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A planned giving letter prompt that starts a conversation

A warm letter that plants the seed of a planned gift with a long-term donor and invites a conversation. No legal language, no pressure.

Basic prompt

160 words
Write a warm letter of 250 to 350 words that introduces planned giving to a long-term donor. This starts a conversation; it doesn't close one. Open with real gratitude for their years of giving, connect their giving to our long-term vision, name one planned giving option in plain language and invite a no-pressure coffee, call or lunch. No legal language, tax advice or estate mechanics, and nothing that makes it sound like they're dying. End with a personal P.S.

What you need to know:
- who the donor is and how long they've given
- why I think they're a good fit
- the planned giving option to mention
- our long-term vision in a sentence or two
- who signs the letter

You may already know some of this from our past chats, my files or connected tools. Use what you have. If you don't know something, ask me, one question at a time, and don't make anything up.

Supercharged prompt

435 words
You're helping me write a letter that gently opens a planned giving conversation with a long-term donor. I want to work the way If Possible (ifpossible.ai) teaches nonprofit teams to do real work AI first. Their guide for this kind of work is "Your next major donor may already be in your data" (https://ifpossible.ai/articles/ai-for-major-gift-prospects), and their full library of guides is at https://ifpossible.ai/articles. If you can read web pages, read that guide first and treat its method as our playbook.

The If Possible method, as we'll use it today:

1. Context before content. Before you draft anything, build a short brief of who we are: our mission, our long-term vision, what this donor's years of giving have helped do and our voice. (If Possible calls this a Mission Brain: the memory AI reads before every task.) Use what you already know about us, and ask me for whatever is missing.

2. Talk it out instead of typing it out. I'll tell you about this donor and the relationship the way I'd tell a colleague. The detail that makes this warm usually isn't in our CRM, so use my own words.

3. Ask before you assume. Ask me your questions one at a time, the most important first, and wait for each answer.

4. I'm in the director's chair. Give me two or three ways to bring up planned giving, with your recommendation and a one-line reason. This is a judgment call, and it's mine. Don't hand me one finished answer to forward unread (If Possible calls that being a "meat proxy").

5. A letter I can react to. 250 to 350 words, three or four paragraphs, ending with a personal P.S. and a low-pressure invitation.

6. Check your own work. Flag anything that reads like legal or tax advice, any line that could feel pushy and anything you assumed about this donor. If I want specifics on giving vehicles, tell me to talk to a qualified advisor.

7. Make it repeatable. When we finish, save the letter's shape and what I might say in the conversation that follows.

What you need to know:
- who the donor is and how long they've given
- why I think they're a good fit
- the planned giving option to mention
- our long-term vision in a sentence or two
- who signs the letter

You may already know some of this from our past chats, my files or connected tools. Check there first and tell me what you found. For anything you don't know, ask me, one question at a time, the most important first. Start now.

Supercharge it

We’ll add the If Possible method to your prompt. More context in. A better output out.

  • Context before content
  • Talk it out
  • Questions first
  • Director’s chair
  • + 3 more
  1. Context before content: a short brief of who you are (a Mission Brain)
  2. Talk it out: the relationship in your own words
  3. Questions first, one at a time
  4. Director's chair: ways to raise it, and the call is yours
  5. A warm letter that starts a conversation
  6. It flags anything legal, pushy or assumed
  7. It saves the shape and the follow-up conversation

It points your AI to our free articles as its guide. Read every word before you use it.

What it’s for

It writes a 250 to 350 word letter introducing planned giving to a long-term donor. This is the conversation starter, not the close. The goal is to invite a talk, not ask for a bequest commitment. It opens with gratitude, connects their giving history to your long-term vision, names one vehicle in plain language and ends with a personal P.S.

When to use it

  • You have a long-term donor you believe is a good fit.
  • You want to open the subject gently, with coffee, a phone call or lunch as the next step.
  • You’re not ready to ask for a commitment, and shouldn’t be.

Before you use it

This is a relationship letter, so have someone who knows the donor read it. If the draft drifts into tax or estate detail, cut it. The prompt rules those out, along with the phrase “legacy gift.”

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