Legacy 1000™
The Legacy 1000™ is built on a simple but powerful idea: What if you stopped marketing to your best planned giving prospects and built relationships with them instead?
A Thoughtfully Scientific Approach to Planned Giving
- Around 60% of planned giving donors will never notify you they included a gift in their plans.
- CZG data shows almost 30% of planned giving donors previously indicated they would not include the organization.
- The most frequent respondents to planned gifts marketing appeals often have the lowest financial capacity for giving.
Traditional planned gifts marketing is a great way to maximize leads: start conversations, bring donors into the pipeline, and provide advice and support for creating a legacy. Unfortunately, many of your best prospects will opt out of this journey. That’s where the Legacy 1000 is designed to succeed.
Key Program Elements
- 1,000 donors cultivated
- Personalized journey for each donor
- Tailored communication based on donor insight
- 12-18 month cultivation journey
- Compliments rather than competes with large scale marketing programs
- Builds relationships that lead to legacy gift commitments
A Meaningful Stewardship and Cultivation Journey
WARM-UP
Months 1-4
- No-ask letters
- Impact stories
- Leadership notes
ENGAGE
Months 2-7
- Discovery survey
- Personalized responses
- Value content
CULTIVATE
Months 8-10
- Exclusive invitation
- Gift officer calls
- Exclusive events
STEWARD
Months 11-15
- Follow-up
- Impact report
- Ongoing relationship
The Science Behind Legacy 1000
The Legacy 1000 planned giving program is built on more than CZG’s experience and results — it’s grounded in decades of peer-reviewed research. Dr. Russell James III*, considered one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of charitable giving, has spent his career studying one central question: what actually moves people to make their most significant gifts?
His answer, drawn from neuroimaging studies, behavioral economics, and game theory, is consistent across every line of inquiry: donors give when the act of giving advances their own sense of identity and personal story.
Legacy 1000 is designed around exactly that insight. Five key principles from Dr. James’ research shape the Legacy 1000 approach:
- Story drives giving. Bequest decisions activate autobiographical memory — not logic or tax calculations.
- Questions outperform pitches. Donors persuade themselves when asked the right questions.
- Relationships determine generosity. Even small signals of personal attention measurably increase giving.
- Legacy, not mortality, motivates action. Effective planned giving communication leads with meaning and impact.
- The first estate gift changes everything. Annual giving increases 75%+ after a donor includes a charity in their estate plan and stays elevated for years.
Want the full research summary? Ask us for The Science Behind Legacy 1000.
How it Works
Proprietary Prospect Identification
Using CZG’s decades of donor behavior data and proprietary scoring methodology, we analyze your entire donor database to identify the 1,000 donors most likely to make a planned gift, not just those with the highest net worth. This isn’t wealth screening – it is behavior-based predictive identification.
The Warm-up Sequence
Before any cultivation begins, donors receive 2-3 communications with no response device, no ask, no envelope to return. Just genuine connection:
- Personal Note from Leadership: A brief, warm message thanking them for their years of faithfulness
- “Inside Look” Letter: A behind-the-scenes update on something meaningful happening at the organization
- Impact Story Card: A beautiful, oversized card sharing one donor’s story of why they gave
Handwritten Communications
Select components and letters in the program use mechanical pen technology that creates authentic handwritten correspondence. Not printed fonts that look like handwriting, but actual pen-on-paper writing.
The Discovery Survey
A thoughtfully designed survey that gathers insights about the donor’s connection to your organization and identifies their interests, values, and what aspects of the mission matter most to them. Hand-written thank you notes advance the cultivation process faster and more effectively than traditional communications.
Signature Cultivation Experience
The Legacy 1000 culminates in a series of invitation-only events. Each donor can choose from several intimate, relationship‑focused experiences that often include dinner with leadership, a behind‑the‑scenes look at programs or facility tours, or a gathering where existing legacy donors share their stories.
Gift Officer Hand-off Package
For every donor who indicates interest or engagement, CZG prepares a comprehensive briefing for the organization’s gift officers to turn a cold call into a meaningful conversation.
- Suggested gift vehicles based on their profile and collected data
- Donor’s giving history and engagement timeline
- Survey responses and stated interests
- Recommended talking points
Ready to get started?
Schedule a 30-minute, no-obligation discovery call today.
*Legacy 1000 is based on CZG’s interpretation of publicly available information produced by Dr. Russel James III and is in no way affiliated with nor endorsed by Dr. James.