My husband and I just came back from a trip to Las Vegas and Phoenix for some sunshine. We didn’t get as much as we’d hoped, which is unusual, but it was still nice to take some time off.
We flew on our favorite airline Southwest—free bags, points and no hassle. The only disadvantage is that from our (easy) airport, Providence, RI, most flights are not non-stop. We typically have a stop in Baltimore or Chicago. It does add some travel time, that’s for sure, but we typically turn it into the opportunity to eat at our favorite airport diner.
Even with this stop, we usually get to our destination in reasonable time, but we are careful in our planning. (For example, in the winter, we usually try not to fly through Chicago!).
This made me think of monthly giving. I often talk with nonprofits that tell me they’re seeing a break in the growth of their program. When I “probe” a little on what could cause this, here are some of their answers:
“Well, I tried it for a month and then had to refocus on other projects. I couldn’t get back to it for a while.”
“I started it, but then my boss (or associate) left, so I had to juggle too many projects.”
“We had it all set up, but then the communications department started working on a big website overhaul, so we had to put monthly giving on hold for a few months.”
I get it. Things happen. That’s why I recommend you automate or pre-plan as much as possible. If you have a few hours, set up some emails asking for monthly gifts and schedule them for the next few months. Done!
If you have an automated email welcome series, build in the monthly giving option in the third or fourth message. Done!
If you’re sending out direct mail appeals, include the “Make This a Monthly Gift” option on every reply form. It’s there, and nobody can take it away from you. Done!
When it comes to monthly giving, try to use as many opportunities in the year as possible. Pre-plan and pre-create. Done!
Make your monthly donor acquisition flight non-stop, and you’ll get to your destination (your goal of X new monthly donors at a tune of $288 a year) so much sooner!
And if by chance the non-stop option simply isn’t possible, see if you can schedule just one hour a week to focus on some pre-planning and pre-creation. The more opportunities you create to ask, the better.
