Convincing you that monthly giving programs are worth doing isn’t that hard. Report after report shows that recurring donation programs have great ROI, provide a steady, predictable flow of funds for your organization and are a powerful tool in donor retention. 

But it has to be done right.

Launching a recurring donation program is more than adding a monthly giving button, announcing the option exists and hoping for the best.  

Launching a recurring donation...

Major donors to nonprofits are a different breed - and it’s not only because of the size of their gifts. 

Studies show that they tend to be the most consistent supporters of nonprofit organizations, giving year after year, even during economic downturns. They might have a greater feeling of ownership in your organization and are more concerned with the bigger picture. Typically, major donors aren’t just there to support this program or that initiative; they are...

Beyond good manners, why is it important to thank people for their donations? 

In addition to the practical reason of acknowledging the gift and sending a receipt, saying thank you can be the start - or continuation - of a beautiful partnership with your benefactor.

It’s your chance to educate them about the impact their gift will have; to make them more aware of how they, by donating to you, are helping to change the world. And every time you do - because you should thank...

The evidence shows that email communication is still a vital tool in your nonprofit’s strategy to raise awareness, retain donors and find new supporters.

To tap into the true potential for email marketing, you need to keep building your email list. It’s a question you should ask yourself - what could your nonprofit do if you had more people to contact?

There’s some right ways (and a couple of very wrong ones) to go about growing your contact list and in this...

Here’s an eye-popping number - 40%.

That’s how much nonprofit monthly giving programs increased last year, and there’s no signs of this trend slowing down in 2019.

It’s easy to understand why everyone loves recurring gift programs: small donations that automatically renew make giving more manageable and convenient for your nonprofit’s supporters. Meanwhile, they provide more predictable funding and higher retention rates for heart-centered...

Retention rules.

It’s not just that it’s cheaper to retain a donor than to acquire a new one. That’s true, but there are some other reasons as well. Jay Love, legendary co-founder of Bloomerang noted in a blog that most major gifts come after a donor has been giving to an organization for five years. And even if your repeat donor’s gift is modest, you need to think about the lifetime impact this person could have; those small annual gifts surely do add...

Raise your hand if you’d like to attract a few more donors each month?

How about if you were able to double the amount of active donors you currently have?

If you’re waving both hands in the air like they’re on fire, then let me introduce you to McKenzie Simmons, Senior Director of Mission Advancement at Cancer Support Community of Arizona.

On today’s show, as my first ‘Marketer on a Mission’ podcast guest, McKenzie openly shares how she and her...

You work way too hard to lose 81% of your new donors.

That’s the average today, and I say no way!

In today’s podcast episode I’m sharing three very specific new donor communication strategies that I’ve used to help nonprofits keep between 45%-60% of their new donors.

It’s a three step communication process that includes:

• How to best welcome and thank new donors
• Share the impact of your organization
• Get them connected to your larger community of...

Have you ever wondered how thanking donors really adds up?

Like how does thanking donors factor into how often and how much a donor might give?

If so, you’re not alone.

In fact, just recently a powerhouse group of philanthropic experts from The Philanthropy Centre conducted a study on the impacts of an acknowledgment plan that includes how thank-you’s can contribute to donor retention, frequency of giving and even how much someone contributes - in some cases doubling...

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know how much I emphasize digital marketing for nonprofit success. Whether it’s crafting the perfect donation page, writing a compelling email campaign or utilizing social media to create loyal supporters from your followers, digital marketing levels the playing field for nonprofits big and small. That is why I’m a huge supporter of helping small nonprofits learn and implement digital marketing strategies. It addresses...