Getting the most by getting it
monthly:
how ongoing, regular support has
transformed the fundraising landscape

Who we work with

Who we work with

What we’ll cover today
1. The power of monthly giving
2. Recruitment: how to get them
3. Engagement: how to inspire them
4. Retention: how to keep them
5. Growth: how to leverage more value
6. Bringing it all together

One: the power of monthly giving
Changing the fundraising
landscape

Growth in Canada
$40,000,000 $25
$35,000,000
$20
$30,000,000
$25,000,000
$15
$20,000,000
$10
$15,000,000
$10,000,000
$5
$5,000,000
$0 $0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Total Income Avg Gift

From different sources
$25,000,000
$20,000,000
$15,000,000
$10,000,000
$5,000,000
$0
1998/99 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
Direct Mail TV Unknown Phone Face to Face Door to Door Online
Unsolicited Press Inserts Email Radio Press Adverts Unaddressed

Monthly vs. cash

Monthly vs. cash
$550 net
(after 3 years)

Monthly vs. cash
$550 net $270 net
(after 3 years) (after 3 years)

Our research shows we’ve got
some work to do

Our research shows we’ve got
some work to do

Two: recruitment
How to get them

How to get monthly givers
• Acquisition
• Conversion
• Reactivation

How to get monthly givers
• Acquisition
• Conversion
• Reactivation

Key ingredients for acquisition
• Investment and Risk
• Understanding the channels
• Getting the proposition right
• Singular focus
• Benefits v features
• Testing
• Benchmarking

Key ingredients for acquisition
• Investment and Risk
• Understanding the channels
• Getting the proposition right
• Singular focus
• Benefits v features
• Testing
• Benchmarking

Where do they come from?

Direct mail
• Net value after 3 years
between $500 - $600
• Cost to acquire around
$150 - $200
• Year 1 attrition around
10%

Direct Response TV
• Net value after 3 years
between $250 - $300
• Cost to acquire around
$300
• Year 1 attrition around
30%

Face to Face (street)
• Net value after 3 years
between $100 - $200
• Cost to acquire around
$200
• Year 1 attrition around 25%

Digital
• Net value after 3 years
between $600 - $800
• Cost to acquire between
$0* - $300
• Year 1 attrition around 10%

Proposition: the single most
important thing

Proposition: the single most
important thing

Benefits v Features

Singular focus

What should we test?

What should we test?
• Singular focus v multiple options
• Ask prompts
• One stage v two stage recruitment
• Hand raising
• Creative approaches/messaging
• Multi channel approaches

2nd Gift Strategy – Cash to monthly

Multi channel approach

Stage 1: Prospecting

Stage 1: Prospecting

Stage 1: Prospecting

Stage 2: solicitation

Stage 2: solicitation

Stage 2: solicitation

Multi channel approach

Multi channel approach

How do you stack up?

How to get monthly givers
• Acquisition
• Conversion
• Reactivation

Key ingredients for conversion
• Integrated - mail and phone
• Mail used to mop up phone campaign

Key ingredients for conversion
• Integrated - mail and phone
• Mail used to mop up phone campaign
• Should aim for 10% of cash file to become
monthly donors

Key ingredients for conversion
• Integrated - mail and phone
• Mail used to mop up phone campaign
• Should aim for 10% of cash file to become
monthly donors
• Consider different sources
• Onetime cash
• Lottery
• Purchasers/catalogue buyers

Key ingredients for conversion
• Integrated - mail and phone
• Mail used to mop up phone campaign
• Should aim for 10% of cash file to become
monthly donors
• Consider different sources
• Onetime cash
• Lottery
• Purchasers/catalogue buyers
• New donors, speed is key

Speed is key

Speed is key
18.0%
16.0%
14.0%
12.0%
Converted
10.0%
8.0%
6.0%
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
W eeks since Gift

Getting the execution right
1. Focus on the benefits, not the ‘product’
2. Explain why monthly so vital
3. Get the targeting right
4. Use compelling and empowering copy
5. Personalize where possible
6. Break down into daily amounts
7. Focus on changing ‘behavior’

Getting the execution right
1. Focus on the benefits, not the ‘product’
2. Explain why monthly so vital
3. Get the targeting right
4. Use compelling and empowering copy
5. Personalize where possible
6. Break down into daily amounts
7. Focus on changing ‘behavior’

Getting the execution right
1. Focus on the benefits, not the ‘product’
2. Explain why monthly so vital
3. Get the targeting right
4. Use compelling and empowering copy
5. Personalize where possible
6. Break down into daily amounts
7. Focus on changing ‘behavior’

Getting the execution right
1. Focus on the benefits, not the ‘product’
2. Explain why monthly so vital
3. Get the targeting right
4. Use compelling and empowering copy
5. Personalize where possible
6. Break down into daily amounts
7. Focus on changing ‘behavior’

Some easy rules to follow
• RFV
– Within last 24 months
– Given more than one gift
– Above $20
• Ask
– For active donors, monthly amount - last cash gift x 0.1
• Overlays
– Previous credit card usage
– Recruitment/donation source to see whether phone/DM
responsive

Getting the execution right
1. Focus on the benefits, not the ‘product’
2. Explain why monthly so vital
3. Get the targeting right
4. Use compelling and empowering copy
5. Personalize where possible
6. Break down into daily amounts
7. Focus on changing ‘behavior’

Getting the execution right
1. Focus on the benefits, not the ‘product’
2. Explain why monthly so vital
3. Get the targeting right
4. Use compelling and empowering copy
5. Personalize where possible
6. Break down into daily amounts
7. Focus on changing ‘behavior’

Getting the execution right
1. Focus on the benefits, not the ‘product’
2. Explain why monthly so vital
3. Get the targeting right
4. Use compelling and empowering copy
5. Personalize where possible
6. Break down into daily amounts
7. Focus on changing ‘behavior’

Getting the execution right
1. Focus on the benefits, not the ‘product’
2. Explain why monthly so vital
3. Get the targeting right
4. Use compelling and empowering copy
5. Personalize where possible
6. Break down into daily amounts
7. Focus on changing ‘behavior’

How do you stack up?

