Monthly giving is a huge untapped revenue source for so many nonprofits. I am still trying to wrap my head around the vast potential monthly donors offer. If you have 300 monthly donors – just how much overall revenue would these 300 lovely people be contributing to your cause each year? Let’s run the numbers: If each of those wonderful donors gave the average amount of the typical monthly gift – they would be giving $24/month. That’s really...

As you know, weve been talking about monthly donors for the past few weeks. And you may have seen my Facebook Live interviews here and here with monthly giving guru Erica Waasdorp. It’s been tremendously fun and exciting to get lots of feedback and questions from attendees. Here is another guest post from Erica – responding to many of the questions we are receiving from our attendees. It’s not too late to join the Monthly Donor Intensive with...

A few weeks ago, Michael Rosen published the post “How to Get Last Year’s Donors to Give More this Year.”  Guest blogger Joe Garecht shared some great advice for increasing giving. However, the post did not specifically address the issue of monthly giving. That led to a reader comment. Larry Little, President of Guardian Angel Basset Rescue, raised some important questions: Our revenues are in the $300k range but approximately 30% of that comes...

I’ve been working with monthly donor programs for more than 25 years now. Wow, so much has changed. Monthly giving has become so incredibly easy to set up and organize. And yet, whenever I teach a webinar or give a presentation, fundraisers tend to glom onto the “hard parts” right away. And that’s where in many cases it stops. Please, do yourself a favor. Simplify your life and that of your donors. Take what you’re already doing now in your...

This was a tough week for me. I got home from a trip and then got hit by this terrible cold. Boy, I haven’t been this sick in years! I’m finally starting to get over it, and it’s been going around like crazy. What I realized as a sick “donor” was that, because my monthly gifts are coming out of my account automatically, I didn’t have to worry about my mail; but I was still supporting the organization I care about. And you, as the organization,...

“If you don’t have a monthly donor program yet, you’d be wise to make that part of your plan for next calendar year and perhaps even sooner than that.” People often ask me why you should focus on this now? Well, if last year’s Harvey hurricane disaster is any indication: Monthly donors provide sustainable revenue, no matter what happens. Their gifts keep coming in, rain or shine! In essence, it’s an extra insurance policy for your...

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. I love this quote because it’s so very true, especially when it comes to sustainers—no matter where you are in your monthly donor program. If you have a small number of them, you always want to be moving toward growing that number: to the next 50, to the next...

A colleague consultant asked me this question last week, and I was discussing this very same thing with another organization myself. Great timing! A nonprofit in the process of launching its monthly donor program has its annual gala coming up this spring. It’s a fancy event—heavy hors d’oeuvres, silent and live auction, including a “fund-a-need” focused on something they need for their program. Donors typically pay $100 to $150 for a...

St. Nick (or Sinterklaas as we called him) was part of my tradition growing up in Holland. Dec. 5 was when we received our gifts as kids. The night before, we’d put our shoe with some straw and carrots for St. Nick’s white horse in the corner of our living room. And he and his little helper black Pete would come and drop our gifts near our shoes. Here are two links to the explanation of this tradition. here or here. As we got older, we’d draw...

F I typically write posts that are aimed at any-sized organization. Today’s piece is initially more aimed at large organizations. Let me share this story with you. When I worked at a big animal welfare organization with a huge donor base, we had several wonderful people in our “systems support/technology/IT” department. As manager of monthly giving, I had to have regular meetings with these great “techies.” (Note: I absolutely mean this in the...

Originally posted by NonProfitPRO Today on July 24, 2017 I’ve been a monthly donor for many years. Two years ago, I did a little experiment: I joined 20 organizations to see what they would do (10 small and 10 large organizations). I wanted to experience their “thank you” process, their subsequent communication stream, tax letters, emails, lapsed recapture (if any) and upgrade process. One of those organizations is a huge national organization....

  One of my clients recently asked me what’s the best time to upgrade monthly donors. The answer is, as soon as possible, but not too soon! If you have had a program for a few years and you’ve never upgraded your monthly donors, NOW is the time because you’re long overdue. If you just started your monthly donor program in the past year and you’re thinking of upgrading, be cautious. I know of organizations that are...