This past weekend, we had to replace a light bulb in our fan. Fortunately, I was able to find the warranty book in my warranty binder. That showed us we needed a special suction cup to get the light bulb out.
Well, the big question was: Where was the suction cup to do just that? I vaguely remembered I had put it in a kitchen drawer seven years ago when the fan was installed.
So, we emptied two drawers. And guess what: The little suction cup was exactly where we had put it.
After we replaced the bulb, I took some time to organize the two drawers — because it had gotten out of control. Hundreds of pens, pencils, address labels, notepads, paperclips etc. You may know the type of drawer I’m talking about.
Well, you must be wondering how this relates to monthly donors. When it comes to monthly donors, every now and then, we, too, must organize our files and clean them up a bit.
People in charge may have changed, systems may have changed, and processes may have changed over time.
Monthly donors may still be considered active even though they might have stopped a while back.
Run a query or a report and see which monthly donors haven’t given in a while and follow up with them. If you’ve not done so in a while, now is a really good time to bring them back. Many people are still home, so your chances of catching them with a phone call or personal email are high.
Run a query or a report and make sure that all the flags, attributes or codes are exactly as you’d want them to be. If you’re selecting your monthly donors for special appeals or cultivation messaging based upon certain codes, it’s important they’re still valid and apply to active sustainers only.
Run a query or a report and see which sustainers could be eligible for an upgrade.
Look at your new sustainer thank-you letter and cultivation materials, and make sure they’re still valid. Perhaps they need updating.
I’d recommend doing this at least once a year, if not more often. Take some time right now, before it gets busy with the year-end giving season to clean up and organize. Your monthly donors, and thus your nonprofit, will benefit.
