Today we are talking about one of my favorite things - and that is monthly giving! Whether you want $1,000 or $5,000 recurring every month, your goals are your own. And the benefits are TREMENDOUS.
But one of the reasons organizations get stuck starting a monthly giving program is coming up with a name.
How do you come up with a name for your giving program? Is it important? In this episode, we'll have a mini workshop on unlocking the secrets to creating a monthly giving program that resonates with donors and builds an enduring community. This brainstorming session is designed to help you uncover a name that encapsulates your nonprofit's spirit and purpose!
If you're ready to grow your community of recurring donors in 2024, my Monthly Giving Mastermind brings ALL the necessary experts together to provide YOU with a one-stop shop to launch an impactful recurring donor program in just 3 months! Doors are closing soon, so apply now.
Resources & Links
Applications are closing soon to join my Monthly Giving Mastermind program which starts in February! Ready to build a dedicated community of recurring donors to generate consistent revenue? Let's make it happen together. Learn more and apply here.
Join my free webinar with EverTrue on January 16th to learn how to creatively use video campaigns, email, and direct mail to reengage your supporters! RSVP and start the New Year with me at positiveequation.com/thanks.
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Speaker 1:
If you know that you're a part of something with 25 other 50 other, a thousand other people, that also is lending credibility. When you think about naming something, saying will you join the spring, the roots, the bench, the table, it is much more meaningful than just saying will you give $10 a month. Hey, there, you're listening to the Missions to Movements podcast and I'm your host, dana Snyder, digital Strategist for Non-Profits and Founder and CEO of Positive Equations. This show highlights the digital strategies of organizations making a positive impact in the world. Ready to learn the latest trends, actionable tips and the real stories from behind the feed, let's transform your mission into a movement. Hello there, today we are talking about one of my favorite things, and that is monthly giving. Why? Why is that one of my favorite things? Because I am all about fundraising with ease and we are consumers living in the subscription world. Am I right? The subscription economy has grown by 435% in nine years, which is wild and is only expected to continue on this upward trend the opposite above what we're hearing a lot about giving in the nonprofit sector. Now, this is crucial to be looking at because we, as consumers, we're so used to spending monthly. Therefore, why do we not do that with a donation. Most of the time it's because we are called to give one time first, and then there's this retention process of getting us to give again as then monthly donors. Instead, I want to challenge us to think about a recurring first model as we go into this year equally, hopefully, more time spent on your programs, and this way you are attracting passionate supporters that are in it for the long haul with you. Now, as popular of a topic as monthly giving can be, there's sometimes this hesitancy to get started, and I think one of the stigmas around monthly giving programs is they're only I'm using my quote hands, they're only for big organizations, and that's not true at all. Honestly, any size organization can have a monthly giving program. Your goals are your own. You might want $1,000 of recurring revenue to provide X for a program of yours. Or maybe your main goal of your program is to get $5,000 recurring every month to pay the rent of your building and that would be success to you. It doesn't matter what size organization you are. Your goals are your own and the benefits overall are tremendous. Right One the biggest is regular, reliable donations make it easier for you to budget and plan. Typically, there's less admin work because the donations are coming in automatically. There's no need to send like reminders to these people all the time to give. It's just set it and forget it, like we do with so many of our subscriptions. A big one retention rates that we struggle with, compared to like a new donor retention, which can be 40% or lower, retention rates for monthly givers are often over 80% after a year and continue on upwards. I've even seen them higher than that and honestly, one of the biggest perks is donors feel really invested in your organization's work and they stay engaged for longer. So there are a plethora of benefits to having one. But I think there's another issue that normally comes up around creating a monthly giving program and it's an interesting one, but it pops up on a lot of my webinars is like we just don't know what to name it Like. Where would we even start with that? And so I wanted to do kind of this short episode, to do a mini podcast workshop, if we can, around even the question of when it comes to creating a monthly giving program, name or not name a program. Do we make it an official program with a name or do we just ask for monthly gifts with our donation form. And I lean on the side of where naming your program is really quite important. If you think of so many products that we buy, they have a name right. Why is that? And the biggest thing is it gives you the ability to build a brand around the program and thus the ability to create engaging marketing materials to talk about said product. And to me, a monthly giving program is a product of your organization. Giving a name also provides some credibility. It's not just a transactional feeling. You're a part of something bigger than yourself, and leaning into that being not just transactional and adding credibility is it gives community. If you know that you're a part of something with 25 other 50 other 1,000 other people, that also is lending credibility. When you think about naming something, saying will you join the spring, the roots, the bench, the table, it is much more meaningful than just saying will you give $10 a month, will you join something right? And then, lastly, I think something also really positive about naming a program is when you're giving thanks, you can recognize these donors in a really special way. When you're at events, through email, snail mail, you name it and again, it's like bringing together that sense