Powerful Fundraising Ideas for a New Year
By Alex Counts, Executive Director, India Philanthropy Alliance
One of the major challenges of being in a position of leadership is to make time for "important but not urgent" activities; even increasing the amount one commits to these endeavors by a few hours each week can lead to major breakthroughs over time. One example is keeping up with the literature in ones particular field (say, health care, agriculture, or education) and also in the nonprofit sector generally.
The person who trained me as a fundraiser mentioned in passing that I should read the Chronicle of Philanthropy on a regular basis. For 25 years, I almost never did so. When I started teaching about philanthropy and consulting with nonprofits about a decade ago, I finally subscribed to the Chronicle and started to read it sporadically.
In early December 2025, I went on one of my occasional silent retreats where I cut myself off from all electronic communication, conversation, and other distractions. I spent 48-72 hours doing exactly five things: reading, hiking, sleeping, cooking, and eating. (I wrote about this practice here.) Once I settled in, I dove into a pile of unread issues of the Chronicle. In so doing, I gleaned a ton of useful ideas and techniques about fundraising. A fair amount of the best content in those issues related to planned giving, also known as legacy giving.
As a service to the India Philanthropy Alliance and India Giving Day communities, I shared some of the most important things I learned from those issues during my monthly online training webinar on fundraising held in mid-December. I also contacted Rasheeda Childress, the author of several of those articles, and invited her to be the guest speaker at IPA's Virtual Town Hall in January. (She accepted; it will be held on Tuesday, January 27 at 11am ET.)
The remainder of this post will highlight the most valuable learnings from those articles. I encourage readers who are involved in nonprofit fundraising—whether as staff, board members, or volunteers—to not only consider how you can apply these ideas and techniques, but also to invest in your knowledge of fundraising on a regular basis. Subscribing to and reading the Chronicle is a great way to start. (Please note: If you are interested in taking part in our invitation-only Online Fundraising Trainings and Virtual Town Halls, send me an email at alex@indiaphilanthropyalliance.org.)
Top Learnings Related to Planned/Legacy Giving
Over the next 25 years, there will be a generational wealth transfer of $123 trillion in the United States alone, which will include bequests totaling $15-$18 trillion. (Yes, those are trillions, not millions or billions!) The nonprofits that are most aggressive in seeking bequests will get the lion's share of those resources. The American Cancer Society receives around $170 million in bequests each year!
People tend to revise their wills in their early 80s. So, even if a donor has told you that your organization is in their estate plan, keep communicating with them throughout their lives, even if they stop donating on a regular basis. In fact, ratchet up your communications when they approach their 80th birthday.
Don't forget to court female donors, as they often inherit funds twice: once from their parents, and once from their spouse. Bear in mind that women's wealth is growing faster than men's, in percentage terms.
Create a planned giving (or legacy) society and remind people of its existence during every in-person or online event you organize, and in virtually every publication you put out.
Consider partnering with Freewill. You can include link to their website in yours, in order to help your donors write their wills. If you pay to be a featured partner, Freewill will make it easier for people who aren't already donors to your (or even any) organization to find you. A federation of Jewish charities in Ohio came together to encourage planned gifts and listed all members in a drop-down menu of a landing page that each organization promoted. (IPA may explore doing this.)
Get members of your planned giving (legacy) society to record video testimonials about why they remembered your organization in their estate plan. It will strengthen their commitment to keeping your organization in their will, and it will also encourage others to consider including you.
Don't ask for proof (e.g., a copy of their will) from those who tell you they have included your organization. Take their word for it.
If a donor is sending you grants directly from their retirement account, it suggests they have a sizable amount there. Court them for a planned gift or a priority basis.
Beware of possible ethics pitfalls in pursuing planned gifts that can upset a donor's heirs. For example, "a well-meaning employee … wanting to give a homebound donor a ride to her lawyer's to update her will." This could be misinterpreted by family members as being manipulative and underhanded, even if the staff member's intentions were pure.
Top Learnings Related to Other Aspects of Fund-Raising
Artificial intelligence, used properly, can work wonders in renewing lapsed donors using customized appeals. One nonprofit saw unprecedented renewal rates for donors who had not given in 5+ years from using AI with the assistance of a firm called Soukup Strategic Solutions.
Renewal rates for first-time donors average 19% industry-wide. Top nonprofits try to do better than that. They send "welcome packets" to first-time donors and do their best to make these new supporters feel valued in other ways as well.
There are many ways to court mid-range donors (i.e., the level just below major donors). One is to create a named "society" for them with specific benefits. Remember, mid-range donors might not be great major donor prospects, but they are often excellent planned giving targets. They tend to be cautious with spending their money while alive, which can leave a lot left over to distribute to nonprofits they care about in their estate plans.
As a nonprofit leader, call ten donors every month no matter what, in order to keep your finger on the pulse of your supporter network. It may be a good idea to email those you intend to call beforehand, so they are not surprised to hear from you and take your call.
If you send communications to your donors monthly, ensure that around half of those messages are not solicitations but instead stories of impact.
Send birthday cards to your mid-range and major donors, signed by your entire staff and/or board if possible.
Consider emulating the approach of some large nonprofits by having three giving societies that you cultivate and steward in distinct ways: planned giving, mid-range giving, and monthly giving. (Major donors get more customized offerings.)
If you are considering launching a new fundraising initiative such as a giving society of some kind, run the idea in draft form by a few donors for their input.
When writing grant proposals, strive to teach the person reading it something new and useful about the area they cover (not just about your organization). Also, imagine that the person reading your proposal is doing so at 11pm, that it is the 11th proposal they have read that day, and that they are on page 11 of your proposal. Figure out how to keep their interest anyway!
Consider working with online influencers to build your brand. Not all are created equal. There are nano-influencers (<10k followers), micro-influencers (10k-100k), and macro-influencers (for the most part, 500k followers and above). But remember that the number of followers is not the only factor; the intensity of their follower network and the effort they will put into promoting your organization are important to take into account as well.
Good luck applying these and other ideas and techniques in the new year, and seek new ones in the Chronicle and in the various offerings of the India Philanthropy Alliance.
Sources (all from the Chronicle of Philanthropy):
"How to Start a Midlevel Giving Program," by Rasheeda Childress, November/December 2025
"Beyond the Bequest," by Lisa Schohl, November/December 2025
"The Great Wealth Transfer," by Ben Gose, April 2025
"The Rise of Influencer Fundraising," by Jie Jenny Zou, January 2025
"How to Strengthen Your Grant Proposals and Avoid Common Mistakes," David Wheeler, December 2024
"Legacy Giving: An Untapped Resource," by M.J. Prest, December 2024
"How One Charity Used AI to Bring Back Donors," by Rasheeda Childress, December 2024