Three: engagement
How to inspire them

The Honeymoon period:

What does this look like?
• Kill off cognitive dissonance
• Thank, welcome and reaffirm
• Ensuring excitement of sale doesn’t wear off
• Focus on key cancellation periods
• Relevant and regular communications

What does it look like?

Killing off cognitive dissonance

© Pareto Fundraising 2009

Example email

Ensure the excitement doesn’t
wear off

CanTeen:
Thank you message from
CanTeen Member: Sam

Key cancellation periods

Regular, relevant communications

It works

Four: retention
How to keep them

How to keep them
• Keep it personal
• Give and get feedback
• Understand drivers of attrition

Keep it personal

Keep it personal

Keep it personal

Keep it personal

It’s worth it
Knowing Bilbo’s
name increases
upgrade rate by 43%

Giving feedback

Giving feedback

Giving feedback

Getting feedback

What really drives attrition of
street recruits?

What really drives attrition of
street recruits?
• Recruitment • Amount
Source • Email Provided
• Gender • Home Phone
• Payment Method • Work Phone
• Payment • Mobile Phone
Frequency
• Age

Some really ugly, but useful
analysis
Year2 attrition
Node 0
Category % n
No 76.00 12012
Yes 23.00 3793
Total (100.00) 15805
Gender
Adj. P-value=1.0000, Chi-square=0.0412, df =1
F M;U
Node 15 Node 16
Category % n Category % n
No 75.92 5282 No 76.06 6730
Y es 24.08 1675 Yes 23.94 2118
Total (44.02) 6957 Total (55.98) 8848

Insights: what we found
• Age is the most significant factor in predicting
Year 1 attrition
• Payment type is significant, with credit card
payers more likely to attrite

What this allowed Amnesty to do
• Predict future value of supporters
• Prioritize spend
• Identify high risk supporters and treat them
differently

Five: growth
How to leverage more value

Leveraging more value
• Continuing to ask
• Understand relative value
• Upgrading

Continuing to ask

Continuing to ask
No. of Attrition Total months Avg months Total Value since
Terminated
donors Rate since 2008/09 given 2008/09
Included 3,434 287 8.36% 54,510 15.87 $14,334,329
Excluded 3,433 295 8.59% 53,979 15.72 $13,176,515

Getting the real lowdown: Net
Value to Date
Ave VTD by Channel by Year
$400
$300
$200
Ave Year 1 Net
Ave Year 2 Net
$100
Ave Year 3 Net
Ave Year 4 Net
$0
-$100
-$200

What this allowed SickKids to do
• Say things like:
“A donor acquired in 2005 by <insert channel>
is worth $450 whereas a donor acquired in
2005 by <insert channel> is worth $200”

What this allowed SickKids to do
• Say things like:
“A donor acquired in 2005 by <insert channel>
is worth $450 whereas a donor acquired in
2005 by <insert channel> is worth $200”
• Focus on areas generating the best real return

What this allowed SickKids to do
• Say things like:
“A donor acquired in 2005 by <insert channel>
is worth $450 whereas a donor acquired in
2005 by <insert channel> is worth $200”
• Focus on areas generating the best real return
• Understand implications of future program
decisions

Upgrading
• Phone the most effective medium
– Use mail to ‘mop up’ and consider testing online
• Testing between 4 and 9 months after
recruitment
• Serial upgrade rejecters – auto upgrade

Aim for 70% after 5 years
70% 3,000
60% 2,500
Number of upgraders
50%
2,000
Upgrade %
40%
1,500
30%
1,000
20%
10% 500
0% 0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Bringing it all together
Final takeaways

Bringing it all together
• Acquisition not cheap, need to balance
investment and risk with expected outcomes

Bringing it all together
• Acquisition not cheap, need to balance
investment and risk with expected outcomes
• To maximize acquisition and conversion, you
must:
– Keep it singularly focused
– Understand and explain why monthly so vital
– Kill off cognitive dissonance

Bringing it all together
• Focus on partnership and benefits, not
product names

Bringing it all together
• Focus on partnership and benefits, not
product names
• Honeymoon period essential, don’t let
excitement of joining you wear off

Bringing it all together
• Focus on partnership and benefits, not
product names
• Honeymoon period essential, don’t let
excitement of joining you wear off
• Continuing to ask will help leverage more
value and keep more donors

Bringing it all together
• Focus on partnership and benefits, not
product names
• Honeymoon period essential, don’t let
excitement of joining you wear off
• Continuing to ask will help leverage more
value and keep more donors
• Use net long term value as key measure, not
just CPA

Thank you and Questions
.
jonathon.grapsas@paretofundraising.com
www.jonathongrapsas.blogspot.com
twitter: jonathongrapsas
www.paretofundraising.com