Visionary Voices

Do you know how wealthy donors think? Can you explain the gap between a millionaire and a billionaire? Have you checked LinkedIn before your last donor meeting? Do you track economic indicators shaping giving decisions? Most fundraisers can’t answer these questions—and that ignorance costs millions. Google is free. LinkedIn is free. Zillow is free. Donors don’t owe you their money. Show up prepared or leave empty-handed.

Digital will platforms are expensive, slow, and aimed at the wrong donors. High-net-worth households use attorneys; faith-based institutions dominate bequests without these tools. The math is brutal: decades of fees to net very little, while boards celebrate gross and skip the P&L. In the rooms that matter, peers are polite—and quietly laughing. If you want six-figure legacies (average $50K–$90K, with 70% realized within five years of death), fund disciplined, relationship-based cultivation, advisor outreach, and a real moves-management program. Stop signaling convenience over competence. Choose effective over easy—and earn legacies this decade, not the next.