A Three-step Guide to Monthly Donations for Your Non-Profit

All non-profits need to make a note of the fact that having a programme that accepts monthly donations for your NGO’s cause is a sustainable way to ensure that you meet your budgetary requirements.

But how can your charitable organisation and fundraising teams convince your donors to donate on a monthly basis? What are the methods that you can use to secure monthly donations?

Whether your NGO is an upcoming one or a mid-sized organisation with dreams of making a huge difference to the world, the manner in which you communicate the importance of monthly donations will make a big difference.

• Break Down the Ask

  

Non-profits need to communicate the difference a monthly donation makes to their supporters. Explaining why your NGO needs regular amounts and the impact this has on various activities and campaigns need to be illustrated in a simple manner such as using an infographic that links specific amounts to specific attainable goals.

For example, if your NGO deals with providing education for children in rural schools, your infographic could state that donating Rs. 200 every month ensures that 5 kids meet their stationery demands per month. While donating Rs. 700 per month would provide stationery, uniform and annual fees for 10 kids.

The important thing is to break down a targeted monthly donation into achievable results for your NGO’s cause. This has the power to convince more supporters to donate each month, depending on their financial ability. Breaking a monthly donation into a per-day cost is even more effective while appealing to supporters.

• Incentivise Monthly Donations

Your non-profit organisation is not selling a product or service but a solution for the world’s pressing issues. Hence, a donor is not gaining anything tangible apart from the satisfaction of having helped in a good cause. NGOs could create some extra value for the donor by linking a monthly donation to a special membership within its donor community.

Creating such a special group of philanthropic donors lets your regular givers know that they are being recognised for their valuable support. It also builds a community of like-minded supporters of your cause.

• Tailor Your Communications

The people who provide monthly donations drive your NGO’s cause. As such, communication material they receive needs to be customised to reinforce their special status. Creating a separate email list of regular givers makes sure that you don’t send out generic messages seeking recurring donations or introducing your NGO. This can irritate donors and exhibit a disconnect between your non-profit and the donor. Instead, use such email lists to update donors offering monthly donations on the progress of your campaign and how they’ve helped contribute to its success. Apart from email, a printed newsletter only for monthly donors could also reinforce their special status.