{"id":458,"date":"2021-03-28T22:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-28T22:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/fmi\/?p=458"},"modified":"2021-06-18T18:45:23","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T18:45:23","slug":"blog-visualization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/?p=458","title":{"rendered":"Blog Visualization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Why Visualization is Key to Major and Planned Giving Success<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In the past several blogs, we\u2019ve covered five of the seven steps of FUNDING matters,\u00a0Power Donor\u00a0Experience<\/a>\u00a0(PDX). The goal of the PDX is to\u00a0help individuals and organizations\u00a0visualize how they need to\u00a0manage the relationships and develop a prospect pipeline.\u00a0Underlying all of the steps is the ability to visualize that donation at\u00a0the end of the\u00a0tunnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this Harvard Business Review article<\/a>, Scott Berinato argues that there are four different types of visualization, but all are just a means to an end. \u201cVisualization is merely a process. What we actually do when we make a good chart is get at some truth and move people to feel it\u2014to see what couldn\u2019t be seen before. To change minds. To cause action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog will focus on why visualization is the key to success as you continue to engage\u00a0donors and how you can help them visualize their future contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Visualization Can Help You\u00a0<\/strong>
The PDX lays out several visualization steps for you \u2013 perhaps\u00a0you just didn\u2019t know that\u2019s\u00a0what they were until right now. The most prominent are Step 1 and Step 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1 (Brainstorming and Strategy) is perhaps the greatest opportunity for visualization. Berniato references brainstorming directly as a key tool in idea generation. Whiteboards, butcher paper, the back of a napkin, or a Google Doc \u2013 however you brainstorm best is up to you, but this type of visualization is seen as a way that business can work and answer complex challenges. For you, it\u2019s how you will ensure planned giving success. You\u2019re laying the foundation and beginning the process of identifying, cultivating, and soliciting high-net-worth donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4 (Communication) is also a highly-valuable step in the visualization process. This is\u00a0when you have the opportunity to\u00a0prepare communication materials to build your\u00a0prospects\u2019\u00a0enthusiasm and commitment. This is what Berniato calls \u201cidea\u00a0illustration.\u201d He\u00a0says the focus should be on \u201cclear communication,\u00a0structure, and the logic of the ideas.\u201d\u00a0By creating these materials, you\u2019re able to visualize the optimal outcome (a donation), and\u00a0your donors are able to visualize donating themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How To Help Donors Visualize<\/strong>
 Helping donors visualize is also essential to achieving major and planned giving. As noted above, you directly help this process along in Step 4 of the PDX by providing written materials, but what if there was an even better way? Say you have a donor who lives in Ontario and their household income is in the range of $95,000 and $115,000. This range indicates their tax bracket on income. They have been contributing $1,000 to your organization each year in December as part of their year-end tax planning. They support your mission as both a donor and a volunteer, and you feel secure in their commitment to your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, you want to show them a simple illustration of another method of tax-efficient giving that they may do at any point in the year. Ideally, this would be triggered by growth in an asset like a publicly-traded stock or a mutual fund. If they purchased Shopify shares at $100 per share and today their shares are worth $1,500, their capital gain on their Shopify shares is $1,400. If sold, they would be required to pay the tax on the capital gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In helping your donor visualize how the part of all of the tax on their capital gain can be used to make their donation, it demystifies the donation process and allows them to visualize actually make that donation. In the end, this makes both you, your donor, and your organization happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, you don\u2019t have to sit with each and every prospect donor and lay out all of the different options. The GIFTABULATOR<\/a> does this for you. Here what it will show donors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n