Does your nonprofit or church have an established monthly giving or membership program in place? If not, you’re missing out! Monthly giving programs provide consistent, year-round funding to cover overhead costs, including rent or mortgage, employee salaries, and other expenses.
Establishing or boosting a nonprofit’s monthly giving program can provide much-needed recurring funding and positively impact an organization’s financial goals. Let’s walk through the steps of launching a monthly giving program to create a powerful fundraising strategy that supports your work.
What We’ll Cover
- Communicate a Clear Reason or Purpose for Monthly Giving
- Develop a Campaign Identity for the Program
- Establish Recurring Giving Donation Tiers
- Offer Incentives and Thank You’s for Monthly Donors
- Personalize Your Monthly Giving Program
- Target Specific Donors for the Monthly Giving Campaign
- Track Recurring Giving with Nonprofit Fundraising Software
- Develop a Growth Plan for the Monthly Giving Campaign
- Utilize Testimonials to Promote Monthly Giving
- Wrapping It Up
- Get Started with Donor-Friendly Donations Software that Supports Monthly Giving Campaigns
Communicate a Clear Reason or Purpose for Monthly Giving
Why should people give monthly? Communicating a clear purpose for the monthly giving campaign lays a solid foundation. Pinpoint a specific service, effort, or aspect of your organization that requires consistent financial support. Let your supporters know you need support to cover these recurring expenses. Expenses vary by organization and may include providing school supplies, funding community programs, or donating food to feed the homeless, as examples.
Develop a Campaign Identity for the Program
After specifying the efforts your nonprofit’s monthly giving program will support, develop a campaign identity to create a brand for the program. Choose a campaign name that is easy to promote both online and in person. Creating a memorable name and a play on words that supports the effort is ideal, making it easy to mention and remember.
Establish Recurring Giving Donation Tiers
Once the giving campaign’s name is established, decide on the recurring donation tiers or levels that donors can choose from. Typically, these levels might include $20, $50, $100, and $250.
To establish ideal donation tiers, review donation history and analyze the demographics of your supporters. Such details can include the average donation amount before a donor becomes a major gift donor or the average monthly donation amount that a donor makes. These can help determine realistic donation tiers for your giving program.
It is helpful to associate each tier with a breakdown of specific costs that the donation supports. For example, $20 can feed five homeless individuals, or $50 can support an after-school program for ten youth in need each week. Painting a picture of the impact donors have when they support your monthly giving program helps establish trust and transparency.
Offer Incentives and Thank You’s for Monthly Donors
Offering incentives for your recurring gift program reminds constituents that their support is appreciated. These can be tangible gifts, VIP treatment at your nonprofit fundraising events, private events, or invitations to exclusive visits to your programs. If your nonprofit monthly giving program supports youth or school children, ask them to write a personalized thank-you letter to the supporters. A thank-you letter from your board members or volunteers can also be effective.
Personalize Your Monthly Giving Program
Personalizing donations is an effective strategy for retaining monthly donors. For example, if a donation helps support a particular person in need, let supporters know the name of the person they’ve helped and the impact they have had on that individual. An animal shelter can offer sponsorships and let donors know the name and information of the dog or cat that their donation supports.
Target Specific Donors for the Monthly Giving Campaign
Your current donors are a great place to start when deciding who to target for the giving program. Analyze your organization’s donor history, paying special attention to the following:
- Which donors have donated more than once?
- Which donors have donated the most but are not considered major gift donors?
- Which supporters have attended your events more than once?
Once you have a list of potential prospects to target, establish the methods for reaching out to them. This can be through email, a handwritten letter, a phone call, or at the next volunteer event.
While your initial prospects for monthly giving donors are important, you will also want to promote the program on a larger scale. This can include social media promotion, postcards or letters, newsletters, and other channels.
Track Recurring Giving with Nonprofit Fundraising Software
Utilize fundraising software to track donor activities, program growth, and other key metrics. Robust donation software should have the following features:
- Recurring donor management
- Real-time reporting of donations and data management
- Secure and encrypted credit card payment processing
- Mass communication tools within the database
- Option to customize and brand the program website
- Auto-generated donation receipts, meeting IRS and CRA guidelines
- Log in for your donors to update their profiles and credit card information
These features are all available for free with DoJiggy Donations.
Develop a Growth Plan for the Monthly Giving Campaign
Once you have successfully launched the monthly giving program, define growth goals. Break it down by how many more donors are needed to meet your budget and achieve your growth goals. Then, further break it down into monthly or quarterly goals.
Plan heavier promotion and outreach during peak holidays or notable times, such as back-to-school, Thanksgiving, and especially the end of the year. Your year-end appeals letter is a great way to promote monthly giving. Promote the program on your homepage during these promotional periods and create special email and newsletter campaigns.
Utilize Testimonials to Promote Monthly Giving
Storytelling plays a powerful role in nonprofit fundraising. Reach out to supporters with well-established relationships to ask why they are monthly donors and share their stories on your website. Everyone has different reasons for supporting the cause, and sharing their reasons can offer experiences that relate to prospective monthly donors. On the other hand, speak with beneficiaries of the monthly giving program and learn how the funds have positively impacted them. Both sides of the story can have a powerful influence on prospective donors.
Wrapping It Up
Launching a strong monthly giving program isn’t just an added fundraising tactic — it’s a strategic shift toward sustainability, deeper donor relationships, and long-term impact. By clearly communicating your purpose, creating a memorable identity, offering donor incentives, personalizing outreach, and tracking results, your nonprofit can build a committed base of recurring supporters. In time, those steady contributions become the financial backbone that empowers your organization to innovate, respond, and deliver mission-critical work with confidence. Start small, stay intentional, and watch your monthly giving program become a transformative force for growth.
Get Started with Donor-Friendly Donations Software that Supports Monthly Giving Campaigns
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