Note: This post also appeared as a guest post on the Philanthropy for All blog, from Vanessa Chase. Thank you Vanessa for spreading the word!
Lately, it seems that everything is ‘buzzing’ about Monthly Giving. I’d like to say it was my book that started it all, but I doubt that.
It was probably triggered by the fact that we had just gone through a recession and so many organizations found that their monthly giving programs really helped them continue their programs thanks to the ongoing income. It was probably the fact that organizations in the US are starting to realize that they can make a monthly giving program work for them and that it pays off big time.
So today, I’d like to talk to you about one of the biggest challenges in starting a monthly giving program: What are you going to call it?
But before I do that, let me give you a quick update on what Monthly Giving is and how it works:
Monthly giving is a program that cultivates an ongoing, committed giving relationship between a donor and your organization. Monthly givers are those donors in your database who have agreed to support your organization through a committed gift.
Regular “scheduled” giving typically occurs in three ways:
Check: the organization sends regular (monthly) reminders.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): the donor authorizes the organization to have his or her bank transfer money to the organization on a regular basis.
Credit card/debit card: the donor authorizes the organization to take the amount from his or her credit card or debit card.
Building a monthly giving program takes time, patience, and continued investment. Some organizations are only able to convert 0.5% of their active donors to monthly givers, while others can convert 5% or more. Some have been able to convert even 60% of their donors or members. The number of donations given, the level of giving and the investment in the program determine the ultimate success.
Start by giving your monthly giving program a name. Have a short brainstorm session, make a decision and move on!
You want your donors to feel special and ‘belong’. This is typically where a lot of organizations get ‘hung up’ and the introduction of the program stalls. You need to decide how you’ll use the name in your appeals, on your web site and in thank you letters. How does it fit with the mission? More importantly, how does it fit in with other ‘clubs’ you already have, like annual fund and major donor levels or legacy societies?
So, here’s what I see happen a lot: The monthly giving branding committee is formed, meetings are scheduled and rescheduled, communication departments are brainstorming and spending oodles of money on design… and the clock keeps on ticking.
Stop!!
The more time spent on the name of your monthly giving group, the longer it takes for these monthly donors to start generating more money for your organization!
Just spend an hour with a few people and brainstorm a few names and pick one. Make sure you can easily use it in a sentence – i.e., “You can join as a member of the Champions program today,” “Will you become a Guardian today?” “Will you join our Circle of Friends?” “Become a Partner of…” These are all great names to use, but many non-profits successfully use the name Sustainers, too.
As to a logo, again, if you’re doing one, keep it simple. In many cases you can just get away with the name printed under your organization’s logo. In many cases, there’s not even a special logo developed, rather just the name is being used. But if you have one, in this day and age of laser printers, you can simply incorporate the logo on your letterhead and print on demand, so you don’t have to have fancy stock in house. Do remember that donors don’t want you spending a lot of money on fancy paper stocks and full color pieces etc.
Typically the reason why they joined your monthly giving program in the first place was because they want to help you save some money, so it can be used for your mission.
Should you use a back-end premium for joining the monthly giving program? You decide!
If you need a premium depends on what else you’re sending to your donors. In other words, if you generate most of your donations through some type of up-front give away (like a calendar, bookmark, address labels, cards, also called freemium), then it would be good to have a special back-end premium for joining the monthly giving program.
If you’re very mission-focused in your appeals and you don’t typically use a freemium or back-end premium, then you probably will not need anything as an incentive for joining the monthly giving program.
Whatever you choose to send should be fitting with the organization and the program and not be overly expensive. It should, however, be classy and show your gratitude.
