The experts in donor database analysis and fundraising programs since 1995
Donor Compass™, our proprietary database analysis tool, provides a measurement and ranking of the propensity of a donor to provide you with a relationship gift – planned, major and capital – based on their past giving behavior with your organization.
By combining our unique, highly donor-centric approach with targeted direct response marketing, our planned, major and capital giving programs achieve unparalleled results, raising millions in revenue for our clients.
We are Legacy Leaders, and this is our story.
We are a privately held firm and the 1st direct response fundraising vendor to introduce a planned giving program. The nonprofit sector had never before seen a program focused on planned rather than annual/current giving.

Groundbreaking Approach
The Legacy Leaders unique, donor-centric approach broke new ground in the 90’s. Since then, we have partnered with over 200 nonprofit clients to execute 350+ programs. We didn’t stop there, either. With each campaign and each new project, we focused on enhancing donor loyalty and engagement with our nonprofit clients, ensuring the best possible results. At the same time, we worked hard to build and improve our methodology. We thoroughly analyzed completed programs and then we continually identified ways to innovate and elevate our expertise.
What makes the Legacy Leaders team experts?
With 25 years in business and 350+ successful programs under our belts, Legacy Leaders, easily possesses the most experience in planned gift marketing. But that’s not all. Urged by our clients, we decided to venture into major and capital gift fundraising. We applied the same donor-centric approach that we developed for planned giving and – it turns out – our focus on strengthening relationships works equally as well in the major and capital giving arena.

Our proactive programs can include:
- Donor Compass™ Database Analysis
- Integrated phone and mail components
- Donor prospecting, cultivation and stewardship
- Major and Capital gift acquisition and donor cultivation
If you’re looking to optimize your fundraising efforts, talk to the experts.
Our Beginning
In 1995, Legacy Leaders was founded to provide direct response planned giving services. A team of fundraising experts recognized the immense potential of planned giving for nonprofits … and realized that traditional marketing methods failed to maximize planned giving.
Through research and hands-on practice, the team determined how to achieve the best results. Their methods included:
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- Tried and proven planned giving practices
- Targeted direct response marketing
- Donor database analysis based on empirical results
Legacy Leaders best-in-industry programs focus on:
Communicating with the supporters of our nonprofit clients through donor-centric phone and mail campaigns
Enhancing donor loyalty and engagement for our nonprofit clients
Achieving superior results
Building expertise in donor database analysis
Supporting research to expand the body of fundraising knowledge

Our direct response marketing and donor database analysis has:

- Raised hundreds of millions of dollars in bequest revenue for our clients
- Delivered significant increases in the number of new gift commitments
- Positively influenced major and capital gift contributions by enhancing the donor relationships with the organization.
Learn more about our fundraising programs and our Donor Compass™ Database Analysis by clicking the link below. Our team is ready to help you!
Giving Back to the Community
Legacy Leaders is committed to expanding the body of fundraising knowledge through research. As an Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Research Partner, we provide funding and insights. The AFP is only one of the many ways Legacy Leaders has expanded the study of planned giving, and supported the fundraising industry for almost 15 years. A few of the organizations we actively support include the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (CGP), the Washington Planned Giving Council (WPGC), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Vancouver and the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) Mentoring Program. We are also a proud sponsor of the Woodmark Summit, the Colorado Planned Giving Roundtable Summer Symposium and the Annual National Conference of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP).
January 2020
2019
- Legacy Leaders introduces the easy to navigate, wholly graphic, interactive, new user interface
with Donor Compass™ 2019.
2019
- Recipient of the CAGP 2019 GTA Chapter Champion Award in recognition of Legacy Leader’s 13 – year partnership in support of the GTA Mentoring Program.
September 2015
2015
- Donor Compass 2.0™ is released. This new and improved version incorporates 2 additional measurement components based on an additional 7 years of empirical evidence.
September 2014
2014
- Legacy Leaders releases Donor Compass™ Database Analysis as a stand-alone service.
September 2011
2011
- Royal Ontario Museum Governors partners with Legacy Leaders to execute a 2,200 lead Custom Planned Giving Program targeting their board, donors, members and volunteers.
September 2010
2010
- Colorado State University partners with Legacy Leaders to launch a 4 year Complete Planned Giving Program.
- Legacy Leaders executes its 125th planned gift focused campaign/project.
September 2009
2009
- Seattle University selects Legacy Leaders to execute their 4 year Complete Planned Giving Program.
September 2008
2008
- Legacy Leaders growth requires that we move to a larger Canadian Headquarters.
- The George Washington University Foundation selects Legacy Leaders to execute a 4 year Complete Planned Giving Program where conversation/mail messaging was uniquely tailored for each of 7 different alumni segments.
- The 2 research papers funded by Legacy Leaders in 2006 are released:
- Causes and Correlates of Charitable Giving in Estate Planning: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Examination of Older Adults by Russell N. James III, J.D., Ph.D.
- Identification, Death and Bequest Giving by Adrian Sargeant & Jen Shang.
September 2007
2007
- Legacy Leaders begins marketing its unique 4 year Complete Planned Giving Program that includes:
- Donor Compass™ Database Analysis (the 1st database analysis tool on the market designed specifically to unlock the hidden planned giving potential in a nonprofit’s database).
- Focus groups.
- A 2 phase planned gift prospect acquisition/qualification campaign.
- 3 years of prospect cultivation/stewardship.
- University of Florida Foundation selects Legacy Leaders to execute a 4 year Complete Planned Giving Program.
December 2006
2006
- Through a $50,000 grant to the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Research Council, Legacy Leaders provides funding to support 2 separate planned giving motivation research projects conducted by:
- Russell James.
- Adrian Sargeant & Jen Shang.
September 2005
2005
- Legacy Leaders is named an Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Research Partner.
- We execute our 50th campaign/project; by partnering with Legacy Leaders more than 30 clients had exceeded traditional planned gift acquisition methods by 10% – 100%.
September 2004
2004
- Legacy Leaders 1st facility in the U.S. opens.
September 2003
2003
- Legacy Leaders passes the $200,000,000 mark in planned giving commitments secured on behalf of North American nonprofit clients.
September 2002
2002
- A profile of Legacy Leaders is featured in Advancing Philanthropy, the bi-monthly magazine published by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
September 2001
2001
- Legacy Leaders wins the Gold Standard Award from the Advertising Bureau of Canada for its campaign executed on behalf of Ryerson University.
- The Arthritis Society of Canada partners with Legacy Leaders; our 1st campaign for a national Canadian client.
September 2000
1999, 2000, 2001
- Legacy Leaders receives the Association of Healthcare Professionals Showcase Award for Planned Giving.
September 1996
1996
- The Chronicle of Philanthropy publishes a feature article about Legacy Leaders planned giving focused direct response programs.
- Legacy Leaders wins the Canadian Direct Marketing Association Merit Award for Integrated Marketing.
September 1995
1995
- Legacy Leaders is founded.
- We are the 1st direct response fundraising vendor to introduce to the North American nonprofit sector integrated mail/phone programs that focus on planned giving as opposed to annual/current giving.