Did you know that six out of every ten donors are likely to stop giving to your organization next year? Donor retention is a hidden treasure of funds for your nonprofit. But if you want to grow your number of monthly donors, you need to do more than ask once a year. It’s ongoing, and it takes time.

Donor retention starts with an effective monthly giving marketing plan.

That’s why DonorPerfect recently released a Monthly Giving Marketing kit featuring tips, tactics, and advice from monthly giving expert, Erica Waasdorp.

Download the entire Monthly Giving Marketing Kit free here.

Get started right away by familiarizing yourself with these four essential steps to setting up a monthly giving marketing plan.

1. Craft your story.

Marketing your monthly giving program is all about telling your story. When you share the story behind your organization, you bring a human touch and emotional element to a donor’s participation in your mission. Your story should set your organization’s mission apart from others and reflect the significant impact a single donor’s monthly commitment can have on your success. By telling your story, you’re not just asking, you’re inviting the donor to become part of the story by joining your monthly giving program.

2. Incorporate your story and monthly giving asks in your communication plan.

The more you ask donors to join your monthly giving program, the more monthly donors you’ll attain. Asking can be done directly or indirectly, depending upon the channel you choose. For example, email marketing and direct mail are ways of asking outright, while social media posts and event invites keep donors engaged and aware of your efforts.

3. Establish a budget.

There’s no standard budget plan for monthly donors, because every organization is different. If you have 500 donors, your budget to market your monthly giving will not be the same as if you had 5,000 donors. Having more direct mail addresses than email addresses can also add to your marketing cost. Focus on building your email list everywhere you can. You can set up a sign-up form on your website, create a Text-to-Join keyword to promote at events, and promote your mailing list on your social media channels. DonorPerfect integrates with email marketing service, Constant Contact, to provide seamless contact management and synchronization of campaign results so you can track donor information and marketing results easily.

4. Ask low and you’ll grow!

The #1 reason monthly giving programs grow is because you ask your donors to join. Ask, ask often, and ask low. By asking for a lower amount, your monthly giving program will grow much faster. A lower monthly giving amount welcomes donors of all incomes and many will eventually increase their monthly giving amount in the future. For example, if you’re a membership organization, you can encourage members who typically pay for a yearly membership up front to join as monthly members instead. Rather than asking for $45 for a year-long membership, ask for $5 a month instead ($60/year), with no end date to their membership. By allowing members to sign up and receive their membership card for just $5, you’ll attract more donors who are likely to donate for life.

Like what you read? Well, you’re in luck.

This article is an excerpt from DonorPerfect’s free Monthly Giving Marketing Kit — the latest installment to their Monthly Giving Series featuring monthly giving expert, Erica Waasdorp.

Download your Free Monthly Giving Start Kit kere. 

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