Spoiler alert: It’s not by doing more social media. It’s not by running more events. It’s by focusing on asking your donors to upgrade, to make monthly gifts and leave gifts through their will.
Monthly Donor Motivator
Erica Waasdorp is one of the leading experts on monthly giving. She is author of the book "Monthly Giving. The Sleeping Giant." She is the president of A Direct Solution, a company serving nonprofit organizations with fundraising and direct marketing needs, with a focus on monthly giving and appeals.
She just co-authored the "Monthly Giving Starter and Marketing Kit" with Donor Perfect, and she’s working on her next book called "Monthly Giving Made Easy." She regularly blogs and presents on fundraising, appeals and monthly giving—in person and through webinars. She is happy to answer any questions you may have about this great way of improving retention rates for your donors.
Erica has over 30 years of experience in nonprofits and direct response. She helped the nonprofits she works with raise millions of dollars through monthly giving programs. She is also very actively supports organizations with annual fund planning and execution, ranging from copywriting, creative, lists, print and mail execution.
When she’s not working or writing, Erica can be found on the golf course (she’s a straight shooter) or quietly reading a book. And if there’s an event with a live band, she and her husband, Patrick, can be found on the dance floor. She also loves watching British drama on PBS. Erica and Patrick have two step sons and cat, Mientje.
You can reach Erica at erica@adirectsolution.com or by phone at (508) 776-1224.
With monthly giving, it’s all about consistency. It’s about a continued and committed focus. It’s about finding ways to build in a monthly giving ask wherever you possibly can. If you’re sending appeals in the mail and you’ve not already done so, consider adding a simple tick box to your appeal.
As a monthly donor, I support many organizations. Frankly, until I sit down at the end of the year to prepare for my taxes, I don’t even know how many great nonprofits I give monthly to.
Use the month of September to try something new. Because you know what they say: “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you keep getting what you’re getting.” By making a small change, you may get a different result.
Just like donor-advised funds are growing, I foresee that recurring gifts from DAFs will grow as well. It’s yet another way for donors to support your organization on an ongoing basis. And the gifts are certainly nothing to sneeze at!
Next time you send a survey to your monthly donors, ask them why they’re giving monthly. Collect the answers and put it into a word cloud yourself. It’s a tremendous visual way to see what’s important to your donors. You can put it on your bulletin board, and you could even put it in other communications.
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