Celebrate Your Monthly Donor Wins

By Erica Waasdorp

Now is the time to celebrate your monthly donor wins. As you’re getting ready for the Fourth of July holiday, it’s time for a celebration and some well-deserved time off. Fireworks. Barbeques. Family and friends gatherings. Waving flags. Watching Parades. Fun!

Of course, there’s so much to celebrate—242 years since Independence Day. (Wait… that means it’ll be 250 years in 2026; that’s sneaking up on us). Congratulations America!

For many organizations, this is also the start of a new fiscal year. So, as you celebrate America, make sure to celebrate your wins in number of monthly donors over the past year.

Of course, this all started with your goals. Goals will be different for different sized organizations. You have wanted to generate your first 25 monthly donors. You may have wanted to break through the first 100. Maybe your goal was to get to the next 1,000 sustainers.

Alternatively, perhaps your goal was to grow your monthly donor revenue to higher levels. You may remember I always recommend at least annualizing monthly donor results so perhaps your goal was to get to the first $5,000, the next $50,000 or break through the first $500,000.

In my 25+ years of fundraising, I’ve discovered one thing: There’s something “funny” about goals. If you write them down, you typically achieve them.

For example, last year, I started working with a small youth organization. They started out with 32 monthly donors. We then got to 50 and with consistent efforts, they just broke through the first 100, generating some $45,000 a year! Wow!

So, when you reach your goals, celebrate! Share the next mile stone with your boss, board and colleagues. Many times, people don’t totally understand how small donors can make such a difference to your mission, so it’s important to continuously share your results and share the growth and power as often as you can!

Today is the start of a new fiscal year. Time to write down your goals and celebrate your wins of this past year. Keep doing what you’re doing and celebrate your small consistent monthly donor wins.

Enjoy. Happy Fourth!

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Monthly Giving

Erica Waasdorp Author's page

Erica Waasdorp is one of the leading experts on monthly giving. 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 authored "Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant" and "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 a cat, Mientje.