Major and Planned Gifts: How to Engage Professionals on Their Own Terms

By Duke Haddad, Ed.D.

Major-gifts and planned-gifts officers constantly seek ways to engage with prospects and donors. Every technique is used on a daily basis to identify, rate and screen prospects.

At times, it is very hard to make appointments to meet the people whom officers need to engage. If you can't meet a prospect directly, you might be able to engage his or her professional representative. Many individuals have CPAs, trust officers, attorneys, life insurance agents, financial planners, bankers or other type of professionals they rely upon for financial decisions.

One client decision these people could influence might be whether or not to make charitable contributions and possibly what charities to support. If you tried to create awareness with professionals concerning your charity, how much time and effort did it take just to make one appointment? I can tell you this approach takes a great deal of time and effort. Have you ever thought of a way to engage a large number professionals on their own terms that is a win-win for them and you?

Professionals in every field need to stay abreast of new information. The pace and volume of new information is amazing. Professionals need information to stay on top of their games as their clients demand and expect the greatest expertise available. Many individuals must have and desire continuing education (CE) opportunities each year. Depending upon their field and requirements, many individuals attend conferences and travel great distances to acquire much needed CE hours.

If you ask, some people would possibly be interested in acquiring CE credits in the easiest way possible. My planned-giving staffers discovered an excellent way to provide CE credits to professionals and make them aware of our charity. They do this each year by having The Salvation Army sponsor the Estate & Charitable Gift Planning Institute. This daylong program, which is in the form of a national webcast, brings professionals to a variety of national sites. In Indiana, 11 statewide sites are utilized, including the largest site located in Indianapolis.

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Duke Haddad, Ed.D. Author's page

Duke Haddad, Ed.D., CFRE, is currently associate director of development, director of capital campaigns and director of corporate development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division in Indianapolis. He also serves as president of Duke Haddad and Associates LLC and is a freelance instructor for Nonprofit Web Advisor.

He has been a contributing author to NonProfit PRO since 2008.

He received his doctorate degree from West Virginia University with an emphasis on education administration plus a dissertation on donor characteristics. He received a master’s degree from Marshall University with an emphasis on public administration plus a thesis on annual fund analysis. He secured a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) with an emphasis on marketing/management. He has done post graduate work at the University of Louisville.

Duke has received the Fundraising Executive of the Year Award, from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana Chapter. He also was given the Outstanding West Virginian Award, Kentucky Colonel Award and Sagamore of the Wabash Award from the governors of West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, for his many career contributions in the field of philanthropy. He has maintained a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation for three decades.