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Think Inside the
Box!
Given the current economic and fundraising
climate, many organizations have not solicited recurring
gifts as aggressively as in past years. Monthly or quarterly
gifts to a “sustainer” program may seem like
too much of a commitment for a donor during a recession.
Interestingly, the trends are saying quite the opposite.
Many donors are finding small monthly gifts
to be a more convenient (and easily budgeted) way to support
their favorite nonprofit. It seems $5 or $10 per month is
an easier pill to swallow than a one-time gift of $60 or
$120.
That’s good news for Development
officers since sustainer donors typically equate to higher
lifetime giving. Consider the case of Twin Cities Public
Television (tpt).
As Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) began, tpt
made increasing the number of donations to their Station
Partner (the branded name for their sustainer program) a
top priority.
Begun in 2004, the Station Partner program
at tpt owed much of its growth to telemarketing efforts.
It seemed the most cost-effective way to start and grow
the program. These efforts began to slow down, though, so
tpt formulated a new, integrated approach to adding more
sustainer members.
First, they added online capabilities to
the mix. You can now join the Station Partner program online
and there is a prominent label on the home page with a link
to the Station Partner giving form. They also began running
on-air spots encouraging viewers to join as sustainer givers.
The spots drove viewers online to join the program.
Two new sustainer invitation letters were
created and mailed in Sept. and Nov. The segmentation for
the letters included pledge installment givers, consecutive
year add gift donors, multiple gift givers, etc. –
the typical sustainer audience.
The biggest change came in January, beginning
with their annual tax appeal mailing. For this mailing,
we added a sustainer box on the reply slip. The box was
so successful that it was added to subsequent add gift appeals
and the R1 in their renewal series. The box was simple,
and just gave prospective donors another option for how
to give a gift. There was also intentionally no mention
of joining a Station Partner program – it was merely
an opportunity to make a monthly gift, “Some members
find it easier to make small, ongoing monthly gifts to tpt…”
In tpt’s case, they also only offered
payment through EFT. This was done to avoid the higher fees
charged for receipt of payment by credit card. The success
of the sustainer box, though, may have them reconsidering
and offering both EFT and credit card.
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