3 Ways to cultivate monthly donors via email

The following is a guest post from Claire Biggs, Kindful's Content Marketing Manager. Kindful is a donor management platform that helps nonprofits organize their data and manage their donors better. To learn more or to request a demo, click here.

The next time you have a moment, take a look at your donor data. How many of your donors made one-time gifts? How many are contributing monthly? Now think about how nice it would be if you could turn some of those one-time donors into recurring monthly donors

If that’s part of your fundraising strategy, here are three emails you can send that will entice your donors to increase their gifts or sign up to contribute on a recurring basis. 

Thank your donors

If you haven’t set up an automation that sends your donors a thank you email within 24 hours of their donation, consider that priority number one. 

Why is this important? First, you want your donor to know that you appreciate their support. Second, you’re likely still on their mind. If you want them to remember anything—including how much you value them—you’ll want to take advantage of their attention while you have it. 

Keep in mind that this isn’t a time to talk about your organization. This is the time to focus on the donor and their impact on your mission. Their generosity makes it possible for you to do what you do; make sure you communicate that clearly and authentically. 

You also have the option here to include a call-to-action that invites them to increase their gift or turn it into a monthly donation. If you’re interested in upgrading your donors, it’s worth a shot to test that out. 

Share your impact

Your donors want to make an impact in the world; that’s why they chose to contribute to your organization. A donation isn’t the end of a process, however; it’s just the beginning of your relationship with your donor.

Once they’ve made their donation, it’s your job to update them on the work you’re now able to do because of their gift. Specifically, your goal should be to show them how much more good you could do with their continued support.

Your impact emails should tangibly show how you’re using their money to carry out your mission. Maybe you’re providing school supplies to kids in underserved communities. If that’s the case, tie their donation to a specific item. 

For example, you’d want to write “Your $10 gift bought one backpack for a child in need!” Our brains want to hear stories and make connections like that; after all, it’s much easier to picture a child with a backpack than it is to read a generic statement about giving back to your community. 

Once you do that, think about how you can tie those donation levels to monthly milestones or wins. What could you accomplish if they turned their one-time contribution into a recurring contribution? That’s the answer they should easily understand when they finish reading your email. 

Invite them to participate in a more meaningful way 

This one is key: Don’t just ask your donors to give you a certain amount of money per month. Instead, invite them to become part of a special group of your nonprofit’s supporters. 

If you haven’t already, consider creating a monthly giving program with a specific goal and name. That way you’re creating a community that is working together to accomplish something important. You should also design exclusive content like badges, newsletters, and maybe even a t-shirt for those supporters. This is an easy way for donors to share their involvement with others and encourage them to get involved too. 

Finding a reliable revenue stream can make a world of difference to the sustainability of your nonprofit and its efforts. If you haven’t already, consider deploying the above emails and see how your donors and supporters respond. Trust us: They’re looking for ways to get involved. All you have to do is show them how. 

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