Recording a sustainer/acknowledgement schedule

Kelly Bodie
Kelly Bodie
Tenth Anniversary Kudos 2 Name Dropper Participant
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussions
Hello all.

I can't seem to find a good resource for recording what a sustainer is and what they want from us. 
  • managing cadence of acknowledgement letters/correspondence for sustainers...or preference for email/mail per each gift. Donors have their own preferences. 
  • setting membership details for sustainers - is there something different I should consider? (we formerly used eTapestry, and our work-around was to set a UDF "membership expiration date" as their credit card expiration date so they would be reminded/stewarded on time.)
  • providing accurate accounting of giving for that sustainer gift
For orgs with a robust recurring gift program, how do you manage their needs and preferences? 

Thank you!

Comments

  • Elizabeth Johnson
    Elizabeth Johnson Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 First Reply All-Star Challenge: End of Year Fundraising Toolkit
    Hi Kelly Bodie,‍  We have a modest sustainer program but since no one has replied yet I figure a response might trigger more responses.


    We send out annual statements each January to anyone that gave more than one gift in the previous calendar and all sustainers. We send it electronically if that is their preference otherwise it is popped in the mail. We include an insert (or a link) at that time so they can change their giving should they desire to hopefully increase.


    We send three mailed appeals a year (they have a paperless version with the same message for those that have that preference) For people that have already made a gift or are sustainers there is a thank you only package. Our appeals are very informative as to what is going on at our school so we don't want people to miss out on the news and the good that we are doing because they have made a donation. They might also like a chance to win some VT maple syrup with our winter appeal.


    If they are a sustainer but only give annually they get an acknowledgement at that time. These people are either giving at a very high level or were grandparented in from our previous ways of managing sustainers.


    If they have a staff manager the staff manager is alerted every time they make a gift and they may pick up the phone and give them a call.


    I hope this is helpful and perhaps will spark others to join in on the conversation.


    Healthy thoughts,

    Elizabeth





     
  • Kelly Bodie
    Kelly Bodie
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 2 Name Dropper Participant
    Thank you Elizabeth Johnson‍. 

    What fields do you use to manage these processes (other than a query of # of gifts)? Do you mark them in any other way? 

    I'm considering a membership category in RE, for example. And/or with a workflow in NXT. These are just things I brainstormed. 

    If others chime in, I'd love insight into what fields and/or modules you use to manage your sustainers. 

    Thanks! 

     
  • Kelly Bodie
    Kelly Bodie
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 2 Name Dropper Participant
    Hi - I wanted to share an update in case anyone out there was also struggling with this structure.

    We decided to add a new membership category (we have the membership RE module) for "sustainers."

    When a member giving one-time gifts changes to a recurring gift, we "upgrade" her to a Sustainer.

    NXT does a nice job highlighting this tag on the constituent record.

    I am planning to use Elizabeth's idea about annual statements and hopefully utilizing consolidated receipting (new in NXT) to accomplish that.

    Next on our concerns list (! it's never ending):

    --If a donor gives $10/month, do you honor that gift with benefits at the $120 level? Do you use a different set of benefits? Or do you skip thinking of changes in benefits?

    thanks!
  • Jeannie Goings
    Jeannie Goings
    Fifth Anniversary Kudos 2 Name Dropper Participant
    Hello, Kelly Bodie‍.


    For recurring donors my suggestion is a single receipt for the entire calendar year--the IRS does not care about fiscal years. If the entire amount for the year reaches or exceeds the threshold for receiving the incentive gift, the donor should be eligible to receive said incentive gift and should have the option to opt out from receiving the incentive gift. In order for the donor to be able to deduct the full amount of the gift as a charitable contribution, the value of the incentive gift must be below $11.30. Hope this helps.

    Jeannie

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