Last week, I wrote about the coverage ratio for monthly donors and how important it is to start tracking it. If you don’t have a monthly donor retention process in place, you may find that you are not growing at all, no matter how many new monthly donors you bring in. You may just be treading water.  In my many years of working in and with monthly donor programs, the first step is to realize that sustainers may drop out because of credit card...

People ask me this question a lot: “My monthly donors only make up 3 percent (or fill in another percentage) of my donors. Is that good? What’s the percentage I should strive for?” The answer is: “It depends!” Let’s look at a few different scenarios: If you have 100,000 donors who have made a gift in the past year and 3 percent of them are sustainers, it’s not bad. That’s 3,000 donors giving you between $24 and $35 a month—or between $864,000...

I’m so excited. Andrew Olson just published the book, called 101 Biggest Mistakes Nonprofits Make.  It’s now available and I’m honored to be in it. When it comes to monthly giving I see that nonprofits make two major mistakes that really prevent them from growing their monthly giving programs to its fullest potential. They go hand-in-hand. The number one top mistake nonprofits make with monthly giving is NOT PREPARING! Many...

It’s tax season. Phew, I just finished mine. It’s such a bear. The good news is that this also means last year’s giving updates are coming in. It is statistics season, and, of course, I’m always on the lookout for the latest statistics when it comes to monthly giving. While there are not that many companies that track sustainers yet, what we can see is amazingly powerful. So, if you or your boss are still hesitant, take a look at the latest...

Face-to-Face Sustainer Asks Are Growing in the United States In the US, Face-to-Face fundraising often means personal asking, as in meeting a donor and asking for a big gift. The Face-to-Face (F2F) I’m discussing today is different (at least for the US market). It’s known as canvassing, street fundraising, or door-to-door fundraising. It’s typically focused on generating monthly donors (sustainers) in well-trafficked areas, street corners,...

Snow. The cold white stuff. It’s been falling steadily for the past few hours, and there’s more to come. It reminds me of the time when my husband and the boys attended a special winter scout camp called The Klondike Derby. It was all about learning to survive in cold weather (and, of course, lots of fun). The worst thing that could happen was to get wet socks or clothes because you would not be able to dry up. You’d have to find ways to use...

My husband and I just came back from a trip to Las Vegas and Phoenix for some sunshine. We didn’t get as much as we’d hoped, which is unusual, but it was still nice to take some time off. We flew on our favorite airline Southwest—free bags, points and no hassle. The only disadvantage is that from our (easy) airport, Providence, RI, most flights are not non-stop. We typically have a stop in Baltimore or Chicago. It does add some travel time,...

Choices. Opportunities. There are so many ways for donors to give now—it can be overwhelming. Not just for donors, but especially for you as the organization. Text-to-give. Crowdfunding. Facebook. YouTube. Instagram? Donate buttons anyone? You worry that you’re losing out on funds if you don’t offer it all. As I described in my two do-nuts of monthly giving, while it’s certainly important to make it easy for monthly donors to give, you also...

After the Super Bowl, let’s talk about something other than chicken wings or the game for a change! Time to discuss some the two biggest “do-nut dos” in monthly giving. Trust me, I’m all for growing your monthly donor program. I’m all for making it easy for the donor! I’m all for trying to ask as often as you possibly can, but there are a few things I recommend you steer away from because they’ll make for a very bad donor experience. As you’re...

You may have heard that I love positive, uplifting, romantic movies and series! I typically “hang out at night” with something that has received the Hallmark stamp of approval. Recently, I discovered “Little Men.” Written in 1871, it’s a sequel to one of my favorite books of all-time by Louisa May Alcott, “Little Women.” I read it as a little girl, in the Dutch translation of course. Even with all their struggles, it was such a positive book....

Growing a monthly donor program is a drip-by-drip, bit-by-bit approach. That’s why January is such a great month to go for it. But there are two important things to bear in mind. First, I recommend creating a monthly-only page. When you’re trying to drive donors to give monthly, it must be very easy to find and very clear what you’re asking donors to do. If the only option is to give monthly, it must be very clear to the donor what will happen...

Let me start off with wishing you and yours a happy and healthy new year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. I also hope you had some time to relax, in between working with donors and systems to try to optimize the donations coming in by the end of the year. I took a few days to catch up on some movies we had missed and to reflect on what worked well and what didn’t work so well last year. Rather than new resolutions, I resolved to...

My husband Patrick and I got married 13 years ago, just after Thanksgiving. That first year, I started the annual Christmas newsletter tradition. For each month, it’s a simple picture and a few lines of what my husband, his two boys and I did, and I mail it to friends and family. Nothing professional looking, created in good ol’ Publisher. That first year, I worried that people might think it was too much of a “bragging” letter, but then they...

The push is on. It’s year-end, so time to bring in as much money as you can to support your cause. With or without #GivingTuesday campaigns, I bet you have at least a few messages prepared to go out in the next few weeks asking your donors and those on your email list for money. You’ve hopefully dropped that appeal in the mail and your social media messages are flying! While I already support some 30+ organizations with monthly gifts, I...

I just read this from Seth Godin’s blog: “…years from now, your future self is going to thank you for something you did today, for an asset you began to build, a habit you formed, a seed you planted. Even if you’re not sure of where it will lead, today’s the day to begin.” It made me think so much of monthly giving, I just had to share it with you. But first, let me tell you that I’m so grateful to my military family members and friends for all...

