Missions to Movements
Missions to Movements is the nonprofit marketing and fundraising podcast that helps you grow recurring donors, scale monthly giving programs, and build digital campaigns that convert.
Hosted by Dana Snyder—speaker, strategist, and founder of Positive Equation—this show is packed with actionable nonprofit growth strategies, social media tips, and fundraising best practices.
Each week, you’ll hear how organizations are increasing donor retention, building thought leadership, and using digital fundraising to drive real impact. If you want to learn how to attract monthly donors, master nonprofit marketing, and transform your mission into a movement, this podcast is for you.
Missions to Movements
How Your Year-End Gala or Event Can Generate Revenue All Year with Monthly Giving as the Centerpiece
Transform your fundraising events from one-time giving opportunities into sustainable revenue generators by making monthly giving a centerpiece rather than an afterthought.
We share practical strategies to create signature moments that convert event attendees into loyal monthly supporters while maximizing the long-term impact of your gatherings.
• Creating signature visual moments that attendees will remember long after the event ends
• Elevating existing monthly donors through special recognition, VIP experiences, or distinctive identifiers
• Capturing content during events for ongoing donor stewardship throughout the year
• Working with technology vendors to seamlessly integrate monthly giving options into event platforms
If you implement these strategies at your next event, tag me on LinkedIn or share your success in the reviews! I'd love to hear your creative ideas and possibly feature your story on a future episode.
This show is brought to you by GivingTuesday! GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement that started in 2012 with a simple idea: a day to do good.
This year, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, join the conversation: share your favorite nonprofit’s campaign, volunteer for a cause you care about, share an act of kindness, or encourage your audience to do the same.
Use #GivingTuesday, tag @GivingTuesday, and visit GivingTuesday.org/Participate to get involved and inspire others!
Let's Connect!
- Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
- My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab a copy here and learn my framework to build, grow, and sustain subscriptions for good.
- Want to book Dana as a speaker for your event? Click here!
Welcome back to Missions to Movements another bonus episode. On last Monday's bonus episode, I was sharing about how to use LinkedIn, specifically at this time of the year, as a really thoughtful thought leadership element and element to your fundraising and visibility at the end of the year. These short solo episodes are unedited, so welcome to the raw version of Vicious Movements. This episode is going to be focused on your upcoming events and how we can really transform them into an opportunity to generate consistent cash flow for you all year round. So I recently attended a gala that was beautiful. The room was buzzing with energy, it was full, sold out, it was this really cool industrial space and they hit their fundraising goal for the evening, which is an incredible accomplishment. But what struck me and I was actually talking to the person leading fundraising and they knew I was going to be there and they're like we really wanted to make monthly giving happen, but it unfortunately it just didn't. The only mention of their monthly giving program was a tiny paragraph tucked away in the back of the program booklet with a QR code. And while this night was truly successful for them, I of course couldn't help but think what if monthly giving had been brought to life as a moment in the program. How much more sustainable impact could have been created for years to come. And this is a common challenge at these events. Events are very often focused on the one-time fundraising wins, the paddle raises, the silent, the live auction in the room, which feel amazing, don't get me wrong. But of course, what we all want is diversing the revenue streams to build lasting commitment. So why can't it be yes, and in these moments? So, instead of burying monthly giving into the program, what if the MC had stopped and said if you love tonight, let's give it a sequel, keep it going going. Join our monthly giving program right now. Scan the QRs on your table and this thing happens right, and make it a moment. A video plays. Then something happens right. There's so many different creative things that you can do.
Speaker 1:The energy in that room could have channeled into dozens, maybe hundreds, of sustainers. I was a guest of someone who had purchased a table, and so I'm someone who knows a little bit about the organization, but not a ton. And so there are a bunch of people that are, of course, going to contribute with the paddle raises and do bigger amounts. But for those who are invites, how do we include them in a really special way to get that lower but very strong and important commitment. Lower dollar amount but long-term commitment. It's an incredible opportunity. It brings the community together. The energy and the room is there. That is something that is unmet. The videos, the stories that you're hearing truly inspire generosity, but obviously at the end the event ends, everyone goes home and so does the giving for that moment.
Speaker 1:So what if your gala or a golf tournament or a 5k or a holiday party, whatever it is that you're hosting didn't just spark the one-time gifts but turned it into this wave of monthly donors? So that's what I want to talk about in this quick fire episode is how to make monthly giving the true centerpiece of your upcoming events, not the afterthought at the end of the night, but really a moment that people can remember how to put this in action. So earlier this year I worked with the Ruth Project during a VIP intensive. My VIP intensives are where I work with you one-on-one for a day and a half, virtually, or I meet with you in person, and they have an annual soiree gala event. And this year specifically, they were doing a birthday themed event and so we were just creating their monthly giving program. So we talked about how do we launch their new monthly giving program, which is called the story, and make it a big moment. So, knowing that is a birthday themed event this year, I think they were turning 10. I think it's 10. I could be off on that, but I think it was 10.
Speaker 1:Anyways, birthday party themed, my mind goes to a birthday candle and making wishes. So, theme being the story begins with one light let yours be next. So had this idea of a candle activation inspired by the theme. So they do have current monthly donors that would be attending this event. So we talked about that and they would receive a special pin when they got there, so one. If people see the pin it's like oh, how did you get that pin? Natural conversation piece. And for those that give during the night, they would receive this special pin as they leave.
