Posts
With workplace giving season approaching, I think it's a good idea to keep in mind all kinds of recurring gifts -- not just those given by payroll deduction. Allowing donors to give a little at a time over a longer period can mean a more robust revenue stream for charities.
With this in mind, Here is a re-post of an article I wrote in June.
In 2008, Americans gave about $307 billion to charities. As usual, the largest component of charitable contributions was individual giving, estimated at $229.28 billion, or 75 percent of the total. Though this is a decrease of 6.3 percent (adjusted for inflation) compared with 2007, it's still a healthy number, don't you think?
According to Giving USA Foundation, giving in 2008 was 2.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), which was almost as high of as a percentage as 2007 (2.3%). Giving USA publishes a report each year on charitable giving. The report is researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
All of the numbers aren't in for 2009, but, barring some catastrophic additional plunge in the economy, any way you slice it, giving in America remains strong.
Of course, those numbers vary drastically from charity to charity. The affect of losing a major donor here and there can be devastating, particularly for medium and small charities.
So, in a shaky economy what do you do with major donors? Or any loyal donor, for that matter?
The first thing I would suggest is that you treat them with grace and dignity. After all, it was almost certainly not premeditated on their part that they cannot afford to write the big check.
Recently, I was speaking with a friend who is Director of Development for a fairly large health non-profit. "I want to convert my major donors into recurring donors," he told me.
It makes sense.
For the sake of argument, let's start with a round number -- say $20,000. In a recession it might not be practical to expect an annual gift of $20 K from a donor, even if that donor has a long history of writing the same check every year.
Additionally, let's say your donor is a bit embarrassed at not being able to support you at the same level as in the past. So, instead, the donor, head down, trying not to be noticed, slips off into the shadows, and you lose connection.
We all know the old saying about acquiring donors being far more expensive than keeping them. So here's a strategy:
Give your donor a graceful and dignified exit path that keeps them in touch and on the donor rolls. Be proactive: before check time comes, propose that the donor consider pledging three to four donations over the course of the year. So, an annual gift of $20,000 becomes four recurring gifts of $5,000. And, if the donor's finances don't pan out as hoped, well... one missed donation of $5,000 is a lot better than missing the whole thing. The donor is allowed a graceful way out of the financial obligation, stays on the donor rolls, and you still have funding at almost the same level.
I'm interested in recurring gifts. Workplace giving, recurring credit card gifts, large pledges. These methods of giving allow the charity many more opportunities to connect and communicate with donors. And that's a good thing.
