Missions to Movements
This isn't just another nonprofit podcast - it's your weekly invitation to think bigger, take bold risks, and create lasting change in an ever-evolving social impact landscape. Meet Dana Snyder, your guide through the evolving landscape of nonprofit innovation. She's on a mission to help change-makers like you push the boundaries of what's possible in nonprofit marketing and fundraising. Each week, Missions to Movements serves as your personal mastermind session, delivering actionable insights and bold strategies that challenge traditional nonprofit thinking. Dive into revolutionary approaches to digital fundraising, discover how to build magnetic monthly giving programs that create lasting donor relationships, and learn to amplify your voice as a thought leader in the social good space. Whether you're reimagining your organization's impact or forging game-changing partnerships, you'll find the ideas, insights, and inspiration to take your mission further than you've ever imagined. Ready to turn your mission into a movement?
Missions to Movements
The Most Important Conversation in Nonprofit Fundraising Starts Today
The Monthly Giving Summit is HERE!
Instead of scrambling for last minute dollars or stressing over whether a big donor will renew their gift, imagine that you have a solid foundation of predictable revenue that gives you room to breathe, plan and focus on the work that truly matters.
That's what a thriving monthly giving program can do.
This year’s summit is a space where we can all come together. You’ll hear from industry leaders like Liz Forkin Bohannon, author of Beginner’s Pluck, Stephanie Barnhill from Givebutter, and nonprofit giants like Save the Children and Project HOPE. They’ll break down their best strategies for attracting and retaining recurring donors, how to actually integrate subscription-based giving into fundraising efforts, and the savviest email tactics worth trying, like upgrade links and reminders to increase retention.
We have the power, the ability, and the agency to rewrite the future of fundraising, but it starts with showing up.
P.S. You can still register and catch up on all the insights from the Virtual Monthly Giving Summit. Bring your team. Share this with your board. RSVP for FREE here.
Resources & Links
This show is presented by LinkedIn for Nonprofits. We’re so grateful for their partnership. Explore their incredible suite of resources and discounts for nonprofit teams here.
Monthly Giving Awareness Week is May 12-16! Join me, RKD Group, and GivingTuesday for 5 days of FREE resources to help you launch and grow recurring gifts.
Are you still dreaming about building your monthly giving program or refreshing your current one? Applications are now open for my “done with you” Monthly Giving Mastermind. 4 spots are open and we start in July. Click here to apply.
My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab a copy here and learn my framework to build, grow, and sustain subscriptions for good.
Let's Connect!
86% of US consumers were active subscribers in 2024.
Speaker 1:Isn't that kind of wild to think about 86% in the US active subscribers?
Speaker 1:And not just that, but the average American has 12 paid subscriptions and millennials, talking to myself, 17.
Speaker 1:And I will be sharing a brand new stat today with you, during the Monthly Giving Summit that has not been publicly released yet Of all charitable donations, what do you think is the percentage in the US that are recurring gifts?
Speaker 1:I'm Dana Snyder, your host of the Missions to Movements podcast, and my path to philanthropy has been anything but traditional. This show is your weekly mastermind, designed to give you the ideas, insights and support you need to push the boundaries of what's been done before in nonprofit marketing and fundraising. Whether you're looking to build a magnetic monthly giving program, elevate your personal brand or create partnerships that amplify your impact, this space is for you. I'll bring you solo episodes and conversations with industry leaders offering actionable strategies and fresh perspectives that will move you and your mission forward. Let's turn your mission into a movement. Let's turn your mission into a movement. Picture this you open your laptop in the morning, check your numbers and you already know how much funding is coming in this month, next month and even six months from now, you still have work to do. Fundraising never stops, but you're not starting from zero. Instead of scrambling for last-minute dollars or stressing over whether a big donor will renew their gift, you have a solid foundation, a predictable, sustainable revenue stream that gives you room to breathe, plan and focus on the work that truly matters. That's what a thriving monthly giving program can do. It won't replace the need for major gifts, grants or annual campaigns, but it gives you a roadmap of financial stability, a way to smooth the peaks and the valleys of fundraising so you can operate with more confidence. And that is exactly what we're diving into today, because today, right now, is the second annual monthly giving summit. It is happening. I am so excited. This is the biggest gathering of nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, changemakers who are ready to transform the way we fundraise forever. And even if you didn't grab a ticket yet, it's not too late. You can still register for free and it's virtual. There's people from all over the world joining and get access to every single session, even if you can't join live. If you can't join live, if you're super busy, recordings will be provided after the fact so you can go to monthlygivingsummitcom or just click the link at the top of the show notes. Now, this is the problem that we cannot ignore. You are the heartbeat of our communities. Nonprofits are the heartbeat, employing over 12 million people.
Speaker 1:In 2023, nonprofits contributed $1.4 trillion with a T to the US economy, which was 5.2% of the gross domestic product, the GDP. But here's the problem. In my book, I've done a lot of research about subscriptions and the subscription economy, and 86% of US consumers were active subscribers in 2024. Isn't that kind of wild to think about 86% in the US active subscribers? And not just that, but the average American has 12 paid subscriptions and millennials, talking to myself, 17. And I will be sharing a brand new stat today with you during the Monthly Giving Summit that has not been publicly released yet.
Speaker 1:Of all charitable donations, what do you think is the percentage in the US that are recurring gifts? And my teaser I will tell you there is a lot, a lot of potential growth, aka in the billions. And yet and maybe this is you, maybe this is not you, but monthly giving is still an afterthought for so many organizations. It's a small checkbox, it's the quiet PS message in our emails, it's the I don't want to lose the one-time gift hesitation, but we cannot cannot afford to treat it that way anymore. If we want donors to build the habit of giving in a monthly fashion, we need to build the habit of asking that way. So today is a big deal.
