I am not kidding you.  New research from Texas Tech professor Russell James – the only true Planned Giving academician that I’ve ever heard of – has pinpointed unique brain reactions to planned giving questions in his research.  In other words, he has started to figure out what types of conversations, images and thoughts assist or thwart planned giving decisions – from a scientific point of view.

Ironically, the research seems to confirm what experienced planned giving marketers talk about all the time.  Here is link to a blog post from Phyllis Freedman, the top pure planned giving marketing specialist I know (from a pure marketing/design/messaging perspective), on the Professor James’ research:  http://www.smart-giving.com/plannedgivingblogger/bequests/new-research-enlightens/

And, if you are really fascinated by my reaction and Phyllis’, check out this lecture on slideshare from Professor Russell himself going through the methods and some of the conclusions – really interesting stuff but you need some time to watch: click here or below  (as of the posting of this blog entry, the sound was not working on the lecture – the slides alone are very interesting to flip through but I hope the lecture works for you!)  <div style=”margin-bottom:5px”> <strong> <a href=”http://www.slideshare.net/rnja8c/planned-giving-and-the-brain&#8221; title=”Planned giving and the brain” target=”_blank”>Planned giving and the brain</a> </strong> from <strong><a href=”http://www.slideshare.net/rnja8c&#8221; target=”_blank”>Russell James</a></strong> </div>