There’s something about the energy that comes when we feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. It’s what makes sports teams winning and music groups harmonious.
It’s also key in making nonprofit organizations’ monthly giving programs truly successful. Organizations with robust and attractive monthly giving programs do a great job with recruiting new members and holding onto the ones they’ve acquired. These programs are structured like elite clubs with unique branding and perks for their donors who have special names like “friends” or “partners.”
Member donors have a vested and emotional interest in the programs they support. Nonprofits who do this well offer their members tangible expressions of why and how their gifts are being used: through captivating content and storytelling, vivid images, handmade goods, and other gifts, members see first-hand how their donations are being used to change lives.
Fostering a solid sense of belonging and purpose goes a long way to ensure the longevity of your relationship with these donors. They know they are a valuable asset and integral to the organization’s effectiveness, which further solidifies their commitment.
While most nonprofit organizations offer an option for monthly giving, many are falling short of creating a truly purposeful membership-type experience. We’ve identified several organizations who are rocking it when it comes to creating effective monthly giving programs. Their monthly giving programs have all the hallmarks of effectiveness; on their websites you’ll find creative branding, compelling stories, attention-getting imagery, tangible examples of how the money will be used, and donation levels in multiple, accessible amounts.
Doctors Without Borders
https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/monthly.cfm
Those who choose to donate monthly are called “Field Partners” and their gifts are used in crisis situations. Immediately, donors can relate to the impact their gift may have. Giving amounts are designated in accessible amounts at the $10, $15, $30, and $60 per month levels. Each is described in terms of how the gift will benefit those who are sick: $10/month “can purchase … lifesaving treatment for ten young children suffering from malaria,” whereas $60/month “can purchase … supplies to make 8 emergency burn dressings in a conflict or disaster.” Field Partners can readily understand just how great a difference their money can make to victims during emergencies.
Mocha Club
We’ve all been challenged to examine our budgets with some variation of, “How much money do you spend on fancy coffee drinks each month?” Mocha Club takes that idea to create a framework for its monthly giving program. The result? An instantly relatable and tangible outline for donations. Monthly donors are called Members and each suggested giving amount is explained in terms of the cost of mochas: a Small at $9/month is the “cost of 2 mochas a month,” which can provide an orphan in Malawi with school supplies for an entire year!” An X-Large is $50/month, which equals “a few mochas a week” and “can help cover skills training for women escaping the sex trade in Ethiopia.” Giving up a few coffees a month is an effective motivator for signing and keeping donors.
Blood: Water Mission
https://fundraise.bloodwatermission.com/campaign/become-a-community-builder/c81363
Monthly donors to Blood: Water Mission are called “Community: Builders” because “they are the donors who allow … [the organization] … to come alongside—or build—communities in Africa.” Blood: Water Mission’s website does a great job of telling the story in powerful content and vivid images of each giving level. Donors can see how their money will be used; they are able to look at the faces of the women and children for whom their $20/month donation will help shorten the walk for water, and they can see the rain tank that will store clean water for a community that a $250/month donation will fund.
Clothed in Hope
http://www.clothedinhope.org/hopeclub/
Members of the Hope Club can know right away how their donations will be used on the organization’s monthly giving page. Colorful icons and large numbers tell of the hundreds of women and children whose lives are being changed by the generous contributions of Hope Club members. Each of the three membership levels has a special name and “perk”: Hope Club Champions donate $50+ each month and receive a monthly email, bracelet, T-shirt, and gift. Hope Club Campaigners donate $20-$49/month and receive the same perks as the Champions minus the gift, while the Hope Club Members donate up to $20/month and receive the email and the bracelet. Clothed in Hope also places its Instagram feed in the footer of its website, which is a constant invitation for potential donors to join the Club.
Taking a lead from these organizations, consider how you can tweak your monthly giving program. With some creative branding and naming, a suggested giving structure that spans all amount levels, and obvious connections to tangible outcomes using compelling content, infographics, images, and/or video, you can easily make your monthly giving program more effective and truly unforgettable.
