Some organizations call it monthly giving, while others refer to it as regular giving, recurring giving, or sustainer giving. No matter which name it goes by, one thing is clear – donors who participate in regular giving programs are an important source of donations for nonprofits. Today’s guest understands that importance and how organizations can harness the power of monthly giving. 

Erica Waasdorp is an author, presenter, and the president of A Direct Solution, a company that helps nonprofits develop and manage monthly giving campaigns, among other things. Listen to the episode to hear what Erica has to say about why US-based nonprofits have been slower to switch to monthly giving, how organizations can get started building a monthly giving program, and what happens when annual or one-time donors make the switch to monthly donations. 

Topics Discussed in This Episode: 

• Why it’s important for organizations to build recurring or monthly giving programs
• Why charities in the US have been slower to adopt monthly giving
• Different ways that donors can make recurring donations
• How Erica would recommend an organization go about building a monthly giving program
• How to prepare to scale a monthly giving program
• Converting existing annual or one-time donors to monthly donors
• What organizations can do to revitalize a recurring giving program that’s stalled 

Resources: 

Erica Waasdorp

A Direct Solution

“If you can move a donor from giving $25 or $40 dollars a year to giving $5 or $10 a month, then you’re not only generating more money, but you’re also keeping them much, much longer.” 

“There is definitely that potential to try to upgrade monthly donors and try to get them to the next level.” 

“I recommend you join your own program. You’d be amazed at how few people actually do that. You would want to join your own program because how else can you promote it to other people?”

One way to define the word "brand" is to think of it as a promise. Branding is a way of letting the world know what an organization stands for. It's easy to think of branding as a commercial tool, but it's important for nonprofits as well.

Today's guest is Sarah Durham, CEO of Big Duck, a communications and marketing agency that has helped hundreds of nonprofits improve their branding, campaigns, and fundraising efforts. Sarah is an expert on the ways that branding can apply to nonprofit organizations and how branding affects communications with donors, activists, and others. Listen to the episode to hear what Sarah has to say about developing a consistent brand and voice, aligning branding and organizations strategy, and embracing branding in a digital world.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• How nonprofits should think about the meaning of the word "brand"
• The importance of finding a consistent voice for an organization
• How developing a consistent brand simplifies communications for an organization
• Whether consistent branding conflicts with the idea of understanding and appealing to different types of donors
• How to align brand with organizational strategy
• How major events that lead to a rebrand offer an opportunity to readjust priorities or shift focus
• How to embrace brand in a digital world

Resources: 

Sara Durham 

Big Duck 

"There are a lot of aspects of brand development, whether you like that word or not, that are not only really useful for nonprofit advancing of the mission, but are also particularly useful for fundraisers."

"The opportunity for you as a nonprofit is to really think about how you want your organization's voice to be shaped, and to speak with one clear and consistent voice at all points of contact."

"The brand strategy is an expression of that organizational strategy."