Regular giving is the fundraising program that arguably achieves the highest return for the lowest output.
An automated regular giving program allows better budgetary forecasts, increases donor engagement, and reduces administration costs.
Once a donor has committed to giving regularly, effective stewardship often means a regular giver will consider supporting a cause at a level they can afford long into the future.
One of the most critical elements of effective stewardship is giving the donor the chance to increase their donation at just the right time and in just the right way.
In addition to initiating new members into the program, an annual ‘upsell’ strategy will also increase revenue significantly.
By merely increasing the regular gift amount of every donor in the program, the program instantly becomes more lucrative, and each donor’s impact increases without affecting their quality of life.
Follow our regular giving ‘upsell’ tips to increase monthly income for the program and annual revenue for the charity overall.
Personalise the request
All donors, but particularly those who support through regular giving, must feel like they’re a part of the charity’s family and that you know who they are and care about them.
Address all correspondence byname of the donor and use the first name (or preferred name) at least twice during the request. Also refer to the exact amount the donor currently gives.
When asking a donor to consider increasing their gift, it’s important that they feel like their contribution is valued and that they’re receiving a letter or email from someone who knows them well.
Timing is everything
Regular givers often donate monthly using an automated system so they don’t have to think about their giving. To avoid donors becoming annoyed or irritated, requests to increase their donation amount should only be made a maximum of once every 12 months.
Segment data based on the date the donor joined the program as long as they’ve been a regular giver for a minimum of 12 months.
Observe donor requests
Every donor is unique in how they like to be contacted, and if a regular giver has asked you not to contact them with appeal material or newsletters, you must observe their wishes or risk losing their support entirely.
Add an extra code that says, ‘no contact’ and exclude those people from your upsell request. Not only is mailing a regular giver who has requested not to hear from you disrespectful, but it may also make them reconsider their original gift.
During data segmentation, include the donor notes so you can manually scroll through and make sure you’ve followed all requests. It may take a little extra time, but making donors feel as though you’ve listened to their requests is always worth it.
Suggest an amount
Instead of just asking a regular donor to increase their donation amount, suggest an amount that’s a small increase on their existing donation, and leave a space for them to choose their own amount.
Use data from donor surveys and previous giving history to suggest an increased amount that’s not too much of a leap that they’re likely to balk at.
Make it simple
If you don’t make it easy for the donor, they may get overwhelmed by having too many decisions to make.
A strong upsell request will include an emotional case study as well as the following factors to make it easier for the donor to increase their amount:
- Include a pre-paid envelope
- Include a tick box option
- Pre-print the donor ID number on the return slip so all they need to do is tick a box
SupporterHub is a donor management platform that can help you segment data based on donation history and suggest amounts that are appropriate as an upsell to increase the revenue of the program.
To find out how SupporterHub can help build a regular giving program, sign up today and get 14 days free. Get started here..
