How to Ask Donors to Give Monthly

Most advice about monthly giving starts with convenience: set it and forget it. In my experience, convenience isn't why people become monthly donors. They join because something moved them and they want to be part of it. When World Concern's monthly program grew from about 800 to more than 4,000 donors, it was because we got better at who we asked and how we asked them.

Why donors really give monthly

• They love the cause and can picture what their gift does. "$38 a month sponsors a village" is easier to say yes to than "please give monthly".
• They want to belong. When we surveyed donors, they told us they wanted to be part of a community of people who care about the same thing. A named program gives them that.
• They want to see results. Monthly donors stay when they keep hearing what their gifts made possible.
• The amount fits their budget. $38 a month feels possible to many donors for whom $456 at once wouldn't.

Convenience is a nice bonus. Lead with the cause, not the payment method.

Who to ask first

Your best monthly prospects already know you.

• Donors who have given more than once. At World Concern, we focused on anyone with more than one gift and at least about $100 in total giving.
• Your board and advisory council. Ask them to give monthly, even on top of a larger gift, so they receive what monthly donors receive.
• Your volunteers. Many have the means, and they already love the work.

Ask by phone

The most effective way I've found to convert existing donors is a phone call. Once a year at World Concern, we called repeat donors who weren't yet giving monthly and invited them to join. If they said no, the caller asked whether they'd make one more single gift. Those single gifts often paid for the whole campaign, and the calls typically returned about five times what they cost.

We used an outside calling firm. It's relatively inexpensive, and most nonprofits don't have experienced callers on staff.

A call can be simple:

"Hi, Margaret, this is Dana from Riverbend Community Food Pantry. I'm calling to thank you. You've given to the pantry three times this year, and your gifts helped stock our shelves through the summer. I'm also calling because we've started the Pantry Partners, neighbors who give each month so families never find empty shelves. Would you consider joining at $25 a month?"

If she says no: "I completely understand. Would you consider one more gift today to help us through the winter?"

(The pantry, names and amounts are a made-up example. Use your own program name and what your standard gift does.)

Ask by email and online

Email your list when you launch the program, then a few times a year. Put the program name and standard amount on your giving form as a clear choice, not a small checkbox. Show your standard amount, double it as a second option, and add an "other" field.

Find new monthly donors in other organizations' newsletters

Ads in other organizations' email newsletters have brought in monthly donors cold. At World Concern, about 10% of the new donors from those ads came in monthly. At Serving Orphans Worldwide, some newsletter ads bring in up to 20% monthly.

What hasn't worked

Direct mail. In my experience, it hasn't worked for converting existing donors to monthly or for finding new monthly donors cold. Test it if you like, but don't build your plan on it.

After they say yes

The ask is only the beginning. Welcome every new monthly donor with a call, a welcome kit and a short email series with no ask. Here's how to start a monthly giving program, step by step, and how to keep monthly donors giving.