Three new studies shed light on what fund raisers should know about seeking bequests.

Scholars who presented results at the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals noted that people who are single and childless are far more likely than any other types of people to make bequests — no matter how wealthy or dedicated to a charity people with families may be.

And they found that donors of bequests have somewhat different motivations than those who give yearly — so fund raisers need to appeal to them in specially tailored ways. You can read all the details about the findings in a Chronicle of Philanthropy article.