Why the supporter who responds twice to an acquisition appeal may leave your charity a gift in their Will.

I love spotting a pattern in legacy supporter behaviours, and asking, why did that happen? 

Here’s one from when I headed a legacy fundraising department at an animal welfare charity.

Lapsed and active supporters who responded again to a cash acquisition appeal for e.g. a cold insert, mailer or DRTV ad were more likely to go on to enquire about leaving a gift in their Will.

Why?

One hypothesis is that these “repeat acquisition” supporters were people who deeply identified with the cause. By responding again to an acquisition appeal - something that didn't acknowledge their support - they were saying: “This is my cause, and I want to keep showing that.”

Each repeat action reinforced their self-concept as a loyal and values-driven supporter. And of course, legacy giving is the ultimate expression of that identity.

If you’re curious, do a quick query in your supporter base. Select supporters who’ve responded more than once to an acquisition appeal and suppress that list against your enquirer, intender or pledger lists.

If there's a significant proportion in both lists, work closely with your cash giving team to drip legacy messages as part of their journey. Alternatively, if the proportion is not significant, consider selecting them separately as a list (subject to volume) and use copy to reinforce that sense of identity and belonging.

It's a small insight but one that could possibly generate a stream of pledgers.