Issue 15: Lifetimes

January feels like forever ago, right??

Time is such a fickle thing. Our perception can be that it is both slow and way too fast. We hear this all the time when people talk about their children.?

So in turn, it stands to reason that time moves in a similar direction regarding how people may support a nonprofit. If the motivation is fleeting, time will dissolve that connection relatively quickly (new donor retention continues to be awful ).

That’s what is so encouraging about the research we did on recurring giving programs. With the typical supporter sticking around for nearly a decade, growth and investment into these programs can change the perception that decisions must be made on a calendar year basis for financial solvency.?

What happens if you could free yourself from news cycle fundraising and truly build a community of generosity around your vision??

We hope to see that with the release of this report. This week, I want to focus on the importance of recurring giving for long-term planning.?

Generosity in Action

The Untapped Philanthropy podcast continues to allow me to talk to interesting and smart people about the intersection of generosity and technology. Sometimes I get to geek out about a guest and this month’s episode is one of those times.?

In an era where digital connections forge the pathways to social change, Eric Ressler's insights illuminate the transformative potential of strategic digital engagement and narrative reshaping within the social impact sector. As the founder of Cosmic , Eric advocates for a paradigm shift from traditional nonprofit terminology to a more inclusive and empowering lexicon that reflects the true essence of social impact organizations.

Listen here:

Tips & Tricks

A low-level obsession I have is with soft credits. Especially when we found that under 2% of nonprofits are attributing their recurring gifts to an honor/memorial gift but that textual analysis found people consistently referencing loved ones in that context, my opinion is that people are consistently giving because of a loved one but that nonprofits aren’t tracking this.

Soft credits can help here but are often misunderstood in their application. Soft credits are a way to note in your CRM that someone influenced a gift to your nonprofit, even if they weren’t the person to actually donate.?

Some common examples of soft credits include:

• Matching or Third-Party Gifts: When someone makes a gift to your nonprofit and their employer then makes a matching gift, a soft credit on the original donor’s account recognizes they’re the reason you received the second gift. Similarly, soft credits can properly attribute donations from a donor-advised fund or a third-party organization like United Way to the appropriate individual in your database.?
• Household Giving: There are many cases where multiple members of a household—say, a husband and wife—both support your nonprofit, but their donations only ever come from one of them. Soft credits can make sure those other household members don’t get forgotten about.?
• Gifts in Honor/Memory: When someone makes a gift with a note that it’s being made in honor of another person or in their memory, soft credits let you record that acknowledgment. They can also be used when donations are being made as a gift to someone else.?
• In-Kind Donations: When someone has donated items to your organization in lieu of cash gifts, you can use soft credits to assign the dollar value of those donations to their account. This allows you to have a clearer overall picture of their support.?

Basically, if someone in your donor database should be receiving at least partial credit for a given donation, adding a soft credit to their profile will do that.

Do you use soft credits in your CRM? If so, what other ways do you feel they can assist with designating a broader reach of your impact?

Data Dive

In the poll that I put out earlier this week , the most requested data point to unpack was the number of years that our research projected that a donor would support a nonprofit through recurring giving.?

I think this is an extremely important benchmark, since growing and maintaining this level of support at scale can do several things at one time:

Considering the perspectives and needs of multiple parts of your generosity community is hard work, which is why recurring giving can relieve some of the pressure if you build it to become a meaningful part of your revenue streams.

The research found that many nonprofits are likely underinvesting into recurring giving as a dedicated focus and its an area we want to continue to explore and understand more deeply.?

Community Spotlight

We had some great reactions to our recurring giving report, including the invite-only party at AFPICON that I’ll share a video about soon.?

However, three posts quickly rose to my favorite:

• Maria Rio’s podcast teaser for the episode that I recorded with her recently, where she spotlights our celebration of the work of the Turner Syndrome Society of the US
• Kim Peterson’s fantastic breakdown on why recurring giving opens up so many opportunities? for small nonprofits in particular
• Dana Snyder’s post that breaks down some of the key data

I’d love to celebrate more discussions about the report and the impact it can have on a nonprofit’s priorities and focus! Tag me or Neon One and I plan on giving away SO MANY HATS.

Upcoming Events

We have some stellar recurring giving educational content this month.

TODAY! An Insider’s Look at The Recurring Giving Report

April 17, 2024 | 1:00 PM ET

The Recurring Giving Report: Data-Backed Insights for Sustainable Generosity releases soon! Join us to learn more about what we found and how to create a stable, sustainable community of donors.

Join Us >

Generosity Experience Live | Why should nonprofits focus on recurring giving?

April 25, 2024 | 3:00 PM ET

Join us live on April 25 at 3pm Eastern for Episode 004 of Generosity Experience Live! To focus on why nonprofits should focus on building a recurring giving program. Our guest experts this month include Abby Jarvis (Neon One) and Eric Ressler (Cosmic). There will be a massive prize during this episode, including a $937 donation to one lucky nonprofit who attends live.

RSVP

Galactic Generosity: Navigating the Attention Economy with Stellar Recurring Donations and Brand Experience

April 29, 2024 | 2:00 PM ET

This workshop, a collaboration between Neon One and Cosmic, will provide actionable strategies to enhance your brand and optimize the donor experience while inspiring your imagination. There’s another fun giveaway we’re doing here related to the cosmic theme.

Claim Your Seat

Final Thoughts

At least once a day, I stare at the sign by my desk that says “Every Second Counts.”

It’s from the show The Bear, but its turned into something much bigger than a sign or a show that I like.?

We have one life time to live here and too many of us are stuck in jobs that we hate, transactional relationships with people around us, and an impending sense that we don’t really control our destiny.?

That doesn’t have to be true. The more I speak with nonprofit leaders like you, the more I realize that we have an innate power and ability to change the course of not just our lives but of those in our communities. And then we’re beginning to collaborate and talk more and making connections between the local and global.?

I am not going to sit here and say that recurring giving programs are the answer. Its a channel and it won’t work for everyone. But the data is very clear that something is possible, special, and obtainable when people put their focused efforts behind it.?

Every second counts. Let’s stop wasting it on stuff that doesn’t matter.?

Puzzle of the Week