- + My marketing department is concerned about outsourcing.
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It’s because they want to make sure your institutional identity is maintained. It’s their job to be concerned, but they won’t have to worry when you work with us.
We follow your exact graphic standards and make sure we do not compromise your institutional identity. We even consult with your marketing team if need be. Navigating from your website to the planned giving pages and back is guaranteed to be seamless. Period.
- + I’m busy. Won’t this take up a lot of my time?
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Not really: We do 90% of the work while you concentrate on what you do best - raising money. We only ask you to answer a 3-minute questionnaire about the types of gifts you accept, and to provide donor stories. If you don’t even have time to give us stories, just put us in touch with the donors you’d like to feature and we’ll write the stories. The idea is to make this as simple and painless as possible for you, so you can get back to work raising money for your organization.
- + Is counting "hits" (visits) important and how can I do it? Who provides the counts?
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We give you a special link where you can see your ’’hits’’ as often as you wish.
This question requires a lengthy explanation, and is addressed on our resources page titled Understanding Your Web Statistics.
- + Can prospects transfer stocks online?
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Yes, and many charities are encouraging it in their annual giving programs.
Several firms such as Asset Stream, provide tools, systems and support for online transfers. VirtualGiving can incorporate these tools on your planned giving pages, and specifically under the pages titled "Gifts of Appreciated Securities."
- + We’re redesigning our overall website. Should we wait until that’s done?
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If your redesign is only a few weeks or months away, we’ll hold off on the graphics until your new site is completed, but will develop the planned giving content now. If your new design is a little farther down the road, we can set up your site now, and update all the graphics later for a one-time fee of $250.
- + Do you provide a Gift Calculator?
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As an option, yes. Our sites provide a portal to the gift calculator of your choice (PG Calc and PhilanthroTech). We work with both vendors, set everything up, and have them invoice you directly. Their fees are between $199 and $399.
Note that not all non-profits wish to have a planned giving calculator online.
- + What do you mean by a truly customized planned giving website?
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Anything, absolutely anything, is customizable at VirtualGiving. Period. Some vendors will insist on certain standard items for your website and since some data is fed through their databases, are not able to customize them.
- + Are Plan-a-Gift™ and LegacyPlanner™ your own gift calculators?
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They’re not calculators. They are our proprietary, interactive gift-decision modules. They recommend a gift type -- they do not calculate payouts. Used in conjunction with a calculator (such as PG Calc and PhilanthroTech), they make your website more engaging for prospects.
- + Who writes the donor stories?
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It is advised that you write your donor stories. Why? Because no one knows your donors better than you do. Alternatively, we can provide numerous pre-written samples that you can copy, revise and customize. Chances are, you have numerous donor stories sitting in your drawer right now!
- + Is there a limit on the number of donor stories that I can feature? Is there an additional fee if I want more?
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No limit. No other fee. Period.
