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4 Ways to Generate More Monthly Donors Via ACH Transfer

Just Ask

Many nonprofits are considering ways to upgrade their recurring donors to higher levels. I’ve written in the past about best practices for getting recurring extra gifts and upgrades, but here are a few different approaches you can use with your recurring donors. Ask your monthly donors for a straight upgrade. Ideally, segment your donors by source of […]

4 Common Recurring Gift Bloopers

photo by pixabay

It’s that time of year again. The holidays are near and the year-end giving crunch is on. GivingTuesday results are in. Were you up? Were you down? The year-end emails are scheduled or close to being ready to be scheduled. Plans for calendar year 2024 are pretty much final as well. You’re doing great! But could you […]

It’s OK If Monthly Donors Start With Low Gift Amounts

One time, on a movie set, Chris Davenport, president of 501 Videos and founder of the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference, noticed a nickel on the floor in a hallway that had a lot of foot traffic. Every other person probably looked at it but decided to walk by, Davenport shared earlier this month during his event’s opening session. […]

Top 3 Tips for Fundraisers Looking to Level Up Their Monthly Giving

Level Up monthly giving

Last month, I shared answers to the top five questions on monthly giving. This month, I’d like to share the top three tips for fundraisers who are looking to start growing their monthly giving program to the next level.  Let’s jump right in.  1. Commit to Monthly Giving If you’re not committed to growing, you’re never […]

Answers to 5 Key Questions About Monthly Giving

5 questions 5 answers

As I’m sure you can imagine, fundraisers ask me questions about monthly giving all of the time. That’s why I wanted to answer a few of those key questions.  1. What’s the Best Time of Year to Ask for Monthly Gifts?  There is no bad time to ask for monthly gifts, but if you want […]

You Get What You Pay for With Free Technology

tech help

While Europe is so beautiful, charming and old, if you’ve ever been there, you may also know about one of the most annoying things ever — having to pay to use a public bathroom. For someone like me who grew up there, it’s nothing new, but I know it’s a surprise for new visitors. It’s […]

What Will Giving Look Like This Year?

Ask you board

If you’re worried about the latest trends in giving, you’re not alone. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project and the Giving USA results for 2022 are troubling, to say the least.  The pandemic’s bump in giving is gone and then some.       M&R Benchmarks 2023 also indicates that average online giving revenue is down — despite monthly giving rates increasing! That’s why I […]

What to Do When Your Agency Doesn’t Want to Ask for Monthly Gifts

Monthly gifts

Sadly, I still hear about direct mail and digital agencies and consultants that don’t see the value of monthly giving. A friend of mine, a nonprofit fundraiser, sent me this email recently:  “My agency is against monthly giving. We asked for it to be added in house appeals, and the agency says, ‘We’ll test it […]

How to Honor Recurring Donors on Their Birthdays

Birthday

May is my birthday month, so I’ve been tracking what’s coming into my mailbox and email inbox from friends, family, businesses and nonprofits.  Birthdays are very powerful opportunities to recognize your recurring donors, yet not that many nonprofits do this. In my mind, birthdays and anniversaries are dates that should be part of your monthly […]

Recurring Extra Gift and Upgrade Best Practices

source pixabay

I shared previously that I’m a very active monthly donor to 40-plus different organizations. Most of those, I joined via direct mail.  Since this is tax season, that means I received a ton of tax letters from organizations via mail in January, February and even March. Here’s what many nonprofits included in their letters: All […]