As someone who loves Monthly Giving and who has been working with recurring donors for quite a while now (almost 32 years, can you believe it?), I was ecstatic when Dana Snyder shared that she was working on a book on my favorite topic.
As you know, I have been a ‘believer in monthly giving’ for many years, and to hear from another ‘believer’ was great. I was one of the first ones to order Dana’s book, ‘The Monthly Giving Mastermind’, and I read it in virtually one sitting.
The common theme in the book was: ” I wish I had started sooner!”
I love how Dana includes interviews with fundraisers from small and some larger nonprofits, interspersed with her guiding step-by-step approach. Her examples and approaches are easy to understand, and her book is an easy read. If you’re not convinced after this book, I don’t know what else it takes.
As Dana says on page 269, ”take it one step at a time.” One change at a time. One improvement at a time. I could not agree more.
Many years ago, before online giving existed, monthly giving was more expensive, took more work and was a much heavier lift for organizations. Now it’s much easier, but you do have to believe in growth, then follow the process, and you’ll do great.
No matter how your monthly donors come to you, stewardship and retention are key, but you can have some control over that.
While Dana shares one example of an organization that uses Face to Face fundraising, this book is totally focused on building your monthly giving program online.
The only things missing from the book are examples on using direct mail or telemarketing, historically some of the higher-retaining channels. There is absolutely a role for them, especially in combination with emails and other online efforts. But I agree with Dana that online is THE way to start, especially for smaller organizations.
Much of what Dana describes is about that critical ‘mindset’ shift. That’s clearly what the organizations she interviewed did. It’s critical to become a believer in the power of these monthly donors and while it takes some steps to bring them in and keep them, boy, are they valuable!
So, if you’re ready to change your mindset and start growing monthly giving online, I highly recommend you buy Dana’s book and follow the step-by-step approach. It’s easy to read, well written and lots of examples.
Finally, I love how Dana started a Slack channel for anybody who’s interested in learning and talking more about monthly giving. So please, if you haven’t already, go ahead and join that on her site. There’s a tiny fee associated with it.
But first I recommend you buy the book The Monthly Giving Mastermind by Dana Snyder. You can find it here or on amazon.
If you’re serious about growing your sustainable revenue, don’t be that charity that says in a few years: ”I wish I had started sooner.”
