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Monthly Donors Are No Small Thing!

How do we acquire new monthly donors?

First of all, let’s not brush over the importance of creating a monthly donor acquisition plan for your organization. Monthly donors are the new gold, waiting to be mined from your current contact list. Why? Because everyone talks about wanting to engage new and young donors. And, we ALL want to find ways to retain our donors.

The donor retention rate for monthly donors is off the chain! 90% stay committed. Wow!

Half of our baby boomer donors give monthly. That’s a large audience to engage in your program. More than that, 60% of younger donors give monthly. Maybe they give a smaller amount, but over the course of 12 months, it becomes a substantial gift for them.

With a monthly donor program in place, you can enjoy an average gift of $24-$38 per month. That’s $288 for the year; much more than the average one-time gift of $58.

So, let’s get your ducks in a row.

Do these things to improve your monthly donor program:

  1. To begin, simply add the monthly option to your one-time donation page on your site. If you can, make the recurring gift your default.
  2. Create a monthly only page. You will start to use it more often than you think, when directing people in your appeals.
  3. Don’t make people hunt on your website for your donation page. It ought to be in your top navigation, in your footer, and as a button on your sidebar.
  4. Use language that invites even the smaller gifts to come in. “No gift is too small!” can take the angst out of deciding on a the right number for some of your first-time donors. The average monthly gift ranges from $24-$38. Even $10 per month generates a nice annual contribution amount.
  5. Define the donation amounts on your form to indicate the impact it will create. Make the amounts meaningful and in alignment with your organization.
  6. Get creative with your email signature with “Become a member!” and linking to your recurring donation page.

If you don’t have a monthly donor program, I suggest you begin today! Having the monthly revenue stream will ease your mind more than you know. Monthly donors are loyal followers. Make sure to love them up on a regular basis! Provide reports on the impact their gifts are making on the community you serve. Create the BEST win/win scenario and you’ll see your retention rates go sky high!

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