Tuesday, July 7, 2009, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

Many fund raisers think only large charities can afford to set up ways for donors to give automatic monthly donations through their credit or debit cards.

But some small organizations are also raising significant money through monthly giving drives. Even so, some charities have been reluctant to undertake efforts to attract monthly gifts.

Some wonder if potential donors might be put off by the idea of a charity pulling money automatically from their credit or debit cards. Others worry that their organizations do not have the resources or the time to devote to seeking and managing monthly gift campaigns.

Join a panel of nonprofit fund raisers who have created successful monthly donation programs for a live discussion that will explain the basics of an electronic funds-transfer program. Participants will learn how they can set up these programs at their organizations, how to choose a vendor, and what messages they should be sending to prospective donors.

The Guests

Peter de Keratry is a fund-raising consultant at Petrus Development, in Austin, Tex., which helps nonprofit groups with fund-raising programs, capital projects, and endowments. Previously, he was development director of St. Mary's Catholic Center at Texas A&M University at College Station and the campaign director at the Citadel Foundation.

Greg Gorman is development director at St. Mary's Catholic Center at Texas A&M University, at College Station, where he oversees the center's annual giving program as well as major gifts and bequests. He is also secretary of the Aggieland Catholic Foundation endowment fund.

A transcript of the chat follows.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Welcome to today's live discussion. Today, we're going to focus on monthly electronic giving programs and how nonprofit groups can effectively and efficiently raise money through automatic monthly donations.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Based on the questions we have already received for this discussion, I can see that this is a topic that is of great interest to fund raisers. And I suspect that we'll have a lively discussion that will provide some useful information for organizations that are interested in starting or building a successful monthly giving program.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Our panelists today include two experts in the area of monthly giving.

Peter de Keratry is a fund-raising consultant at Petrus Development, in Austin, Tex., which helps nonprofit groups with fund-raising programs, capital projects, and endowments.

Greg Gorman is development director at St. Mary's Catholic Center at Texas A&M University, at College Station, where he oversees the center's annual giving program as well as major gifts and bequests.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    I was in the audience when Mr. Gorman and Mr. de Keratry presented on this topic recently at the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual conference in New Orleans and I am certain they will provide some useful perspectives on monthly EFT giving.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    To ask our guests a question, simply click on the "ask a question" link on this page and type in your query. You are also invited to post comments and reactions to what our guests are saying by using the same tool.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    This is a text-based discussion, so there is no need to access audio. This page will refresh automatically every minute with the latest information. We'll also offer a full transcript at this URL for those who cannot join us during the next hour. I invite participants to spread the word about the transcript to colleagues who are unable to participate.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    Now that we've gotten through all of that, let's start talking about monthly giving ...

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi All,

I am looking forward to this on-line chat session to discuss EFT giving. Our firm, Petrus Development, mainly works with very small non-profit organizations. Our largest client has three full time and two part time people in their development office. Most of our clients have 1-2 people in their development office.

We encourage all of our clients to initiate a Monthly EFT Giving program. Regardless of the software or technology resources available, any non-profit can create a sustainable fund development program using EFT giving. Sustainability is a key strategic objective of any EFT giving program.

In addition to sustainability (predictable cash flow over time) another key strategic goal for a monthly EFT giving program is to engage benefactors in a consistent manner over time. The benefactor who has been giving your organization a $50 EFT gift each month for the last five years is a MUCH BETTER Major Gift prospect in a capital campaign than a benefactor who gave you $1,000 in a one time gift five years ago. The same applies to the potential to give bequest and other "planned" gifts. Consistency of give over time is a huge indicator for future giving.

I look forward to trying to help you establish or improve an EFT giving program.

Question from Bernice, legal aid non-profit:
    What is the best way to create a culture of monthly giving? We have annual donors who give less than $1000 a year, but we want to move these annual donors to give more frequently and at higher amounts. How do we frame that message?

Greg Gorman:
    Good Afternoon Bernice, The best way to create a culture of monthly giving is to sell the concept first to your board and staff. Then get you key supporters to sign on. You want to create the culture that any donor at any level is a key donor when they become a monthly donor. Personally, I get as excited with a $10.00 per month electronic gift as I do with a $1000 check. Anyone who believes in y/our cause enough to let us automatically draft their checking account is a Key donor to y/our organization. We have a special society for these donors(we call our's the Living Faith Society) They receive special quarterly mailings that only they receive. They have a special bumper sticker and we treat them with the same awe and respect as we do our major gift prospects and benefactors. Most of our board and all of our staff are members of our Living Faith Society. Once you get a donor to allow you to draft their credit card or checking account you have stepped the relationship to the next level. Bigger gifts will come. Good luck - Greg

Question from Patti Tolo, Interlochen Center for the Arts:
    Our fundraising software is antiquated and will not interact with outside vendors or programs. Would this be a problem when setting up reoccuring EFT payments? What vendors to you recommend, what do they cost? I'm interested in EFT payments that are monthly/quarterly, where prospects can determine start date, end date or open-ended end date. Would our staff be able to input an EFT payment for a prospect or does it have to be done by the prospect online?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Patti, Your existing fundraising software does not have to be capable of managing your EFT giving program. While this is nice, it is not essential. It is much more important that you get a program started, using what ever vendors you choose. Keep this process simple for your benefactors. Create a Monthly EFT Giving program with a standard date for the withdrawals. If individuals want to do a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual draft, you can set that up on an as needed basis.

