Recurring Donations

Every nonprofit organization has a mission that drives and defines the good work it accomplishes on a daily basis. Communicating that mission's message in a consistent way is the charge of every individual at that nonprofit. Whether coming from the national office or one of its local affiliates, there should be little variation in that…

At the most recent International Fundraising Congress, Dr. Adrian Sargeant, director of the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy at the University of Plymouth, and Roger Lawson, managing director of Revolutionise, presented findings from a study of five organizations in the United Kingdom that, combined, have 6.5 million donors. The goal of the research was to determine the greatest predictors of donor loyalty....

I have to tell you I’m tired of it. I’m tired of hearing from major gifts officers (MGO) who claim they don’t have donors on their caseloads that can give high five-, six- and seven-figure gifts. If you are an MGO with at least 75 to 100 donors on your caseload (remember, 150 is a full caseload), you have at least five to 10 donors who can give you gifts in the high five- to seven-figure range. ...

Donors are the lifeblood of every nonprofit, but retaining them long-term is an ongoing challenge. Recently, nonprofits have had success improving donor retention through recurring-donation programs. The benefits of recurring-donation programs Recurring-donation programs are a win-win for both nonprofits and donors. For nonprofits, they are an easy and effective way to retain donors and increase…

When one of my best friends lost her son to a form of pediatric cancer, I sent flowers, spent hours on the phone with my friend, and, when she became involved with a charity dedicated to fighting this particular form of childhood cancer, I became a regular donor. Years later, when my friend confided that she herself was no longer supporting the charity, I finally ended close to 20 years of support because of the organization's shabby treatment of donors...

With the new year comes a sense of looking forward and leaving the past behind. You’ve just finished the year-end appeal and will now gear up for the next fundraising project. But not so fast—sorry to say, your year-end fund drive is not over. It’s actually never over. Let’s talk about some of the reasons…

New Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke will donate 1 percent of his annual salary to the team’s charity each year, reported Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. With Greinke, 32, set to make at least $31 million in each of the next six seasons, the donations will be sizeable. After leaving the Dodgers for the division rival Diamondbacks, Greinke’s new contract…

Keith is a fundraiser for a nonprofit that focuses on rescuing at-risk youth. As an organization founded and led by Millennials, this organization is the future in many ways. Keith’s frustration wasn’t slow revenue growth. He’s tuned into the healthy revenue gains he’s achieving. What’s generating his frustration is the “uneven” response he’s getting from his donors...

GiveForward, a leading medical crowdfunding website, introduced new features Thursday as it looks beyond the industry it helped pioneer. The Chicago-based company unveiled a new way for users to create their own pages to request assistance with meals, create wish lists and communicate with their communities alongside their fundraising efforts. GiveForward also announced a promotional…

I will never forget what happened to the major gifts officer (MGO) who went into the office of an owner at a very large company in California and asked for a gift. The donor said, “When you have something that has some vision and is in the million-dollar range, come back and see me. What you are proposing today does not interest me.” ...