Not too many years ago, I tried to start a monthly giving program for a local nonprofit. It was a hard road because, frankly, I had no direct experience with them and hadn't yet read Harvey McKinnon's "Hidden Gold: How Monthly Giving will Build Donor Loyalty, Boost Your Organization's Income and Increase Financial Stability". I sure wish I had!
One very important concept McKinnon makes patently clear is inertia. This is one I know from experience. Inertia...donor inertia...is one that truly works in your favor. The concept is simple: Once a donor commits him or herself to an automated monthly donation (EFT, credit card, bank draft, etc.), the donation tends, against all odds to continue. Automation makes it so painless.
People are reluctant to cancel their monthly commitments. Over time, they may even "forget" that they made them. McKinnon cites that a significant percentage who do cancel often rejoin when their circumstances change.
Why? I believe it is because the pysche of the monthly giver is squarely focused on your mission. They believe their's is a deeper connection to the organization and what it does. And that, fellow fundraisers, is what we need to cultivate. This is a great pathway to continuing cultivation.
Students of physics know that for a body to stay in motion, you have to set it in motion. To get started, consider doing some segmenting research in GiftWorks fundraising software to identify long-term donors, multiple gifts per year donors and other characteristics that might indicate they are good candidates to be solicited for your new Monthly Giving Program. And it wouldn't hurt to pick up McKinnon's book. That will considerably shorten your learning curve.
Good Luck!
I do believe McKinnon is right...monthly giving is a critical key to building sustainability.
Mary Pat Donnellon has been with Mission Research, the maker of GiftWorks, since its early days, working in every area of the company before becoming CEO in 2009. She now gets to do all the things she loves: leveraging great technology to help nonprofit organizations become better and stronger. Mission Research is a sustainable company; Mary Pat enjoys doing her part by walking or biking to work (most days!). She is also sustained by working with her talented colleagues at Mission Research and the company’s thousands of customers and partners.
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