Monthly Giving Webinar Questions Answered, Part III

In January, three fundraising professionals came together in a FundRaising Success webinar titled “Everything You Need to Know About Obtaining and Retaining Monthly Donors.” Though our pros were able to answer a number of the questions posed by the more than 100 attendees, they couldn’t get to all of them. So they took the time to answer many of those unanswered questions after the webinar ended.

Over the past two weeks, you heard from two of our presenters; this week, it’s Jodi Scheib, vice president, fundraising, DMW Worldwide.

Click here to read answers provided two weeks ago by Linda King, sustaining membership coordinator/Leadership Circle coordinator at the Iowa Public Television Foundation; and here to read answers provided last week by Brian Cowart, senior director of mail acquisition and donor retention at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. If you’d like to access the entire webinar online, click here for access and pricing information.

Q: If you are not a membership organization, do you still recommend monthly donors? Do you see that monthly pledges are always in the small, less than $100 range? What is the minimum? How much do you customize?

Jodi Scheib: Monthly giving programs can be very effective in both member-based and donor organizations. This type of program increases the average gift and lifetime value of the donor and creates a reliable revenue stream for future years. And, as an added benefit, it identifies excellent planned-giving prospects in your donor base!

Typically, we see monthly gifts ranging between $2 and $20 per month. This varies greatly depending on the type of organization. Many organizations do place a minimum amount on the monthly gifts they will process (typically between $2 and $5).

Customization depends on the size of your donor file and your organization’s budget for the program. Try and customize with methods where additional customization does not increase cost, such as telemarketing and outbound e-mail initiatives. In direct mail, where customization may not be financially viable, make sure you customize the actual ask amount based on each donor’s giving history.