Prepared as Guest blog for Vanessa Chase
Debunking The Myths of Monthly Giving
Believe it or not, there are still tons of myths about Monthly Giving. And they prevent many organizations from even getting started or really growing their program.
That’s why I’d like to take you through some of these myths and hopefully start debunking them. The ultimate goal is to get going and growing!
So, here are the first two:
Myth 1: You have to be an absolute genius and total geek to start a monthly giving program.
In some ways this is true. It’s absolutely genius to start a program and it’s truly crucial. It’s silly NOT to start one. But, you don’t have to be totally GEEK to do it.
Monthly Giving is not that different from any other fundraising program. You ASK and the donors will join. Really, it’s that simple.
Well, maybe not quite that simple! But, I’m sure you already have the characteristics and commitment of any great fundraiser: Curiosity, Persistence, Analytical, Follow -up, Follow-through, you have Systems in place and you are able to find the right Partners to help you set up the program.
Do in-house what you can and outsource where needed. It will pay off nicely and soon! Virtually all monthly programs I’ve seen break even in the first year.
What’s totally vital for a program (at least in my experience) is that ONE person is overseeing and directing all of the moving parts, so whomever is going to run the monthly giving program, must be ACCOUNTABLE and COMMITTED from start to finish so you fully see where any problems may occur and you can get them fixed as soon as possible.
Monthly giving is probably the ONE program that touches most (if not all) departments or people in your organization.
Myth 2: Donors do not want to give monthly.
Sorry, but that’s not true either. If you use the right story and reasons for asking the donors, such as that it’s easy for them and it will help you have the ongoing cash flow to keep funding your programs, they’ll be very interested.
Many donors, especially the older ones, are on a fixed income. But, what we find is actually that many donors are younger, have limited income, like to budget their giving for the year and doing it monthly works well for them.
Some donors care about your organization, they want to help, but just can’t write the big checks. The number one reason why donors are not giving monthly is because they have not been ASKED! So, get busy asking.
Stay tuned for future blogs to learn more about other myths on monthly giving, because there are many out there and it’s my goal to debunk all of them!