Speaker 1:Today, right now, nearly 4,000, over 4,000 nonprofit professionals from around the world are coming together for MGS for the summit to transform how they can build sustainable revenue through recurring giving, and over the next two half days it's from 1 to 4 pm Eastern time we are not just talking about monthly giving. We're redefining it. We're tackling the big questions how do we attract and keep monthly donors? How do we integrate recurring giving into everything we do? And the most important question is how do we make it a priority instead of an afterthought? And to help answer those questions, we have sought out and brought together some of the best minds in fundraising, digital marketing, the subscription economy, and I just wanted to share with you a few of the brilliant voices you will hear from if you join us. Liz Forkin-Bohannon she's the founder of Seiko Designs. She is also the author of Beginner's Pluck. I saw her speak in 2019 and just knocked my socks off. She's so good. She's going to kick us off with a really inspiring keynote on how the bold, unconventional thinking can transform your nonprofit.
Speaker 1:Stephanie Barnhill from GiveButter, maya Anderson from the Hope Booth, jason and Maria from Leave no Trace are going to be talking about how to engage social media communities that drive recurring giving. Ricardo Hernandez and Abby McHugh from the Innocence Project are going to share how artist collaborations and premium incentives really supercharge their acquisition strategy for recurring giving. Tricia Murphy from Mission Wired, nicole Clemente from Save the Children and Evan Johnson from Project Hope are unpacking the art of acquiring and retaining monthly donors at scale. Kim McGordy at Greater Good Charities, rupert Schultz of Boys and Girls Club of America with Fundraise Up Team, are revealing two simple tactics. I love this that boosted recurring giving, which is reminder emails and upgrade links.
Speaker 1:And we're going to have a special session. Jennifer Kelly from Bobby, the lovely organic formula subscription that I use with my daughter Kennedy, and Kevin Teague from Bubz Naturals are joining us bringing insights from the subscription economy. Going to have Lauren from SubSummit moderate that discussion of how these brands retain loyal customers and how you can do the same thing for donors. And it's just the beginning. You will hear from nonprofits of all sizes, grassroots organizations to global giants like the NAACP, concern Worldwide and Food Bank of the Rockies, all breaking down how they've built and scaled successful recurring giving programs. So if you were listening to this, I hope you can feel it and how I'm expressing it, that this is more than a conference, it's a movement. Now I feel like such a pun, me saying missions to movements and that's a movement. But I'm for real. And whether you are just starting out or managing a program with thousands of recurring supporters, there's something here for you. It's not too late. Remember, every session is being recorded, so even if you can't join live, you can still access all the insights and strategies. Do your own little watch party later, on demand Again, go to monthlygivingsummitcom or click the link in the show notes to register. And here's my challenge Please don't sit this one out. We have the opportunity, now more than ever, to reshape the future of nonprofit fundraising together, so let's make it happen.
Speaker 1:And if you're wondering, why does this matter to you so much? If you've been following my journey, you know my fascination with monthly giving started because I'm not just a fundraiser. Yes, I started my journey in the nonprofit space over a decade ago as a director of marketing and development, but I'm a monthly donor myself, and when I moved to LA in 2017, I discovered Dressumber and I was really struck by their amazing mission to combat human trafficking. I watched the founder's TED Talk, blythe Hill. I followed their work and I knew, outside of doing some peer-to-peer support, I wanted to be a consistent supporter when they launched their monthly giving program, the Collective. It was my way to be part of something bigger, and I've been a proud monthly donor.
Speaker 1:This year, 2025, will mark five years of being a member of the collective, and that experience got me wondering in my work with nonprofits why don't all nonprofits prioritize monthly giving? Who's doing it really well? What does it take to scale these programs? And that curiosity led me to study and to test and eventually launch my monthly giving mastermind program and my book and the summit and all the resources that you might have been a part of. So far and after this spring mastermind round, I help five organizations at a time launch monthly giving programs. If you're like, what is she talking about? That's my monthly giving mastermind. You can check it out on my website. I will help launch over 20 recurring giving programs and that is something I am very excited and honored to do.
Speaker 1:And so the monthly giving summit is a direct response to this need. It's a space where we all come together to not just talk about monthly giving but to take real action and make it a priority in our organizations. And here's the thing Now. I know you're busy, I know nonprofit life, there's a lot of things going on and this might be the first time you've ever heard me talk about it. And if you already have plans or you're too busy, remember it's being recorded, it's available on demand. So whether you're listening to this at 6 am in the morning before headed to the office, or 10 pm or a week later, you can still register and catch up on all the insights.
Speaker 1:Please don't let this conversation pass you by. Join us, bring your team, share this with your board, your colleagues, anyone who believes in the power of sustainable funding for nonprofits, because together we have the power, the ability, the agency to rewrite the future of fundraising. But it starts with showing up. So go to monthlygivingsummitcom or click the link in the show notes to sign up and let's make monthly giving the movement it's meant to be. I will see you inside the summit and if this episode resonated with you, if it tickles your senses.
Speaker 1:If it gets you excited, please do me a favor. Take a screenshot, share it on social. Tag me. Let's get more people in this conversation. I cannot wait to hear what you take away from the sessions today and tomorrow and I will see you inside the monthly giving. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode of Missions to Movements. If you enjoyed our conversation and found it helpful, I would love for you to take a moment to leave a review. Wherever you're listening. Your feedback helps us reach more changemakers like you and continue bringing impactful stories and strategies to the show. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button too, so you'll never miss an episode, and until next time, keep turning your mission into a movement.
