At a recent client meeting in Richmond, VA., we were discussing ways to grow the organization’s monthly donor program. I asked the question: “Do you know the lifetime value of one of your first monthly donors?”
Her answer was astounding: $10,000! Can you just imagine? A small donor who has been giving so much on an ongoing basis!
Right now, the average recurring donor gives between $24 and $36 a month—that’s $288 to $432 per year! Just think, if they keep giving monthly for 5 years, that’s $1,440 to $2,160. Starting to get really interesting, right?
A second example of the tremendous power of monthly donors, and you may especially see this happen at educational organizations: A donor made a $10,000,000 gift to their university. Do you know how they started? As a $5 a month alumni donor!
One final example of how monthly donors may seem small now, but often make much larger gifts later: they’re much more likely to leave you in their will. Monthly giving often leads to the ultimate gift. An animal charity recently saw a $195,000 bequest from one of their donors who was giving $7 a month!
So, what are the take-aways from the above examples of lifetime value of monthly donors?
- The donors were able to make a difference at a level acceptable and affordable to them.
- You as the fundraiser ensured that the donors were thanked and stewarded during their lifetime so they felt special enough for them to continue giving monthly.
- You kept engaging them with your organization, so they were willing to make that ultimate gift.
The examples above came from organizations that had monthly donor programs for a while. If you’re just beginning, you may not see the impact…yet. But I guarantee you: if you keep up incorporating monthly gifts wherever you can, you will absolutely see monthly donor lifetime value go up and up every year!