As I attend conferences and presentations lately, I find I’m starting to be one of the “older hats” when it comes to fundraising experience. Some of my colleagues are starting to retire or slow down. The same applies for leaders and colleagues in nonprofits. I’ve seen major changes over just the past few years, but it’s a good reminder to get back to basics. Don’t worry, I’m not going to slow down any time soon, but I am concerned. Because I...

Exercise regularly. Easier said than done. If you’re exercising regularly, that’s wonderful. I was always too busy and not doing much until I heard about barre classes near my home. I really had no excuse not to! Now, I’m there at least twice a week, and I feel great! I just know it helps improve the retention of my health and well being. Well, if you’re concerned about your donor retention and donor experience, let’s look at the best three...

I just returned from the International Fundraising Congress held in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands every October. It’s always a great gathering of some 1,000 individuals from 65+ countries who raise funds in their local countries, and sometimes outside of it as well. An added benefit is that I was able to visit some of my family and stock up on some of my favorite Dutch goodies and foods! I’d like to share my two favorite sessions with you. There...

When I talk to younger fundraisers, they often say: “Why would I use the phone? I never answer it.”  Not surprising –  they’re just like our sons, who are now 29 and 31 years old. But herein lies the problem. What you as a (young) person may think to be true may not actually be the case for your donors! And those are the people who should be at the absolute center of all your thinking and doing. Especially now with retention rates being lower...

By now, you’ve all heard of the GDPR. It stands for: The General Data Protection Regulation. GDPR is a regulation law in the European Union (EU) on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA). But do you know what started the GDPR process? It was one older donor who committed suicide after she got totally overwhelmed by the many appeals for money—in the mail, by phone, on the streets. You...

Chrissy Davis approached me and asked if she could write a guest post for me, based upon fundraising podcasts.  As someone who has recently been on some podcasts, I think it’s a very good way to feature your organization. Let’s hear from Chrissy why…   If you’re passionate about your cause and you’d like to raise funds for it, it is very noble and points to a truly good person. Fundraising can, however, be very difficult as many...

You probably know by now that I’m a huge planner. Planning is actually part of the fun for me. Every year around this time, my husband and I look at our calendar to see when we can get away in the winter. It’s just a short trip to another part of the country. Typically it’s Arizona, but now that our youngest lives in Las Vegas, it’ll be a Vegas/Arizona combo. We live in Massachusetts, so it’s crucial to get away from the snow and dreary...

… You’d think that every organization by now would be convinced that there are donors who are interested in supporting your organization by joining a sustainer program. … You’d think the tremendous feeling of excitement that these wonderful sustainers generate would permeate your organization.  Well, unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, it’s the “financial folks,” “the bean counters” who are holding things up. They...

You’ve heard me say this before: ”Assign a driver!”—if you’re serious about growing your nonprofit sustainer program.  Just one driver who pulls it all together and who makes sure the car keeps running and is being maintained to keep on running for a very long time.  So, when I mentioned this at a recent conference, an attendee asked me: ”What are the top characteristics someone needs to manage a sustainer program?”  That’s such a great...

I’m not talking about the latest soccer game. I’m not even talking about the online dating service, although, in a way, we fundraisers could be considered trying to “date” and then “marry” our donors. No, what I’m talking about is that wonderful, glorious “challenge” you offer, which you can use to “entice” other donors to make a gift. The amount raised is typically matched by a generous donor or a group of donors, and it helps you raise even...

One of the key annual fundraising strategies I recommend you add (or rev up) this year is monthly giving. It’s one of the best ways I know to move the needle in improving your mid-level giving program, and to also serve as a pipeline to acquire new donors, upgrade current donors, and influence major and legacy giving. To help you persuade your “powers that be” this is a direction in which you should definitely be headed, I’ve invited Erica...

I just got back from a tremendous few days in the Washington D.C. area, and I learned a lot about monthly sustainer programs. First, I was privileged to attend the Professional Face-to-Face Fundraisers Association meeting, where some 75 people listened to speakers on the latest trends in face-to-face sustainer fundraising and how one nonprofit tweaked its retention to higher levels. Spoiler alert: account updater and credit card processes had a...

I was born and raised in the Netherlands where electronic bank payments, or direct withdrawals, were a way of life. Believe it or not, even credit cards there were required to be paid off every month, automatically, from your bank account. Things have changed there, but also here in the U.S. Now, the question, “can monthly giving via direct withdrawal work here?” has a much more powerful “yes” answer than ever before. While it’s still not quite...

These days, there’s so much interest in new channels and the latest next “new shiny thing,” but did you know that there’s one medium you use everyday that has evolved tremendously over the past few years? That medium (the one that you’re holding in your hand right now or the one that’s very nearby!) is the ultimate key to retaining your donors: it’s your phone! In a session at the 50th Annual NCDC Conference and Exposition, Juddee Millito and...

I still come across many organizations that are actively trying to grow their monthly giving program, but they’re not sure who’s “running the show.” Nobody feels responsible. People wait until someone comes up with the next idea. Some think they only need to be focused on one aspect of monthly giving. Nobody is taking control of the whole process. Until those self-driving cars become a reality, just like with a car, you must have a driver. And...