Having a monthly donor program is a great way to connect with a dedicated group of donors and establish a steady, reliable source of revenue. Because of this, the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina was looking for a way to increase the number of sustainers on their file during a busy time of year without jeopardizing one-time revenue.
The solution was to take an “always on” approach to a monthly giving ask, by adding more frequent touchpoints about monthly giving options. We began testing this in December by including monthly gift asks in many of the P.S.’s of emails. Although the primary focus was on one-time gifts, we saw early success in acquiring monthly donors through this method.
In January, instead of conducting their usual campaign centered around a direct mail package, we created a digital-exclusive “Partner Appreciation Month” campaign. The campaign focused on gratitude for donors after a particularly difficult 2020. After the first email went out, the full file received a second email with a P.S. featuring a $5,000 match for those who gave their first monthly gift. We then segmented the third email to include a monthly giving ask for those who had given 2 or more gifts since September.
The push for sustainers paid off! In December and January, 239 sustainers committed to giving a monthly gift – a 5.8% increase in their total number of sustainers. Thanks to these monthly donors, The Food Bank will receive an additional $12,491 in revenue each month.
The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (The Food Bank) is a nonprofit organization that has provided food for friends and neighbors facing hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina for 40 years. The Food Bank is an affiliate member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger relief charity.