How to Identify Donors For Your Monthly Giving Program
When looking for donors who would best suited to engage with your monthly giving program, start by taking a look at your current and recently lapsed donors giving at a smaller level, particularly if they have donated more than once a year.
Other target audiences can include your volunteers and board members. Both of these groups are passionate about the work you are doing!
Try meeting with a few active volunteers to discuss ideas around the monthly giving program before launching a campaign. Volunteers can give great feedback about what is meaningful to them or what would encourage them and others to sign up.
Is there a way you can enhance their experience as a volunteer? Perhaps you can build a campaign to encourage volunteers to sign up as a monthly donor. For example, depending on your budget, you can give away a t-shirt to the first 100 volunteers who sign up or to any volunteer that signs up within a particular time period.
Or maybe, one of the benefits of becoming a monthly donor is a quarterly networking happy hour hosted at your site. This allows monthly donors to engage with your programs while meeting other professionals.
Once you have selected your target audience, be sure to choose an amount to ask for that is appropriate for this group. Keep in mind that the ask for your board members may look different than an ask to your volunteers or lapsed donors.
Using specific marketing, introduce your monthly giving program and ask for the amount you have chosen. Be sure to share what a donation at that level can do.
Here is a great example from Save the Children, an international nonprofit dedicated to giving children in the U.S. and around the world a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm.
Their donation page encourages you to make a monthly donation and gives clear examples of what different donation levels can provide.
Another example is from Peace and Paws, a New Hampshire based dog rescue. They tell you there is a donation match if they gain 625 new monthly donors. Then, they tell you what your monthly gift will do and the benefits of donating monthly.
Take a look at the current materials your organization is using for programing, or for when a volunteer signs up. Is there a way you can add a check box that says, “I would like to support XX organization at $10 a month.” This is an easy way to have the program in front of individuals you are already interacting with.
Once donors have signed up for a monthly donation, make sure they feel special and use a different thank you than for your one-time donors. Perhaps, you can create a special welcome letter for all new monthly donors.
For more tips on stewarding and upgrading your monthly donors, check out this blog.
Want more fundraising tips? Check out our upcoming events at the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy at Maricopa Community Colleges.