For reasons attributable only to sloth or ignorance far too many organizations sign up monthly donors then walk away. No thank you. No phone call.  No newsletter.  Nothing.

And they wonder why these precious donors lapse.  Really?

In a moment I’ll share the top three tips on stewarding (treating donors like human beings) monthly donors offered by monthly giving guru Erica Waasdorp.  .

But first, a brief summary of previous Agitatorposts on monthly giving.

Monthly Giving Part 1: Why Bother?

If you care about retention…if you care about sustainability. ..significant net income and, eventually, massive bequest income, it’s time to invest some of yourself in mastering at least the basics.

Part 1 of this series summarizes the reasons you should give serious attention to this “sleeping giant’  of fundraising programs.  You’ll learn the basic arithmetic of monthly giving…find a list of helpful resources…and arm yourself with basic arguments on why you should stake your claim on what Chuck Longfieldcalls “fundraising’s last land grab.”

Monthly Giving Part 2: Setting Goals and Getting Started

How to get started? Well, setting simple and achievable goals is a great first step.  In Part 2 you’ll find you don’t need a big staff to build a successful monthly giving program and you sure don’t need a sophisticated IT department.

In this post you’ll find a short checklist of the essential steps in getting started.

Monthly Giving Part 3: The Great Recordkeeping and Payment Processing Barrier

Good systems = Great Monthly Giving.  Solid recordkeeping and donor processing systems are essential for successful monthly giving programs.  In Part 3 you’ll find practical advice, examples and recommendations on consistent, reliable and inexpensive approaches that will enable you to easily stay in touch with your monthly donors.

Which brings me to the main point of this Part 4 post:  Staying in touch with your monthly donors.

3 Top Stewardship Moves

Make no mistake.  To keep your monthly donors, you must engage with them.  They’re not ATMs, they’re human beings.   So, unless they told you upfront they didn’t want to ever again hear from you, here, according to Erica Waasdorp are the Top Three Tips on monthly donor stewardship taken from her Monthly Donor Motivation column in NonProfitPRO.

“Tip #1. Send a Hard Copy Thank-You Letter Immediately

No matter how the donor joined—online, on the street, via the phone, through direct mail—this letter should include the following:

• Amount
• Frequency of giving (typically monthly)
• When it will be charged/deducted from their account
• Person to contact (phone/email) if they have questions
• What the donor can expect, which could be special event invites, updates on how their gift has made a difference and a tax letter in January showing all their gifts

“Tip #2:  Make a Thank-You Call

Even if it’s $10 a month, that’s $120 a year. It’s worth giving to a volunteer or board member to simply say thank you. Leave a message if you can’t get to the donor live and do include your contact information. Wow, the donor will feel really appreciated and if you can talk live, it’s a great opportunity to find out more about him/her. Why is the donor giving monthly? What do they like about the organization? Find out some demographics and most importantly, confirm that the donor indeed wants to give monthly. You really want a committed sustainer. If you’re a big organization, consider a voice broadcast that sounds as personal as you can make it. Something is better than nothing.

“Tip #3:  Send a Survey

Email works great and is very easy to set up. Keep it short and sweet, maybe three to five questions. Ask why he/she is giving monthly. Ask how often he/she would like to hear from you. Ask what types of communications he/she would like to receive. Then make sure you follow through on this. Donors love being asked for advice, and they’ll feel valued. This also will give you some food for follow-up and will generate some great testimonials you can use to acquire new monthly donors.

“You have many a monthly donor to lose and everything to gain by just doing these top three things consistently.”

Amen.  And an Agitator Raise to Erica for her monthly donor evangelism.

Roger

P.S.  BREAKING NEWS & A CALL TO ACTION.

The U.S. Senate just moved to force a vote on Net Neutrality.  This is a huge deal and means that the floor vote could come as early as next week. The Internet is lighting up in protest as more and more small and large websites and apps go on “red alert” to help sound the alarm.

Senators are deciding how they are going to vote right now. The outcome of this will impact the future of the Internet for decades to come.

To save net neutrality, we need to get every member of Congress to promise to vote to overrule the FCC vote that would destroy equal access to the internet for everyone. We are just one vote away from winning in the Senate, though we need a lot more votes in the House. Help us get those votes!

• Only ONE more vote is needed in the Senate
• 161 Votes in the House are Needed

Click on the link below to see where your Senators and Representative stand.  Then click on the “Tweet” or “Call” button under their photo and send ‘em a simple message:  “I’m counting on you to vote to SAVE NET NEUTRALITY

Please do your part.  Together we can make Congress Save Net Neutrality

P.P.S.  If you prefer to email rather than Tweet or Call just Click here to contact your lawmakers right now!