This was published as a guest post on Nonprofit Funderland
1. Commit.
Building a monthly giving program takes time but it’s definitely a long term investment, not fast money! Crucial to do, but make sure everybody understands this. Most programs do break even in the first year but it depends on the media used.
2. Invest Time, Treasure and Talent.
In the beginning, it may take some time and volunteer or staff time to set up the program, but it will pay definitely off very soon. Make sure you build money in the budget to develop the program and then stick with it!
3. Make Someone Accountable.
Monthly giving requires someone to take full responsibility for the complete program. This does not mean you have to actually do everything yourself though! But, it often requires a lot of collaboration with other departments or outside partners, so with one person in charge, communication becomes easy. The donors will benefit.
4. Start with the End in Mind.
Think through the process from start to finish. You’ll want to make sure you have special letters in place if a donor’s payment does not come in, or if there are issues with the bank or credit card charge. Have a tracking system in place and know when payments come in and when not. Develop phone scripts and email templates to send to monthly donors in addition to these follow up letters so you can really be ready when for some reason the donor’s payment does not happen.
5. Give Your Program a Name
Give your monthly donors a name. Think of something that fits with your mission, that’s not yet used in your organization elsewhere, test it out if you can by asking some donors and move on.
There are many great names out there, but if all else fails: Sustainers, Circle of Friends, Champions, Guardians, Partners are all great names that work with pretty much anything.
6. Find Your Small, but Regular Donors in your Current Donor base.
Don’t think you need to look for large gifts. Save the $100 donors for your mid-level program. Rather, look at your donor base and identify those donors who have made small gifts, even $5 or $10 twice a year. If you only do one annual fund appeal a year, find the one time donors who have given less than $100 in the past year. Of course, here too goes that Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value are good indicators of potential monthly donors, but Recency and Frequency are most important. Also, ASK low, get high response. Don’t be too greedy. You can upgrade later, trust me!
7. Put Monthly Giving on Your Home Page.
Believe it or not: If You Offer it, They Will Come. Don’t make it too hard for people to search for the option. Put it right on your home page with a direct link to the monthly giving sign up page.
8. Use as Many Media as You Possibly Can
If nothing else, start with the internet and mention monthly giving in your email newsletter. Add a message to donors in their thank you letter. Make sure you think of complaining donors as you can convert them to monthly donors. Reach out to staff and volunteers and offer it as follow ups to events. If you have more money, add direct mail, telemarketing, print ads, street fundraising, face-to-face, local TV and radio. They all work, some better than others, but you can get started even with a tiny budget and expand.
9. Annualize Your Results.
Because these are small donors, who give often, it’s always better to present the results by annualizing them. In reality, they’ll stay with you for many years to come, but annualizing the results will demonstrate the value of the donor to you in that one year. In other words, it’s not just a $5 a month, but rather $60 a year. Or $10 a month is $120. People will start catching on quickly how important this monthly giving program is.
10. Monthly Donors are Important.
Treat Them with the Best Donor Service You Have.
While monthly donors may look small at first, they really are not (see 9). That’s why it’s crucial to treat them like your best donors. If they call with a question, respond. If they write or email with a question, respond. They care about your organization so treat them like your best clients. They are!
Bonus Tip: 11. Make Sure to Thank Your Monthly Donor Right Away.
There’s no need for expensive thank you gifts or back-end premiums. A personal thank you and a nice certificate will do wonders! But make sure you send it out right away. It will make sure the donors know you received their special commitment to you and it will help build the trust they’ll bestow on you for many years to come.
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