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Can You Have Multiple Monthly Donor Programs?

Multiple monthly donor programs

A colleague of mine recently asked me, “Can you have multiple monthly donor programs?” She and I both work with an organization that has multiple monthly donor programs, with the total revenue making up about 60% of all giving. This question is especially relevant when it comes to unrestricted versus restricted gifts. As may you know, […]

The M+R Benchmarks 2022 Are Here: Monthly Giving Up by 24%

M+R Benchmarks

One of my favorite statistics were just published: the M+R Benchmarks 2022. Not surprisingly, in the second year of the pandemic with still few in-person events, online giving grew, although not by as much as you’d expect, only 3%. Monthly giving however was the major driver of that growth. It increased by 24%, while one-time revenue […]

Case Study: How a Small Charity Keeps Growing Its Monthly Donor Base

As you may know, I love hearing from nonprofits. That’s how I learn. And that’s how I believe we all learn together. And I’m always amazed, especially at how small nonprofits keep growing and doing more — even with few resources. I think the biggest asset they have is the conviction, the belief that they […]

What If Checks Were Going Away?

checks

As a Dutch native and international fundraiser, who grew up with a central banking system, automatic payments and payment forms called acceptgiros, I’ve been following some recent payment trends. In the next few years, the Netherlands and several other European countries are planning to do away with acceptgiros, which are somewhat equivalent to checks. The Netherlands […]

Nonprofits Should Make Donating Easier Amid Cost of Giving Crisis

giving

We’re not alone in experiencing food, gas and other prices going up. And, as fundraisers, we should be concerned about the impact on giving.  I’ve been following the great Donor Pulse quarterly trend analysis for a while now. U.K-based Enthuse did the research and recently released the spring 2022 edition to address this concern: “There is no doubt that […]

How Do You Get Your Board on Board With Monthly Giving?

board on board

Someone from a nonprofit recently asked me to address one of its organization’s biggest challenges with monthly giving: How to get its board on board with monthly giving. I’m baffled that board members still need to be convinced that monthly giving is a thing and that monthly giving is a great way to provide ongoing […]

Is There Room for Monthly Giving in Your Fundraising Appeals?

Earlier this week, a copywriter friend of mine asked a great question. And I’m sure many of you are struggling with this same predicament. Here’s her question:  Often a strategy calls for including so many offers in one direct mail fundraising appeal — the basic ask, maybe a matching gift, sometimes a push for monthly […]

How Can You Better Understand Your Donors?

Neon One study

As you know I’m focused on working with nonprofits to help them grow their individual donors and monthly donors to higher levels. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for new statistics and trends in giving, especially for those groups. Needless to say, when I heard about a wonderful new study from Neon One, called “Donors: Understanding […]

Even a Tiny Gesture Can Make Monthly Donors Feel Special

name badge

Recently, I presented at the Faith and Fundraising Conference in Milwaukee for about 400 in-person attendees. It was so wonderful to see people I hadn’t seen in a few years. Everybody had to show either proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test. Attendees indicated how comfortable they were with interacting with others through a small dot […]

5 Ways In Which Sustainers Differ From Subscribers

subscribers

There have been several discussions about subscription giving and sustainers. In my view, some aspects absolutely apply, but not all of them. First, let me tell you that I have a subscription background. I organized the loyalty condensed book program at Reader’s Digest in Amsterdam. I had to calculate conversion rates and specifically how many […]