A Monthly Shot of Prevention

By Erica Waasdorp

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

This quote by Benjamin Franklin came to mind as I was lucky to get my second vaccine. There’s something amazingly liberating about knowing that you’ve done everything in your power to stay healthy. Not to mention that I’m really excited about traveling some more.

When you think about starting or growing your monthly donors, think of it as the best way to prevent your organization from struggling through this crisis or the next. It’s literally the best “shot in the arm” you can give your organization to get healthier.

So, I ask you to look at your current numbers:

How many donors do you have?
How many email addresses do you regularly communicate with?
How many monthly donors do you have?
What percentage of donors are giving monthly?
What’s their annualized value?

Then, take the next step. What will it take for your organization to grow the number of monthly donors? What are some of the approaches you can take right now? Just a few tweaks can make a huge difference. Just an hour here or there can make a difference.

For example, a few months ago, I started working with an environmental organization as a monthly donor coach. We met a few times, and the fundraiser hit the ground running.

With just a few tweaks to its program at virtually no cost, the organization already doubled their number of monthly donors, and it’s well on its way to tripling it by the summer.

With the right mindset, you can make that happen, too! How can you give yourself that “shot of prevention,” so you’ll be able to keep your organization going for many years to come?

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Monthly Giving

Erica Waasdorp Author's page

Erica Waasdorp is one of the leading experts on monthly giving. She is the president of A Direct Solution, a company serving nonprofit organizations with fundraising and direct marketing needs, with a focus on monthly giving and appeals. She authored "Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant" and "Monthly Giving Made Easy." She regularly blogs and presents on fundraising, appeals and monthly giving — in person and through webinars. She is happy to answer any questions you may have about this great way of improving retention rates for your donors.

Erica has over 30 years of experience in nonprofits and direct response. She helped the nonprofits she works with raise millions of dollars through monthly giving programs. She is also very actively supports organizations with annual fund planning and execution, ranging from copywriting, creative, lists, print and mail execution.

When she’s not working or writing, Erica can be found on the golf course (she’s a straight shooter) or quietly reading a book. And if there’s an event with a live band, she and her husband, Patrick, can be found on the dance floor. She also loves watching British drama on PBS. Erica and Patrick have two step sons and a cat, Mientje.