P.O. BOX 757 Marstons Mills, MA 02648

Offer a Monthly Giving Save Option

While I was doing some research, I came across this interesting study.  Brightback’s research is more aimed at the commercial subscription world, but a lot of what happens there can be applied to monthly giving for nonprofits. What I find interesting is the shift to an online/digital model.  Take note: Online consumers expect the experience to be […]

Moving the Needle in Monthly Giving

What a week we’ve had! I try to never talk politics, so I will certainly not start now. But watching the electoral vote thermometer move, it made me think about the approach you would be wise to take when it comes to monthly gifts. Bit by bit, you’ll go forward. You’ll grow your monthly gifts. […]

Book Review: ‘Donor CARE’ by the late John Haydon

What a tremendous legacy John Haydon left us with his book, “Donor CARE: How to Keep Donors Coming Back After the First Gift.” Sadly, Haydon passed away earlier this year. While I never had a chance to meet him in person, we did talk by phone a few times. He had an amazing following with thousands of […]

Monthly Giving: It’s Not Rocket Science

A few months ago, I taught the “Recurring Revolution” training for members of The Fundraisingology Lab, by Moceanic. It was a lot of fun. Several members responded to a question about how best to keep their monthly donors. One of those members was Natalie Lanoville from Jewish Family Services  in Vancouver, Canada. I was impressed with her […]

Best Practices For Recognizing, Thanking & Retaining Monthly Donors

This is probably one of the most common questions I get whenever I’m presenting a webinar or an in-person session or workshop: “How do I best recognize, thank, cultivate and retain my monthly donors?”  That’s why I’ve put together some common best practices. Of course, every organization is different, but most of these are very […]

Create a Monthly Donor Retention Day

OK — there’s no official monthly donor retention day (yet), but I think it’s time we started one. After all, with Daylight Savings Time, St. Patricks’ Day, World Wildlife Day and so many other special days on the calendar, why not create yet one more special day? Except, it should not be a special day! […]

You Can Make Recurring Gifts From Your Donor-Advised Fund

Donor-advised funds — a lot has been written about it.  Especially with the changes in tax laws, more and more donors have “flocked” to it. Just a few quick facts about donor-advised funds (DAFs): You don’t need to be super rich to start one — $5,000 is all it takes. A DAF is easy to […]

What’s the Most Important Stage in a Monthly Donor’s Life?

Monthly giving is growing. Depending upon which provider of online communications you look at, the most recent statistics show that monthly giving accounts for roughly 16-20% of all online giving for 2018, up from 2017. But what do you have to do before you can bring in those monthly donors? What must happen when you […]

Check Your Monthly Donor Journey

I just attended Fundraising Day in New York, attended by almost 2,000 people. One of my favorite sessions was about sustainers, of course! It was led by great moderator Paul Habig from Sanky; and two experienced monthly donor fundraisers, Luke Franklin from the ASPCA with 400,000 (!) and Emily Stevenson from EDF with 20,000 monthly […]

The 5 Key Components of a Successful Monthly Giving Program

Setting up a successful monthly giving program doesn’t have to be difficult, as long as you keep these key components in mind. Let me share the top 5 with you: Commitment Accountability Preparedness Detail orientation Persistence For a successful monthly giving program, these apply to the person who’s interested and willing to grow the program […]