Grow Your Monthly Donors in 2 Steps

By Erica Waasdorp

As more organizations start monthly donor programs, it’s imperative to take these two steps to grow your monthly donors. And they’re much easier than you think! You’re probably already doing a lot of it, but you’ve not yet thought about it with your monthly donor hat on.

The first step to grow your monthly donor program is by ensuring you keep the ones you have!

Why is this important?

Because you don’t want to run a “church-and-burn” program; you don’t want to create a “leaky bucket,” where you need to bring in more monthly donors by losing them the minute you have them.

What does this mean?

Pay attention: set one day a month where you focus on tracking the payments and identify those who are dropping out or are about to drop out.

Use your payment processor tools. Many of them provide you an overview of the monthly donors whose card is about to expire. Then follow up. Follow up. Follow up some more.

The second step to grow your monthly donor program is by actually asking your donors to join. Make every Monday a #MonthlyDonorMonday!

I know. You’re busy. Time gets away from you. Before you know it, the next event is around the corner. The board report needs to be written. You’re working on your appeal. You need to meet so many major donors. Your grants are due.

I’m not recommending a fancy campaign. I recommend you keep it really simple.

So just take one hour every week, perhaps every Monday and make it #MonthlyDonorMonday. Create an email to tell your staff about it. Then tell your board about it. Next tell your volunteers about it.

Always include a few links to the monthly giving page. Then the next Monday, send a reminder. The next Monday after that consider sending an email to your donors. Do take that next step, and you’ll grow, one email at a time, one monthly donor at a time. And before you know it, you’ll reach your first milestone. Then your next…

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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.