Research Partnerships

Leaving A Legacy: A New Look at Today’s Planned Giving Donors is a Giving USA special report published in 2019. CGP participated in the planning and analysis for this project, which included both survey and interview phases. See key findings. The full report can be purchased from Giving USA.

The Impact of Covid-19 on Gift Planning is a research project conducted in October 2020 by Marts and Lundy. More than 300 charitable organizations were surveyed about the effects of the pandemic on their interaction with their donors. CGP participated in planning and analysis for this study. Read the full report.

Lessons from Research

Donor Retention: What Do We Know and What Can We Do About It?

Fundraising researcher Adrian Sargeant reviews both marketing and the fundraising literature to determine the factors most likely to drive switching (to another nonprofit) or lapsing behaviours and the primary drivers of loyalty. Get the report.

Related Resources

Entrepreneurs as Philanthropists: Understanding Entrepreneur's Unique Approach to Giving

This 2018 study by Fidelity Charitable examines the broad charitable giving attitudes and behaviors of entrepreneurs and business owners and shows that entrepreneurs are committed not only to addressing gaps in the marketplace through business, but also gaps in the social sector through their giving. This report and other research related to noncash gifts can be found in the Essential Assets resources collection in CGP Link.  

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CGP Survey of Members 2019

Through the years, this survey has tracked professional characteristics and common practices of people whose commitment to charitable planning leads them to join their local planned giving council and/or the national CGP organization. This report includes analysis of various gift planner performance indicators, including the number of new commitments secured in 2018 and the number of visits made to donors.

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Train an Army of Gift Planners

Based on an analysis of interviews with major gift officers offers, Katy Kotlarczyk of the University of Colorado Boulder offers practical advice for training and supporting MGOs in planned gift best practices.

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