If you’ve heard me speak or read some of my blogs, you already know that I always advocate for the following:  The more opportunities you offer donors to give monthly, the more monthly donors you will find!  But for most organizations, there is always that fine line of having to bring in one-time short-term funds versus long-term sustainable monthly giving revenue. I get it. Trust me, I’ve been there. Let’s Start With A Monthly Giving Case...

As I’m getting ready for my second cataract surgery this week, it has started to dawn on me the tremendous eye-opening results I’ve already experienced from the first one. For me, going to the beach and swimming in the ocean was never an option, because I wouldn’t be able to find my spot unless there was nobody else there. Snorkeling was not possible, because I simply wouldn’t see anything. Now hopefully all that will be possible. I may have...

Take a look at this beautiful Word Cloud. It’s based on the answers to an exercise we recently did in a sustainer workshop. (Thank you, Cameron Popp, for organizing the exercise). I certainly think the outcome is fascinating. Because what you see is that the most important reason why people give monthly is because they care about the mission. They want to help! It’s less about the convenience. And nowhere does it say that a donor gives monthly...

At the recent sustainer workshop, we asked people present about their biggest monthly gift challenges. You see that staff is a big challenge, along with prioritizing sustainers over donors and getting new monthly donors (acquisition). I was surprised to see that retention for this group was less challenging. It’s important to note that the sizes of monthly donor programs, time length sustainer programs in place and experience levels of...

I grew up with and in direct mail. I was fortunate to work at Reader’s Digest (RD) in Amsterdam right after college and it really shaped the rest of my career. I’ve always loved direct mail because you can measure results, but nothing beats seeing the boxes and boxes filled with responses coming back. I was ‘hooked’ on direct mail and all of us direct mail ‘nerds’ at RD loved receiving the latest direct mail samples sent to us from countries...

At the recent Bridge pre-conference sustainer workshop I co-hosted, one of the attendees asked this question: “What is a realistic goal for monthly donor percentage as a percent of active donors?” Let me explain why there’s no one good answer to this other than that the current typical nonprofit has between 5% to 30% of their donors giving monthly. But if your percentage is lower, do not worry. The overarching answer is: “Your goal should be...

This article was written by Michael W. Kahn and posted by Nacha on July 18, 2019.   It’s a nonprofit no-brainer:  Encourage recurring donations through ACH/EFT. “Those organizations that have been doing this, that started with EFT early on, they get it,” said Erica Waasdorp, founder and president of the fundraising consulting firm A Direct Solution, and author of “Monthly Giving. The Sleeping Giant.” She works with...

I just got back from the 14th Bridge Conference, energized by new ideas, case studies and proven fundraising “old” basics that still work and will continue to work as long as donors are human beings. I was privileged to co-present a first sustainer, full day, pre-conference workshop with the “Sustainer Brains:” Charlotte Davidoff, Save the Children; Josef Kottler, Sage Communications; Liz Murphy, Beaconfire Red; Cameron Popp, WETA; Phil...

What Was A Monthly Giving Program Like Before Computers And The Internet?  It existed but it was a lot harder! The channels used were mail, phone and in-person. When I first started managing a monthly giving program, now many (26+) years ago, nonprofits’ websites didn’t exist! Emails were just used for internal communication and even that was still very new. Cell phones were only used in cars and nobody had even heard of smart phones. Computers...

Monthly giving is growing. Depending upon which provider of online communications you look at, the most recent statistics show that monthly giving accounts for roughly 16-20% of all online giving for 2018, up from 2017. But what do you have to do before you can bring in those monthly donors? What must happen when you start growing your program? Are you stuck with small monthly donors, or can you upgrade them to higher levels? Well, let’s look...

Monthly giving is growing. Let me start by giving you some highlights and statistics: Recurring donors have grown by 52 percent, and revenue has increased by 94 percent over the past 3 years for the average organization; The average monthly gift is between $24 and $36, and the average annual gift is $275 to $425; Retention rate if giving by credit card is 87 percent, if giving by EFT/ACH, 94 percent, and if sending in checks after receiving...

Monthly giving programs can be a wonderful way to ensure your fundraising program sustains throughout the year. Although the concept of monthly giving is not new, the onset of subscription-based services, online giving programs and multiple digital tools make it easier than ever to provide this option to your donors. We spoke with Erica Waasdorp, the leading expert on monthly giving and president of A Direct Solution, about best practices in...

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...

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,...

Steven Shattuck recently gave us an update on an experiment he did with monthly donors. He made a gift to ten different organizations and then saw if they received any special treatment on Giving Tuesday. Spoiler alert: only one out of the ten did something special. Only one of them addressed Steven as a monthly donor. Only two even asked their monthly donors for a Giving Tuesday gift. How sad is that? Lots of money left on the table. But...

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...

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...

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 never think of myself as a pack rat; but when it comes to fundraising, that’s exactly what I had become. So this past week, I took some time to go through old magazines and boxes of direct mail and, in particular, monthly giving samples. Sustainer trends and research; extra appeals and sustainer upgrades; thank you letters; stewardship newsletters; sustainer reminders; conversion packages. I still have a few more to scan in, but if you’re...

Many organizations are in the process of budgeting for their next fiscal year. Here’s a guest blog from Chrissy Reynolds who wrote a great post on how important it is for both organizations AND donors to budget their donations. That fits nicely with monthly giving, don’t you think? Donations to the non-profit sector for charitable causes grew by an estimated 3.6% in 2017 and is expected to increase to 3.8% this year. Many charities, foundations...