Speaker 1:So imagine, each guest arrives there's a single like white candle at their table setting symbolizing and there would be some acknowledgement about this in the program at the table, symbolizing the light that they carry their potential role in the story, a matchbox, matchboxes around the table labeled be the next light and a beautiful card sitting at the place setting that could read something along the lines of tonight we invite you to make a wish, not just for our birthday, but for the future of a child in foster care. When you light your candle, you're saying I want to be part of the story that stays, that supports, that shines, and there's a QR code on the card. This could also be a place where they get to write their wish on the back of the card and drop it into a wishing jar for the families that they serve in the middle of the table and there's a donation form. When they have the QR code, there's a donation form as the preset levels that tie to the impact. So all of this is like you're making a moment at the table.
Speaker 1:Then there's, of course, during events. You have speeches. You're going to go up and say something, so speaking about why monthly matters, and we talked about for them creating a short, two minute or so story video that will play before the ask and after the video, having a script that feels good, that you feel energized about to say that their ED, in this case founder, would say. There are blank X amount of us in the room tonight. Each one of us carries a light, a story, a chance to walk alongside a family who says yes to love. If you feel moved to join the story as a monthly giver or upgrade your support for those in the room, go ahead and light your candle now. So guests would start lighting their candles around the table. The room gradually grows, table by table, and again it's the same thing. Really interesting.
Speaker 1:I hadn't been in a gala in a while and watching the and I even felt this way the paddle raises where our numbers were on the back of our programs and so I was number 299. So as soon as they're like can I get the $5,000? Can I get five people at this? Can I get X at $1,000? And you feel like that peer compelling and be like, oh yeah, I want to raise my paddle. That feels good, I want to join that group and it's an uplifting moment and there's people celebrating your gift next to you. So the peer-to-peer element of this is so impactful and really creating a visual moment. And then, same thing as you would normally do in like a live auction setting, they're sharing a real-time donor account. So at this gala they said how many, how many do I have at a thousand right now? How many do I have at 500? And they would say the amount. And so you get the real-time count and you can say tonight, 64 stories were lit or started by the light, something to that effect. And so, again, it's a moment, and after the event, every new monthly donor.
Speaker 1:We talked about brainstorming a photo, like a photo would be taken of the moment when the room was lit. I don't know if any, if you happen to go to church and I always love the moment where they do the candle lighting and everybody in our church would sing Silent Night and end up raising the candles all up together. And so what if you took a photo, like in that moment, and they get a photo of that, or a postcard with a note that says this is what your light helped create. So, just going back to that memorable moment, handwritten thank you card with the wish that they wrote included inside, like really you can automate all of this. By the way, maybe we talked about an optional printed bookmark, because they're part of the story. So really think about what could be uniquely represented for you, whether that is a whole room, in this case filled with glowing candles and wishes being made and a community coming together.
Speaker 1:It's not just a giving moment. That's not. People don't. I don't know. I don't think people really remember the moment a year from now that they're going to, when they raise their paddle for a dollar amount, but they will remember an experience that they had at your event.
Speaker 1:So how can you design a signature moment? Don't tag monthly giving onto the end. How can you feature it as a moment, whether it's candle lighting, if you're an art organization, can monthly donors write their names on a cool live art wall, or is there an artist that's writing names or something as they join, or a mural's happening as people give, ringing a bell together, projecting names on the screen. I don't know choreography right, there's. How can you make it a visual moment? So that's the first thing. Design a signature moment. Two, how can you elevate existing monthly donors? So, if you already have a program, highlight them. If you can have a VIP lounge or cocktail tasting bar sponsored by a partner that monthly donors get access to, early access to the event, can they be there 30 minutes of mingling before the doors open with your founder or a key stakeholder and they get like a private viewing of something. Do they get a special pin or a badge or ribbon that says they're a part of the program, how can you make current supporters feel valued? And it sparks curiosity in others but like how do I, how do I get access to that?
Speaker 1:And then number three, which events are so primed for, is capturing content for ongoing stewardship. This event that you have is not just one night, it is a plethora of opportunities to bank content. So again, I shared that one example, taking a wide photo of the room during that activation moment, mailing it later as a thank you postcard. Can you utilize the moment to record short thank you videos from your staff, from beneficiaries that are there. You can send them to the new sustainers the week afterwards. Can you interview one or two of the monthly donors on site about why they just joined and then use that in social posts and emails later. Right, so many opportunities from events to make it grow just beyond that.
Speaker 1:One fundraising night, so one brainstorm, that one creative moment that symbolizes monthly giving Prep QR codes, signage, the donor touch points, schedule, those follow-up messages, so that magic doesn't stop just when the end does. And I know something for this event that I went to in particular technology, the donating software. They're trying to think about how could this work because their credit card was previously our credit cards as donors were previously collected to make it easy to give. You might be thinking the same thing. Talk to your tech. Talk to your donation vendors. They want you to be successful. How can your partner help with your monthly giving goals? Have the conversation. I promise there's always a way to make it work.
Speaker 1:So my big ask for you from this little bonus episode is at your next event, don't settle for just one-time gifts. Give the donors a chance to step into something lasting and meaningful and if you do this, create that centerpiece moment and again tag me on LinkedIn. Send me a message I would love to hear in the reviews, if you'd like to this episode. Post an idea that somebody else might learn from. I would love to celebrate your creativity and maybe your story can get even featured on the podcast. Next Monday's bonus episode is going to be the PR public relations focus of getting featured in gift cards.
