Making The Switch To Monthly Giving

Monthly giving programs are on fundraisers' radars these days as some nonprofits have found it to be a great source of revenue and engagement. That doesn't mean it's easy to switch to it when your nonprofit is already practicing annual giving.

During Fundraising Day in New York 2013, sponsored by the New York City chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Valerie Arganbright of Appleby Arganbright and Jason Lott of Human Rights Campaign, discussed the challenges organizations can face when switching from annual to monthly giving. They warned that adopting a new fundraising method means learning a new way of doing business, which means you should learn the following rules:

• Asking, who is the business owner for the monthly giving?
• Deciding how and when revenue will be recognized.
• A decision about monthly giving as the number one ask and one-time giving as the only other option.
• Consistent branding.

Arganbright and Lott also said that nonprofits should make the following considerations when evaluating the pros and cons of a monthly giving campaign:

• Monthly activation rates, particularly by channel;
• Decline and attrition rates;
• Average gift of new monthly donors by channel; and,
• Actual performance against budget.