Every year, Blackbaud’s donorCentrics Sustainer Benchmarking group meets and evaluates information on recurring gifts. This year was no exception. Face-to-face/door-to-door fundraising, also known as canvassing, came to a screeching halt during COVID-19. For organizations that picked those strategies back up again in late 2020, the good news is the number of sustainers is up and retention rates are also up. Let’s take a look at the growth...

I always look forward to when M+R Strategic launches its annual benchmarks. It just released this year’s edition, and you can find the full report right here. As you can see, and as I’m sure you expected, it was a great year for digital engagement in general. I, of course, tend to focus on monthly giving developments. You can find that data on this specific page, along with some charts. Great stuff. So, here’s the good news from 2020: Revenue...

Credit: Concord Leadership Group “The Surprising Gift of Doubt,” written by Marc Pitman of Concord Leadership Group, is a book that’s not just about nonprofit leadership. It can be applied to leaders in any situation, especially if you, as a leader, need some re-grounding or refocus. And who doesn’t need that during this ongoing pandemic? Even if you’ve never taken a leadership class, this book gives you, in easy bites, some of the key...

A few weeks ago, The New York Times published an article on automatic upgrades of monthly gifts and the number of upset supporters when that happened. This is scary stuff and could have a very negative impact on other nonprofits looking to grow their monthly donor programs. I’m going to leave politics out and look at that practice as a whole. Here is my take: Automatic upgrading is a bad idea, period! There are several reasons: It makes for a...

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This quote by Benjamin Franklin came to mind as I was lucky to get my second vaccine. There’s something amazingly liberating about knowing that you’ve done everything in your power to stay healthy. Not to mention that I’m really excited about traveling some more. When you think about starting or growing your monthly donors, think of it as the best way to prevent your organization from...

I love subscriptions. I have for years. I started out my direct mail and fundraising career working on subscriptions and loyalty programs. Subscriptions are great! And they certainly have and continue to have a huge impact on recurring gifts. They’ve allowed people to become much more comfortable paying for things automatically. They’ve opened up automated giving to younger donors. But in my view, that’s where it ends. Why? Just look at this...

Have you noticed? Lately, when you order something through Amazon, you get an email with a picture of the item showing up in front your door. This happens as you’re hearing the delivery truck’s engine rev up to leave. Is that cool or what? I call that instant gratification. Often, until I open the package, I don’t even know what’s inside. There’s the surprise effect, like: “Wow, this came fast! I only ordered it yesterday.” As nonprofits, you...

Nonprofit PRO just published its “2021 Nonprofit Leadership Impact Study” and while I like what I’m reading there, it’s still not quite where I’d like it to be. Or should I say, where it really ought to be to make and keep nonprofits sustainable. One of the conclusions from the report is:  nonprofits need to improve relational fundraising and work toward recurring giving and monthly programs. The study shows: 41% of nonprofits believe their...

For the past few years, my husband and I have been escaping to the sunshine for a week or two. We discovered the Phoenix area as one that typically sees great weather in February/March. With COVID-19 and our vaccine shots, we had to juggle our schedule, so this year we arrived in Phoenix during spring training. On a Saturday afternoon! Definitely not the best time to arrive! The lines for the car rentals were out the door and we could see the...

Based on a colleague’s recommendation, I ordered the book “From the Ground Up: Digital Fundraising for Nonprofits,” written by Brock Warner, CFRE. It’s a great little gem with all the basics anybody and everybody could need for digital fundraising. Online advertising, social media, welcome emails, payment processors, Google Analytics and so much more. Credit: Brock Warner, CFRE In two sittings, I was able to learn all the basics I needed...

When I was reviewing my monthly gifts for the year, I realized that I hadn’t given monthly to several organizations since May. I call this a soft cancel. I didn’t mean to stop giving monthly, and I didn’t take action to stop. I had received a new card at the time, but things were very busy. I simply didn’t take the time to sit down and contact the organizations. Of course, part of me also wanted to see what happened. Sadly, in many cases,...

While I was doing some research, I came across this interesting study.  Brightback’s research is more aimed at the commercial subscription world, but a lot of what happens there can be applied to monthly giving for nonprofits. What I find interesting is the shift to an online/digital model.  Take note: Online consumers expect the experience to be convenient and relevant. While I’m not a tremendous proponent of having online donor accounts,...

I just finished going through all of the donations I made last year to prepare for my taxes. I use two credit cards and a banking account for my monthly gifts, so it was a little bit of a process. First, thank you to those organizations who sent me a tax letter! That was helpful. When I was reviewing my gifts, I thought about those organizations I didn’t feel an affinity with any longer. Or I didn’t feel they were making me feel special. Some I...

This is always an exciting time of year as donor base providers and analytics groups release their giving trends from the prior year. We are continuing to see so many changes. Not many were prepared for this disaster. And many, especially smaller organizations, almost froze when the shutdown happened. Many assumed that their donors did not have the funds to help, so they did not ask at a time when it was most crucial to ask donors for help....

I’ve seen the following happen several times in different ways. Donation platforms and donor base companies merge. A community foundation providing donation form support for organizations decides it is not their focus any longer. Nonprofits have to scramble and find a payment processor and the best forms to use quickly. And now with the GoFundMe announcement, what will organizations do if they just transitioned not too long ago? According to...

