by Bryan Gonzalez
In the next 20 years, about $84 trillion will change hands. As an article from CRM giant, Bloomerang, suggests, “...there are only three places where dollars can go — loved ones, government, or charity.”
While I certainly want to advocate that some of this $84 trillion goes towards the many wonderful charities in the pregnancy help movement, in this article, I want to focus on the reality that, in the next 20 years, many of our top donors will have passed away.
So, the question I want to ask is: How fragile is your donor database? Are you prepared for many of your top donors to pass away?
Exercise
Let’s do a quick exercise:
- Write down a list of your top 40-50 donors. Or, maybe you need to use your donor database to run that report. (Wait, do you know how to do that with your donor database?)
- Now, with that list on your screen or on a piece of paper in front of you, write the ages of those donors. (Wait, do you know how old your donors are?)
- Then, categorize how many of your donors are in the generally accepted generational cohorts:
Having older donors is not necessarily a problem in the short term, but how many of those Generation Xers are poised to replace the Baby Boomers and Traditionalist donors as they are passing on in the next 20 years? And, are we planting seeds with the Millennials to contribute more significantly in the next 5-10 years?
If a donor gives from his business or company, but then passes away, will his company continue to donate? I would suggest having conversations with the donor about his legacy, or begin talks with the next generation of leadership about continuing the donor’s legacy even after he is gone.
Naturally, this will lead to conversations about estate planning or possibly a planned gift, and that’s certainly important in fundraising. However, the exercise this month is to determine how fragile your database is, so that you are better poised to react to seismic shifts in your donor database in the not-too-distant future.
Here are some final stats to noodle over:
(Apparently, the math doesn’t add up, but I just took numbers from the website. Regardless, you get the general idea.)
Practical Tip:
Based on this information and your analysis of your database, can you now answer the question: How fragile is your donor database?
ICYMI: March 2024, Stay Hungry
___________________________________________________________________________
*Do you have topics you’d like me to write on or have comments/feedback on my articles? Please send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