of community and recognition with the name. So when you're thinking of a name, don't let a whole program get stuck because you don't know where to go to start with a name. So I figured I would give you some brainstorming tips here if you are in the place of looking to create a program, and during my monthly giving mastermind, one of our first calls that we do is just this it's a monthly giving naming exercise where I open up a page in Canva and it is customized with Post-it notes and on the left hand side there's a series of questions. That's meant to really get the juices flowing. I set a timer and each organization starts to write down words on their individual Post-it notes based upon looking at and reading the questions on the left hand side to start from. And then, once the time is called, we all go through each other's words and our program name ideas and we mark stars or hearts next to the ones that we like. And then we move around the Post-it notes and kind of group them together to see what feels good and we have a discussion about it. We have a discussion about the meeting of the program, what they want the program to attract, and then usually we end up leaving the session with two to three names to marinate on, to take back to the team, to take back to your board of directors, and it's a really powerful session. If you want a list of the questions that I use during the brainstorm, you can go to positiveequationcom. Backslash name to download that's positiveequationcom backslash name. And then I wanted to list out just a few of them. A few of the questions are, and some of them are not necessarily like thinking about the name, but like the structure, the format of it. So, really simply, is it easy to read and pronounce? That is key. Can somebody read it? Can they pronounce it? Is it easy to say, if you say the sentence I joined blank or I'm a part of blank or I belong to blank, how does that name sound within those statements? And then, lastly, when, to kind of think about, does it relay and speak to who you are? Oh, and one more and could there be a word, a name, where it lends people to know what their money is going to be used for? So we list a whole bunch of different these questions just to get like our minds working right. So when I think back to some of the ones I named earlier the roots, the bench, the table. Another one is the beacon. The roots their monthly donors are devoted to supporting communities in Ethiopia through education and job creation. The roots when you think about a root, it is the core education, job creation it's the core of what we need to grow and thrive. Organization LEAP, their programs, the bench they are providing underrepresented students the support and mentorship that they need to attend law school and become agents of change. Are you gonna sit on the bench right Makes sense from a law room perspective. Maloto, the table they are devoted to feeding women and children and giving children the education they deserve and empowering all of them in their own efforts. The table right, devoted to feeding. You're eating around the table. You learn at the table. They're working in education. Lastly, the gorge their program is called the beacon. They work to protect, preserve and steward. The Columbia Gorge Beacon Rock is an iconic landmark to the Columbia Gorge. Each of these programs and the names that we chose have a meaning and a purpose behind them and for all of them you can say I'm a part of the roots, the bench, the table, the beacon, et cetera. Right, they all mean something and bring you closer to the mission. So I hope this helps. Just start to get some ideas flowing in your mind. A to know that it does not matter the size of your organization. I strongly recommend setting up a monthly giving program this year. Don't make fundraising hard, right? How can you make it easier for yourself? How can you cultivate a really diverse donor base, whether they're giving $5 or $500 a month? Inviting them into that? If you are interested in creating a monthly giving program this year, I would love to invite you to the next cohort of my monthly giving mastermind. It starts in February, so very soon. My team will help you create a name, will optimize your online donation process, will design a website landing page, thank you page, write all of the copy and help take it to market. If you are interested, you can go to positiveequationcom backslash mastermind to apply. And something new with the program this year is I tested with some of my previous groups doing a reunion call and we loved it, which is all. Previous mastermind attendees are invited to come together and we continue brainstorming. This is not just because we launch it and we get out into the world. We're not leaving hanging. We wanna support you as your program continues to grow and so we are going to have four calls, one a quarter to continue brainstorming, to continue growing, to continue reviewing each other's emails or acquisition plans or thank yous, like we are a community together. If you have a program that is already created but you're like I think it needs a little refresh, I have a brand new opportunity to work together and that is scheduling a VIP tune up day. I have them throughout the year. I have a few spots open every month and it's essentially where we will spend roughly a whole day together talking through key priorities that will outline and advance together. So, whether that's like, hey, I really wanna optimize my donation experience, I think my copy needs some updating. I want help building out an acquisition campaign We'll get to work. So, again, I have a few spots open each month. So if you're interested, you'll be able to book that via the same site positivequationcom, backslash, mastermind and you can just select the VIP day in the application process. So I'm very excited. I would love to hear from you if you have any questions about either program. And next week we are going to be diving into Canva tips Literally one of my favorite tools that is always releasing incredible features. Bex Toms will be joining us. She is a brilliant graphic designer. Do not miss it and I will see you next week. Can you tell I love talking all things digital To make this show better. I'd be so grateful for your feedback. Leave a review, take a screenshot of this episode, share it on Instagram stories and tag positive equation with one E so I can reshare and connect with you.