how you can start and grow a recurring donor program
TRANSCRIPT
How You Can Start and Grow a Recurring Donor Program
11/20/14 1pm eastern
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About Erica Waasdorp •President of A Direct Solution
•Philanthropoholic
•Reader’s Digest ‘graduate’
•30 + years Direct Response experience
•20+ years of Monthly Giving experience
•Raised millions of dollars for clients
•Author of Monthly Giving. The Sleeping Giant, paperback and e-book
•Speaker, teacher and blogger
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Question
Do you have a monthly giving program now?
Yes
No
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What?
• Small
• Committed
• Automatic
• No end date
• Provide regular income
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Where?
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Source: Bloomerang, 2013 AFP Fundraising Effectiveness Study
Why? To offset this:
Their retention rates are much higher!
Source: Infographic: Bloomerang, AFP Fundraising Effectiveness
Project
Quote: Adrian Sargeant
I: How Monthly Donors are different
Retention Rates Rock!! Median Retention Rates in 2012 by Gift Type and Loyalty
Donors Giving Only Single Gifts
Donors Giving Both Single and Recurring Gifts
2 Years Consecutive 51% 86%
3 & 4 Years Consecutive 65% 90%
5+ Years Consecutive 79% 95%
Source: donorCentrics™ Collaborative Benchmarking
US Recurring (Sustainer) Giving
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Your donors will give a lot more…
Current Gifts
Monthly Gifts (annual)
First year Cume
100 $35 $0 $3,500
100 $35 $120 $15,500
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Do your Research
Join Other Monthly Giving Programs
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Best Practice
21% of Baby Boomers (age 49 – 67 years old)
gives Monthly!
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monthly
donors
Source: Blackbaud
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Online Monthly Growing…
Source: 2014 M+R Benchmarks (2013 data)
Typical fundraising rules apply except…
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Best Practice
One person must own the program
YOU
Web site
Donors
Donor base
Donor services
Fundraising Accounting
Programs
Marketing
Online
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Have a Name
Organize Recognition
Develop your ‘Promises’
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Best Practice
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Thank you for joining Send with personal letter
via snail mail
No need for monthly thank yous
Send tax receipt in January
Important: Make your own email thank you!
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Special thank you
Gift impact
Thank you!
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Share options
What donors can expect
Add Recurring to Donation page
Do have special Landing Page
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Best Practice
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Easy, minimum amount
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No minimum
Simple ask to recur
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Absolutely NO end date EVER!
II: How to Start a Program with Limited Resources
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Monthly Before One time donation
Local Library
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Questions & Answers
Video
Gift for joining
Top of landing page
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Bottom of landing page
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Clear benefits
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Automatic Check Option
Donor must fill out form and send in, Signature required for EFT
Organize your Back Office
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Best Practice
Compare expected payments against
actual payments received
Monthly, day after charge date
Recommend monthly payment code for tracking
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Account Updater/Recycling Outdated cards
Declined cards
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Marketing
Put Monthly Giving
Front and Center
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Best Practice
Make it easy to find…
menu
V: How to Market your Program
Benefits
Specific amounts
Video
V: How to Market your Program
Make it easy to find…
V: How to Market your Program
Integrate in donation page VII: How to Plan for Growth
Specific amounts
Dare to put front and
center
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Back end premium
Landing Page with ask amount (open)
Rule of thirds
Ask Low
Get High Response
Upgrade later
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Best practice
Calculate Monthly Ask Amount
Use One Third for
first Monthly
Ask
Take Avg One time gift
•$35 becomes:
•$10, $15, $20, $35, Other $______
•$15 becomes:
•$5, $10, $15, $20, Other $_____
For example
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Specific amounts do specific things…
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Source: 2014 M+R Benchmarks
As soon as they become a donor!
As often as you’d like
Any time of the year
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When can you ask?
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Impact of gift
Monthly front and center
Ask for preferences
Drive to web
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Best practice
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Web ads Facebook
Twitter Linked in
Use Email
Use Challenge and Deadline
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Best practice
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Use image to draw
attention
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Clear goal of 600
Deadline
# left to generate
Specific amounts
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Challenge and deadline worked into
email newsletter
Your program is growing!!
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Direct mail still works!
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Use Donor testimonials wherever
you can… Newsletters, web, FB, Twitter…
“I am a widow on a fixed income but being a monthly
sponsor helps people that have less. You do good work for the less fortunate”. – Jean, NJ
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A
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Strong teaser
Back-end premium works
with mission
Clear examples of how gift helps
Offer EFT and CC options
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Mention Monthly Option
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Both options
Front of Reply
Back of reply
Should you stop appealing?
NO
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Monthly Donors who give to other appeals
Real Live
Example:
57% of Monthly
donors give to
other appeals
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Plan for Success!
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Remember to Annualize!
Current Gifts
Monthly Gifts (annual)
First year Cume
100 $35 $120 $15,500
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“The beginning is perhaps
more difficult than anything else,
but keep heart,
it will turn out all right.”
–Vincent van Gogh
Erica Waasdorp
A Direct Solution
PO Box 757
Marstons Mills, MA 02648 USA
Tel: 508-776-1224
Fax: 270-633-1744
www.adirectsolution.com
@ericawaasdorp
Monthly Donor Calculator bit.ly/T1dSdr
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Questions?
Any questions?
Feel free to email me even after today!
November 20, 2014
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