Don’t you just love the way monthly donors just “set it and forget it”?

It’s like free revenue that just keeps flowing.

But not quite.

Like most donors, monthly donors give to make good things happen. And they respond well to being reminded that they are doing that – and thanked for what they do and who they are.

You might have heard about monthly giving programs that communicate as little as possible with donors because when they do, they see a rise in auto-payment cancellations. This may be true for some organizations and some giving programs – but don’t assume it’s true for you.

For most of us, stewardship of monthly donors is good for retention.

Here are some things you can do to keep those monthly donors happily on board:

Send them thank-you postcards. Send a beautiful postcard that thanks them for the difference they are making within their first year of monthly giving, and then every year. This has been shown to decrease cancellations.

Send them your newsletter. Better yet, create a version of your newsletter that’s tailored specifically for monthly donors, recognizing them for their important part in the cause.

Make periodic ringless voicemail calls. Full of thanks. These boost retention rates.

Send extra appeals. This may seem counterintuitive, asking them to give more than monthly, but remember that giving is a joyful, empowering action for most donors. Send these special donors your strongest appeal, with some versioning that recognizes them as monthly. I’ve seen organizations send up to four extra appeals per year.

Here are some other things you can do to increase the value and retention of monthly donors:

• Gently ask them to increase their monthly amount.
• See if you can get them to switch from giving monthly to giving every four weeks. That adds up to one extra payment per year.
• Create an easy-to-use self-service portal where monthly donors can update credit card details, change amounts, or pause their giving if they need to.
• Automate your failed-payment emails and gentle reminders so declined cards are quickly fixed.
• Surprise and delight them. Send special thank you letters. Invite them to events. Give them insider news.

Monthly donors are your elite supporters. Treating them well pays back quickly and over the long-term.

Want to know how the big-time fundraisers with big budgets and lots of staff do it? Download the Moceanic ebook, 4 Little-Known Strategies the World’s Top Charities Use to Smash Their Fundraising Targets. It doesn’t take big bucks are a lot of time to connect with donors and build meaningful relationships that pay off – both short-term and long-term.

Related Blog Posts:

• Everything You Need to Know to Master Monthly Giving
• How Greed Can Undermine Your Monthly Giving Program
• 5 Steps to Launch a Successful Monthly Giving Program