Well, first things first, it’s impossible to get anyone to sign up for a monthly giving program if they don’t know it exists (the same goes for your board).
When talking to your board be sure to explain any costs that might be required for any platforms or tools and that it might take some time to get donors on board.
Another way is to transition existing one-off giving campaigns into asks for recurring donations (and once they start giving, you don’t have to worry about asking again). So, instead of asking for 100 $20,000 donations, you can ask those 100 donors for just $50 a month. This gets them used to the idea of giving monthly, and, at the end of the year, this ends up being $60,000!
Okay, so my donors have signed up for a monthly giving program. Now what?
You focus on delighting your donors!
Share with them what’s going on. Successful stewardship comes down to successful communication. It’s particularly helpful to find a centralized platform that allows you to manage every aspect of your campaigns, be it general monthly giving campaigns, sponsorships, raffles, general donations, text campaigns, email marketing, data analytics, automations, auctions, pledges, round-ups, and events.
Now, before we let you go we want to leave you with some communication tips to help you successfully steward your donors.
Make it personal.
Use tools to customize your communication; whether it’s via text or email... ya gotta personalize!
This also means make it personal to the segment of donors you’re giving to. Segmenting your audience and targeting with specific messages can lead to great results. Not everyone responds the same to any given campaign.
For example, a recent study found that wealthier donors were more willing to give when an appeal focused on personal agency and the pursuit of individual goals whereas less wealthy individuals responded better to appeals that focused on the shared pursuit of goals and community.
You can also segment by time zone, donation amounts, or where the donors first learned of your nonprofit. Try something out. If it's not quite working, you can always tweak it and try again. And once you land on something that works, you can double down.
Say thank you.
DID YOU KNOW?? 37% of non-profits DO NOT send some sort of thank-you after receiving a donation.
Don’t be them. You can set up automated systems to help steward your donors and thank them within 48 hours of receiving a gift.
Follow up.
You can automate this as well. Share with your donors, specifically, how their money made a difference.
You can text them photos, include it in your newsletter. It’s up to you.
The point is to be transparent about what you are doing. Focus on the good that is being done.
Don’t worry about asking for more money. Salesforce reported that 90% of donors want to know how their donations are impacting the cause they support - so tell them!
Share your wins.
Post your wins on social media, and send monthly newsletters about events you host and upcoming events too, and share stories of the lives you’ve impacted (some partner examples to inspire you).
Pro Tip: You should also consider sending an annual report to donors including a letter from your executive director, success stories with photos, list of your donor society members, and your organization’s financials.
Illustrate the tangible impact someone makes. One study found that donors who gave were more likely to be happy when they were told specifically what their donation would be going toward rather than that it would support the charity in general.
Find opportunities to create joy.
Giving is a joyous thing and it should feel that way.
By making the experience more about... well the experience, you can focus on uplifting and inspiring your donors and demonstrating how they make an impact rather than on just another ask.
Donors are not a dollar amount.
They’re people with a passion to make the world better — just like you.
At the end of the day, your goals are the same. You want to make them feel integral and engaged and needed because, guess what, they are.
If you can build consistent gratifying relationships for your supporters they will give time and time again.
Looking to grow your monthly giving program?
