Book Review by Jeff Brooks: Monthly Giving Made Easy by Erica Waasdorp
I’ve been recruiting monthly donors for organizations for more than 30 years. I thought I was an old pro at it because I’ve found a whole lot of ways of telling donors that monthly giving is a great idea.
Then people started asking me questions about monthly giving…
How much should I ask donors to give monthly? Is $5 too little?
Should I accept EFT? PayPal? Apple Pay?
Should I have a separate donation page online for monthly gifts?
What’s the best channel for recruiting new monthly donors?
My head spun faster with every question I couldn’t answer. It became obvious that knowing how to talk to donors about the wonders of giving monthly and actually running a monthly giving program are two different things.
That’s why I appreciate Erica Waasdorp.
She’s the Monthly Giving Maven. She knows where all the bodies are buried, as they say. Though when they’re talking about Erica, they should probably say she knows where all the treasure is buried.
Erica’s first book, Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant, made the case for the importance of monthly giving. This new book goes deep into the how-to of starting and maintaining a successful monthly giving program.
Have a question about the right approach?
It’s almost surely answered here.
And it’s not a massive tome that will take you weeks to get through: It’s just 123 pages.
And if that doesn’t get your attention, there are 95 chapters in those 123 pages. You get to the heart of the matter without delay in this amazing book.
It’s real-world advice. Erica has been around this merry-go-round more than a few times. For example, in her advice about naming your monthly donor program — which she says you should do, she includes this:
Organizations often “agonize” about the name for a monthly giving program. Many are holding up the launch because of it. Do yourself a favor: Don’t delay. You can always recognize donors with a special name later.
See what I mean? It’s not a rulebook that will scold you about what you haven’t yet done. It’s a wise guide to the best practices in the real world.
Get access to powerful training on all aspects of fundraising (including a workshop on monthly giving by Erica Waasdorp) by joining The Fundraisingology Lab by Moceanic. You’ll get the tools, the information, and the supporting community that will take you to new places in your fundraising career. Join the waiting list now and you’ll be the first to hear when the doors open again!
Originally posted by moceanic on September 27, 2021.
