The FEP (Fundraising Effectiveness Project) has been since 2006 to collect aggregate data on donor giving. They have discovered that for every 100 donors gained, nonprofits are losing 102. This is a bad statistic, since these donors have already shown support for these nonprofits.

As this graphic reveals, in 2013 nonprofits in the study reported $1.3 billion in donation gains, but lost $1.2 billion in lapsed donors. 92% of the gains were offset by losses in giving.  Click to download the infographic.

To address this issue, the FEP panel suggested pursuing strategies for reducing donor and dollar loss. One of the best ways to do that is through a monthly giving program.

Our research found:

• On average, recurring donors give more money for more consecutive years than single-gift donors.
• Many young and old donors are more willing and able to show their support by donating smaller amounts every month rather than large one-time gifts.

Just by making it easy and ok for donors to give smaller, more affordable amounts on a recurring basis can provide the incremental return you need to improve your donor retention numbers.
We worked with Erica Waasdorp, a monthly giving expert, to help put together a monthly giving starter kit. It provides information to help you convince your board, essential information you need to start a program, and templates to help you get started. Plus, we put together a recurring gift mailer you can customize for your campaigns.

Click here to sign up for the free monthly giving starter kit.

About the Author: Jon Biedermann, Vice President of DonorPerfect