Million dollar bequests
The John Wood bequest acquisition pack has been included in 'Million Dollar Mailings' not just because of the huge number of bequest commitments it has generated, but also because in spite of repeated efforts to better it, it has remains unbeaten as a control pack for more than 10 years.
The John Wood bequest pack was first mailed in 1999.
The pack had a number of important and distinctive features that have contributed to its success:
- signed by a well known and well-liked celebrity, with an outer envelope clearly set up as a personal letter from him
- genuinely hand-written outer envelope
- the opportunity to meet with John Wood if you joined the 'Daffodil Circle' (ie indicated you would leave a bequest to Cancer Council)
- recognition, by joining the ‘Daffodil Circle’
- a useful no-obligation back-end Will Kit, including how to leave a bequest to Cancer Council, questions to ask your Solicitor, and free Will and Codicil forms. This mix was designed to appeal to those who already had a will and might wish to change it, and those who did not have a will at all
- a front-end premium of a bookmark, which included a handy pass-on reply form
- the reply form was styled as a very appealing two-fold invitation which they could accept or decline, making it less like a standard fundraising ask.
