Sustained Giving: 4 Questions To Ask When Getting Started 3036

Sustained Giving: 4 Questions To Ask When Getting Started

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Early in my career as a fundraiser for arts organizations, I heard about a sustained giving program during my local NPR station’s pledge drive. Of course, I went right into work and asked my boss if we had any plans to launch a program of our own. Very quickly they replied that “Arts donors don’t give like that, it would never work for us”.

That was a looong time ago, and thankfully many arts organizations have begun to realize the huge benefit that sustained giving can offer and that donor giving behaviors in the arts are shifting. Hopefully you’re reading this because you and your brilliant organization have made (or are about to make) the very smart decision to begin building a sustained giving program.

As you start strategizing about how to get started, here are a few questions you can ask around the table at your next Development Committee meeting to get you headed in the right direction.

1) What are we missing?

Anytime we think about taking on a new initiative, we should make sure that is addressing a current opportunity in our funding portfolio and that we’re not just adding new initiatives because we love adding new work to our plate.

  • Are we seeing direct mail donations taper off?
  • Is our giving pyramid becoming way too top heavy?
  • Are we looking for an outlet to bring in millennial donors?

2) Who should we invite?

Opposition to sustained giving programs can sometimes view it as “cannibalizing” another segment of donors or simply diverting fundraising from one area and into another. This is where being clear about who you will choose to invite will become really important. Some “low hanging fruit” could include:

  • current donors who make several gifts a year (obvi!)
  • current donors who make their gift via credit card
  • ticket buyers
  • first time donors
  • VOLUNTEERS (who loves you more than these guys??)

3) How will we talk about the program?

Having a firm and well thought out messaging plan from the start is essential to making sure you are giving your program the best chance of success. Many successful sustained giving programs provide a sense of place and belonging to their donors by branding the program with a unique name and logo. This also helps differentiate the sustained giving program from your membership program or existing giving circles.

  • How often will we communicate with donors? Through which avenues?
  • How will we coordinate our messaging with existing communications plans in our membership/marketing departments?

4) What do we want to accomplish?

Setting goals for a brand new initiative can be difficult and scary, but creating goals at the outset of your program, however terrifying, will keep you on track and insure that your program gets the time and attention it deserves. Try these ideas:

  • Set a goal for conversion of a specific segment group (i.e. 5% of donors who give one gift per year of under $100)
  • Set a $$ amount goal—Even if it’s an educated guess, it will give visibility to the program within your organization if there’s a budget number tied to it.
  • Enroll x number of donors in the program

Now that your wheels are turning, go ahead and jump in with both feet! There’s money out there waiting for you!

Need a little more help to get you started? Altru Optimize has a package designed just for you! Our Altru experts will work with your team and goals to create a new or enhanced revenue stream through sustained giving. Make the next campaign the best that it can be. Learn more at arts.blackbaud.com.

News Blackbaud Altru® Blog 12/19/2016 2:38pm EST

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8 Comments
Hi Elizabeth! Great question. For your current one-time annual donors, the best way to "sell" them on this new way of giving would be to appeal to them personally through a direct mail/email campaign--remembering that the recurrence doesn't have to be monthly, it could be annually if they prefer. For new donors, a light box like the one you suggested is a great idea. Please share it in the "Ideas" section of the Altru Community! Regarding your current donor forms, a best practice is to make your default donation type a monthly donation with suggested amounts. Take a look at the Human Rights Campaign (www.hrc.org) 'Donate' page. You'll see that monthly giving shares "equal billing" with a one-time gift option and is also preset to be the default giving option. Good luck to you and your team at the Rhode Island Zoo!
I'm interested in learning how to "sell" this to current donors that are used to making a one-time annual donation. I haven't found a great way to pitch it on our donation webform in Altru. I would love if we had a pop-up window that would do the math for the donor, so when they select a one-time gift amount, they would then be asked for a smaller monthly recurring donation instead.
Very insightful, we ask the same questions of our team with each campaign we design.
Hi Amy! Thanks reading! These questions and strategies definitely can apply to any organization looking to start or revitalize a sustained giving program, not just Altru users. Let me know if you have any specific questions. Good luck to you and your team at Trustees of Reservations!
Thanks Jenna! Glad you found something useful here. Asking (and re-asking) these questions can be helpful with a new program or an established program. It never hurts to check-in with yourself and see if you're still heading down the path you want to be on. Best of luck to you and the Audubon crew :)
Amy Barker Amy Barker Jan '17
Is this Altru specific or would it be beneficial to people who do not use Altru?
I like the structured approach of answering these four questions. We have a bare bones recurring giving program at the moment and answering these questions - particularly "who should we invite" and "how will we talk about the program" - are very helpful.
Is this a word game? Scambled words?

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