At this time, many people are looking to find out when they can possibly get vaccinated against COVID-19. I live on Cape Cod, an area with many older residents — many who have been struggling. Many of these older residents do not have access to the internet, so registration online is difficult. They do have access to the phone, though, so as a result, they’ve just started a special COVID-19 hotline with a person answering the phone at the other...

Recently, I was on Facebook Live with a colleague, and we were discussing some tips for growing monthly gifts. The question of why so many nonprofits are still hesitating about introducing monthly giving to their donors came up. It’s still a real mystery to me. It made me think of my childhood. My mom and dad always told me and my siblings (I’m the oldest of four): “Eat your veggies. They’re good for you!” They always came up with different...

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that I don’t typically recommend sending monthly thank-you letters to monthly donors. Instead, I suggest you send one thank-you letter when they join, and in that, you explain that from now on, they’ll start receiving updates on how their gifts are making a difference. Also mention that they’ll receive a tax letter in January with an overview of all their gifts. I know many of you are...

This past weekend, I read the second book by the Veritus Group principals Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels: “It’s Not Just About the Donor.” This was written during COVID-19, and one chapter is especially focused on fundraising during a crisis. You may ask, why would someone like me who typically only deals with small(ish) and monthly donors want to spend two hours reading this book on major gifts? Credit: Veritus Group Because small donors...

Over the holidays, I took some time to finish a few books in my stack of fundraising books to read. Trust me, I learn something every time, and I’ve been raising funds for years. Cover image of “10 Simple Fundraising Lessons” by Jim Eskin | Credit: Amazon Jim Eskin wrote a book on simple fundraising lessons, and it’s a great little gem for a few reasons: It’s short and sweet, and you can read it in less than one hour. Who does not...

During the final days of the year, I was able to catch up on some presentations that had been sitting in my inbox. I was excited to hear Noah Barnett’s intro and the presentation by Viktoria Harrison, the co-creator of charity: water on the Virtuous Summit. It was, of course, tremendously inspiring for a monthly donor advocate like me. If you didn’t get a chance to attend the virtual summit, please check it out here. Viktoria’s presentation is...

If you set some intentions for the new year, I sincerely hope that includes reading new fundraising books. With that said, I’m offering my review of Rachel Ramjattan’s book, NO MORE DUCT TAPE FUNDRAISING: The Nonprofit Leader’s Guide to Becoming an Inspirational Fundraiser. I read the book in about an hour and in one sitting. What I especially liked about the book is how Ramjattan clearly explains the different parts of a fundraising plan and...

By now, you probably know I love to organize. I have hundreds of direct mail and monthly giving examples scanned in. And over Christmas, I scanned in a huge box of family pictures. It’s all part of the downsizing and simplifying process my husband and I are going through. I must say, it’s tremendously liberating! As part of all this scanning and organizing, I gathered a huge stack of address labels, note cards and calendars. I will not have to...

At this time of year, I like to look back over the past year. It’s certainly been very different than any other year. For every single one of us. For me, 2020 meant minimal travel, more webinars, more screen time, more appeals, more emails, more writing and working harder than ever before. I’ve been busy and fortunate to support wonderful fundraisers like you, so I’m very grateful to you. Together, we are all trying to make a difference. Here...

During this holiday season of giving, especially based on the recent success of #GivingTuesday, you can clearly tell there is something magical about using a match. Successful fundraisers have used matches for years and continue to use it. Why? Because it works! Nearly all of #GivingTuesday emails I received before, during and in the days following included some type of a match. Most matches were straight amounts. Some matches were small. Some...

#GivingTuesday results were way up compared to last year. Who said donors are not generous? The best spot to see it all together is GivingTuesday Data Commons, fed by some 60 contributing partners and 40 global data labs. I know all are feverishly tallying results and creating infographics and more,  so definitely stay tuned for more results as they become available. I of course am most interested in any trends on monthly giving. So I was...

You know I’m all for small monthly gifts, but two years ago I became intrigued with donor-advised funds, especially after I received some DAF-focused email newsletters from Jack Doyle from Amergent. I highly recommend reading them. Based on Fidelity’s “2020 Giving Report,” the number of donors who have a DAF has almost tripled over the past 10 years, and more and more Millennials have opened an account. When I did the research to see what was...

Just a short blog this week, because I know you’re very busy–the biggest giving month of the year is just around the corner! Just a few more emails. Just a few more thank you letters. Just a few more… (you fill in the blanks). Just a few more weeks, and then the weirdest of weird years is over. I’m amazed at the generosity of donors. I’ve seen and heard tremendous stories of donors coming to the table in the past few months: $2,000 when...

Last week, I traveled to Europe to present a training on sustainers for an international group based in the Netherlands. Socially distanced and masked, of course, as the rules and lockdowns are even stricter than they are on Cape Cod. The good news is that I was able to visit my 86-year-old mom as well, and I spent some time with my family. During the sustainer training, a couple of things we spent quite a bit of time on was: The best ways to...

What a week we’ve had! I try to never talk politics, so I will certainly not start now. But watching the electoral vote thermometer move, it made me think about the approach you would be wise to take when it comes to monthly gifts. Bit by bit, you’ll go forward. You’ll grow your monthly gifts. You’ll move the needle. Especially if you’re a small to mid-size organization, your number of sustainers are not going to grow by leaps and bounds.  More...