other words, its ultimately our emotional brain that makes decisions.. Including decisions to giveThis is why stories are vital to fundraising

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What Makes a Story?I woke up. I ate breakfast. I left for work.

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016LEAHLets talk about stories for a bit.Is that a story? After all, it has a protagonist (me) who makes choices that lead to a natural progression of events, it contains three acts and it has a beginning, a middle and an endand thats what makes something a story, right?Well, actually, no. Its not.My description of what I did this morningwhile it may meet those commonly accepted criteriacontains no crisis, no struggle, no discovery, no transformation in the life of the main character. Its a report, but its not a story.Simply put, you do not have a story until something goes wrong.

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The Breath Before

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016LEAH8

The 50+ Brain

You want to be here

in the right side of the brain

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 20162:20PM

LEAHWeve already talked about why stories are essential to fundraising, and we had to skip over the key ingredients for a good story, now lets look at where the science of storytelling and your donors brain intersect.As people age, their cognitive patterns become less abstract and more concrete in other words, they become more right brainedThe left brain is mechanistic, it uses analytic reasoning, wants facts and prefers them in clear, unambiguous terms. The emotional, intuitive right brain is less interested in details than in the total picture. The left brain sees things in terms of categories; the right brain in terms of relationships.Today, all of the Baby Boomers are now over the age of 51 and have a stronger right brain orientation than younger markets of the past. Generating emotionally strong responses is more critical in Baby Boomer markets than in younger ones because older minds depend more on emotions (gut feelings, a.k.a. intuition) in forming perceptions, thoughts and decisions than younger minds do.The right hemisphere perceives reality in images in sensory images to be more precise. So how does one convey non-visual sensory information in a print ad? By creating multi-sensory word pictures. Even though the right brain has only rudimentary word-processing skills, it draws on image-associated words to key the formation of sensory images. The left hemisphere sizes things up in words. Its the brains word processor.The right brain also likes metaphors images of one thing that remind one of something else. It helps the right brains comprehension of a matter or brings the matter home more vividly. This overcomes the right brains very limited language abilities. Youve heard, Im sure, that a picture is worth a thousand words. To the right brain, thats a maxim. Its also important to know, however, that the left brain, endowed with powerful language skills, is unable to decipher metaphors. Standing as abstract representations of reality, words generally are less evocative of emotions than images are. Sensory images are far more effective in this regard. And of course, the stronger the emotional responses generated by a message, the greater attention the message is likely to get.Finally, stories, stories, stories. The right brain loves stories. The stronger right brain bias of Baby Boomers also increases their responsiveness to messages conveyed through stories as opposed to expository or neutral statements. Stories generally do a better job of emotionally engaging Baby Boomer minds. In fact, Baby Boomers are more likely than younger consumers to ignore a message that simply describes a product with little or no affect.

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Immediate vs Bequest GiftDonation TodayGift in WillCore emotional motivatorsAutobiographicalRepayer, Casual giver, High impact, Faith-basedSee the difference, Personal tiePersonal legacy

The story is the trigger for the donationA story that moves people around a death-related decision to future action

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016LEAH (How to trigger an immediate behavioural change - Pleasure/pain. Hope/fear. Social acceptance/rejection - vs Autobiographical). Clear link to own life narrative and how one will be remembered is how we break through this death defence. Symbolic immortality how one self, name, family, achievements, values and goals will persist after own death.(Money for good) Repayer: people who had a good experience and they want to give back so other people can have the same experienceCasual giver: give because its convenient (payroll deduction at work, add a dollar when grocery shopping)High impact: focused on what will do the most goodFaith basedSee the difference: local, or small organizations where I can make a differencePersonal tieSocial norm. Right brain. Images, metaphors, stories.

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Bequest Stories that WorkLiving bequest donorVisionary/leaderFounderBeneficiary of planned giftFamily of the deceasedDeceased bequest donor

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016LEAHDr Russell James tested the gap between the willingness to give currently and the willingness to leave a bequest with various types of messaging

Save taxes/spend thriftSocial normsDeceased bequest donorLiving bequest donorTribute bequest

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Program Overview

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BEV12

Our Earliest Stories

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016Bev: We assumed we knew what prospects needed - of course they needed to know how to leave a bequest to the university! Why wouldnt you need the tools to set up an estate gift plan?We realized over the years that the how to wasnt what they needed. How did we realize that? We chatted and asked them! After spending time visiting and chatting, (evolved over time) it was the reminiscing of university experiences that prospects and donors wanted to share which lead to an obvious exchange of personal stories.We start paying attention when someone is relaying a personal story Leahs already delvedinto the science of that

