Good Marketing Brief

Monthly giving poised to help nonprofits recover from recent dips in giving

Written by Nhu Te | May 2, 2024 12:48:49 PM
 

079: Monthly giving poised to help nonprofits recover from recent dips in giving

There are over 1.5 million nonprofits in the US alone. Maintaining relevance can feel overwhelming with this many charities — not to mention the millions of consumer brands also in the marketplace.

Relevance means cultivating relationships with people who have already shown an affinity with your mission or share similar behaviors to those who already support you.

Organizations investing in their monthly giving programs will be the ones keeping their communities engaged and retained over time. After all, monthly giving makes up nearly one-third of overall giving.

Snackable snippets 

2024 M+R Benchmarks come with highs and lows 📖
M+R just released its latest research on fundraising, and it reveals a silver living. While online, direct mail, and email revenue all took a slight nosedive, monthly giving jumped 6% YOY.

Recurring revenue is the marketing channel to hone in on, as it accounted for 31% of total online revenue in 2023.

Caitlin Wion, Data Manager at Alzheimer’s San Diego, joins Mallory Erickson in this What the Fundraising Podcast episode to walk fellow nonprofits through how she and her team have built a thriving monthly giving program.

The organization has spent time nurturing a monthly giving community where it’s clear what their contributions are supporting.

3 metrics that impact donor retention rates 📖
Over the years, donor retention has hovered between 40% to 45%. With donor attrition on our minds, how can nonprofits move the needle to keep donors engaged and actively supporting our causes?

In a recent analysis, NextAfter identified three metrics that could adversely affect your donor retention rate: a compelling why, a clear path to recurring donations, and timely thank-you messages.

Innovative marketing strategies to boost engagement 🎧
Cameron Bartlett has worked at innovative nonprofits like New Story and International Justice Mission. He’s currently the vice president of Performance Marketing at Stop Soldier Suicide.

In this episode of Good Marketing Unplugged, he shares why nonprofits should adopt a start-up mentality. His unique perspective will help you reimagine how you approach marketing — from tailoring donor journeys to leaning into optimization strategies.

Google delays cookie deprecation yet again 📖
Google has extended its deadline yet again for deprecating third-party cookies. While it has already begun phasing cookies out for 1% of users, the full deprecation won’t be effective until early next year.

This is good news for organizations that haven’t quite found a post-cookie replacement yet. Need help? We share guidance on how to embrace this change.

 

In the news

Surprisingly, Snapchat might be making a comeback. Analysts project that revenue in the current quarter could increase up to 18%.

The growth is attributed to new advertising services, like Spotlight, the platform’s scrollable video feed. With the potential ban of TikTok, this could be a channel worth exploring as a replacement. Snapchat reported a 125% boost in user engagement on Spotlight.

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Since its rebrand, X has been hoping to convince brands that it’s a safe platform for advertising. However, the leadership change has led to many brands pausing or completely abandoning ads from the platform.

The latest news doesn’t help X’s case: DoubleVerify reportedly provided incorrect data for advertisers on X for at least four months.


 

For your inspiration folder

Stories are your superpower. When done right, they trigger an emotional response and compel your supporters to take a specific action — whether it’s donating, volunteering, or even signing up for a newsletter.

Operation Smile's website includes various forms of storytelling. From short and concise copy to vivid imagery and videos, there’s a format that meets each supporter’s preference.