This post was posted as a guest post for Litltle Green Light: 6 tips to awaken the sleeping giants in your donor database: Monthly donors Here’s the full post: According to Erica, “it truly is possible to start and grow a program with even a small staff in a very short period of time, as long as you keep these six tips in mind.”
1. Commit
Building a monthly giving program is definitely a long-term investment. This isn’t a fast way to boost your Annual Fund! Make sure everybody understands this, especially your Executive Director and Board. Many programs can break even in the first year though if the right media are used.
2. Invest time, treasure, and talent
It may take staff and dedicated volunteers some time to set up the program, but that investment will pay off. Make sure you build money into the budget to develop the program and stick with it!
3. Appoint a leader who is accountable
Monthly giving requires someone to take full responsibility for the program. Remember, accountability doesn’t mean that person has to do everything! A good program requires collaboration with other departments, and sometimes outside partners, so a good leader makes communication more effective. The donors will benefit.
4. Start with the end in mind
Think through the process from start to finish before you begin. Key items to get in place:
- Special acknowledgment letters for these special donors
- Dedicated section of your Annual Report to highlight and list these donors
- Accurate tracking and reporting system (such as Little Green Light) to monitor when gifts come in and when they don’t (get phone scripts and email templates ready so you can react quickly if for some reason the recurring gift doesn’t happen)
5. Find your small but regular donors in your current donor base
Don’t assume you need to look for major donors. You might even save the $100 donors for a 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 do one annual fund appeal, look for donors who have given less than $100 in the past year. While a full Recency, Frequency, and Monetary Value (RFM) analysis would be great, focusing on recency and frequency of giving is most important. Ask low, get high response; you can upgrade later, trust me!
6. Annualized results
Because these are donors who (often) give small amounts, the results should be measured in years rather than weeks or months. A good recurring gift program will inspire donors to stay with you for many years to come, so focus on measuring and projecting using year-over-year charts.
Did you know that Little Green Light now offers a way for you to easily collect recurring donations right from your organization’s website?
For more information, visit www.littlegreenlight.com. Sign up for my blog so you’ll receive future posts on monthly giving and tools as they’re developed. And if you’re interested in finding out how to start or grow your monthly giving program, just contact me!