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Legacy Mailing Series

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016Leah

Targeted to direct mail donorsIts about persuasionA series of 5-6 mailings over 2-3 yearsStory-based and donor-centred approachhow we determined criteria and why

Bev: Talk about the stamp

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I dont want to think about itYES!Ill do itIll do it NowI got itDoneIll do itLater

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016Leah Mailing series that goes out to a qualified audience. Needs to be a part of a mixed messaging seriesOur goal is to manage avoidance (ie, not thinking about death)The goal with this series is to move people from A to B. Thats what the mail can do, while also identifying those who have done so and want to tell you (and only 1-9 will)The biggest hurdle is to move people from yes to now and not from yes to later

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Mail Package

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016Bev (focus here on whats different from what youd typically see in annual giving direct mail)minimal branding yes, I had to convince our communications area that this was a good thingGenuine donor storySpending the $ on to each envelope hand addressed is keyPG never uses labels for our key PG prospects (see matrix) we hand write everythingPG uses actual stamps as much as possibleThe level of detail that is applied to each piece very interesting you might not think it matters but it does

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Our Storytellers

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016BevOriginal story selection processConcept of each of the five mailingsTheme/key message of each letter

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#1 Vera Pezer

Leadership + Living Donor

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Bev Letter #1 Visionary TestimonialPurpose of letterHad to set the toneSignatory choiceprospect mentioningVera's legacy letter with Vera at the CIS women's basketball tourney in Windsor last year - I want to do that Vera!

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#2 Diana Duncan

Living Donor

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016Bev:Heart-wrencherWe were okay if we made the donor cryDifferent tone than the other letters19

#3 Andrea De Roo

Student + Legacy Beneficiary

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016BevWanted a student, and had a little pushback from Good Works Had a lot of positive response to the letterAlso received a lot of cheques20

#4 Dr. Bill RoeslerProfessor and legacy research award recipient

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016BevLetter #4 ResearcherResearchers can be kind of boring, so there was some hesitationCould have been riskyA gentleman wrote, I was impressed by the letter from Dr. Roesler and the work he is doing. In a telephone conversation with Trina (Planned Giving Officer), a woman mentioned that she very much enjoyed Dr. Roesler's letteranother telephone conversation between myself and a gentleman who confirmed over the telephone that he was interested to make a gift expressed, "I am calling, Bev, to also comment on the lovely appeal from Bill Roesler."

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#5 Catherine McIvor

Living Donors

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 2016BevLove storyWas important to have only one of them sign

LeahWe lose intimacy with a dual signatory22

ResultsWith the 5th of the 5 mailings completed in February, weve confirmed 65 expectancies with an estimated future value of $7.2 million.

Planned Gift ResponsesTouchpointMailed# Responses% ResponseInquiry%Expectancy%Legacy Mailing #13,152441.40%80.25%210.67%Legacy Mailing #22,317572.46%110.47%140.60%Legacy Mailing #32,338522.22%80.34%100.43%Legacy Mailng #42,290301.31%50.22%90.39%Legacy Mailing #52,227411.84%60.27%110.49%3,1522247.11%381.21%652.06%

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Bev: talking about the ROI and the increased activity the legacy mail campaign has provided - resulting in a third PGO to continue the great workNumbers speak for themselvesAlso speaks to the need to have variety (look at the response rates)

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Thank you!Bev Cooper, BAAssociate Director of Development (Planned Giving)University of [email protected]

Leah Eustace, MPhil, ACFREChief Idea GoddessGood [email protected]

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Le parcours cratifCongrs national 2016 du CCAEDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, 8 au 10 juin, 2016The Creative Journey2016 CCAE National ConferenceDelta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK, June 8-10, 201624

For complete information and assistance, in confidence and without obligation, please contact:

Doug Clark or Bev CooperPlanned Giving, University AdvancementUniversity of SaskatchewanRoom 223 Kirk Hall, 117 Science PlaceSaskatoon, SK S7N 5C8

(306) 966-5186 or 1-800-699-1907

FAX (306) 966-5571

Email: [email protected]

www.usask.ca/advancement

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storytelling: how to transform annual donors into legacy prospects

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