One of my copywriter friends asked me: “Do you have a recommendation for how much to ask a monthly donor, when sending them a year-end appeal asking them to make a special year-end gift? I’m wondering if the right amount to ask the donor is the amount they give monthly?”
As you’re getting ready for fall and year-end appeals, Giving Tuesday, and other giving days for that matter, answering this question may be very relevant.
First off, I highly recommend including your monthly donors in some extra gift opportunities including Giving Tuesday, especially if you have a match. Your year-end timeframe is a great time to get that extra gift.
Recent donorCentrics Sustainer Benchmarking studies show that some 6% of monthly donors will make at least one extra gift a year when asked. I’m even seeing 12% or more, so not asking is definitely leaving money on the table.
But it’s crucial to include a thank-you message recognizing the monthly donor for their ongoing special support. Then go into the special opportunity you want to share with them.
If it’s an appeal, think of a lasered or handwritten note on top of the appeal. If an email, think of a short intro message, just a version of your email to all other donors.
But should that requested amount mirror the donor’s monthly giving amount? The answer is “no,” as that’s typically too low for a one-time gift.
For email, use your typical one-time donation forms, with or without specific examples of how the donor can make a difference with their extra, one-time gift.
When preparing for a direct mail appeal, I recommend isolating your monthly donors from other donors in your donor list and giving them a separate segment to allow for special recognition in the letter and ask.
If you’re able to mention the monthly donor’s last one-time gift, you can base it on that, but most nonprofit systems have a hard time isolating those, especially if they also have events, raffle tickets, etc. It may be some time since the donor last made a one-time gift.
Rather, your safest bet is to ask monthly donors for an extra gift of $_______. Let the donor fill in what they’re comfortable with and use the letter to indicate how gifts are making a difference.
You always want to come across as grateful and never too greedy.
Making assumptions based upon event ticket purchases or one-time gifts made years ago may not be wise. Leave the extra gift amount up to the donor and see what happens. But asking at year-end is really a must unless the monthly donor told you they do not want to hear from you.