Most organizations we have worked with who begin EFT giving programs are surprised by how long it takes to get people up and running as benefactors. Essentially, it takes significant time to build a volume of monthly givers where your existing staff will be overly burdened by manually processing these gifts. It may be that you simple do this process manually to begin and over time invest in Raisers Edge, E-Tapestry, Q-Base, or any of the other vendors who have good fundraising software capable of managing a monthly EFT program.

Question from Tara Collins, Watershed Agricultural Council:
    We have an online donation system in place, but it's rarely used. I've asked our board members and staff to include a Donate Now link in their email signatures as one way of engaging them in our (near-nonexistent) fund raising efforts. What advice can you offer an organization that is trying to establish online fund raising activity but doesn't have a distinct, urgent need for funding? I know it sounds crazy, but 90% of our programs are fully funded for another 4 years and yes, I know, we should all have that problem! But we do have one unfunded mandate, an easement stewardship fund and it's a hard sell. Our 2009 goal is $100,000 this year for a 2-to-1 challenge grant and we're nowhere near raising that for 2009.

Greg Gorman:
    Tara, It must be nice to have your programs fully funded for the next four years. Use this time to build a steady and reliable income stream so that your future is secure. You mention your online donation system. To me that is different than an recurring gift program. I would make sure you can turn the one time on line gifts into monthly recurring. Get your board and staff to enroll in your monthly program. If your current need ( easement stewardship) is a hard sell, frame this monthly giving program as unrestricted gifts that can be used for your most urgent needs.... good luck - Greg

Question from Steven Anderson, Forest History Society:
    Our organization is in its fifth year of transition from a "membership" based contribution to an "Annual Fund." We have doubled unrestricted during that time but there are still some donors who think of their gift as membership rather than a charitable contribution. How would each of these groups look at a monthly fund-transfer program?

Peter de Keratry:
    Many college and university alumni associations have made a similar transition. We used to think that in order to be valuable, our alumni needed to be "paid members" of the association. Now, most view the relationship cultivation of an alumni/benefactor receiving a magazine as a good thing regardless of the 'dues' being paid. It seems to me that you will find it takes years to re-educate people that they are no longer paying dues, but are now simply members who give. Part of that is just semantics. What's the real issue? Perhaps to the benefactor's mind, it really doesn't matter. I would certainly try to convert any former 'member' benefactor into a monthly EFT giver. Branding and marketing the EFT giving program in this case is especially important. Please join the "Forest History Fund" by signing up for a gift of $25 per month... It would almost be marketing a new kind of membership for those that value that kind of relationship with your organization.

Question from Matt Wolcott, Student Conservation Assoc.:
    We have a relatively mature yet small monthly giving program now. One of our strategic focuses for next year is to put more into growing the enrollment. Q:Is there a particular giving segment or demographic that would be more apt to enroll or should we focus promotion of the program more widespread?

Greg Gorman:
    Matt, We started our monthly program in 1999. It was harder than we thought but well worth the effort. I would suggest coming up with a gift club type class for these donors. We send them a special quarterly letter that only they receive.

Set a goal for the number of new members group of donors. Have someone at your association in charge and responsible to and for this group of donors.

We have two classes of the monthly donors 1) is a monthly donor who is fulfilling a pledge and 2) those who are giving monthly unrestricted support. We call this type of gift "evergreen" support. This donor agrees to let us draft until they tell us to increase/decrease/ or stop...

Up until 2 years ago our goal for new monthly donors was 50 per year. Then we hired a full time employee to steward this class of donors. Our Monthly "Evergreen" support has almost doubled in 2 years. And last year we had a record 180 new monthly donors.

I have found that any demographic can become a monthly donor. It's not their age - it is there commitment to our mission that determines if they become monthly donors. Good luck and go for it.- Greg

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    To hear Mr. Gorman talk about monthly giving, listen to my interview with him at the Association of Fundraising Professionals conference in New Orleans: http://philanthropy.com/news/conference/7660/audio-creating-a-monthly-giving-program

Question from Karen, small non-profit:
    I‚Äôve been advised, and have also found in research, that telemarketing should follow-up a DM appeal for monthly support. How important is telemarketing to the success of monthly giving and what should you know if you can‚Äôt afford telemarketing but are running a monthly giving program, nonetheless. Thank you.

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Karen,

As with all other types of philanthropic gift solicitation (and sales), there is a ladder of effectiveness. The most effective way to get someone to say yes to a Monthly EFT Gift request is to have an established relationship with them, sit down with them personally, tell them an inspirational story about what you will do with their investment, and directly ask them for a gift.

Next best effective is a personal phone call, then next might be telemarketing, then next might be direct mail, and so on.

The reality is that EFT Giving programs are based on a large measure of trust by the benefactor. They are giving you access to their credit card or checking account. Try to make the solicitation process as personal as possible.

If I were you, I would decide who my very best prospective monthly EFT givers are, and then I would either go see them personally, have a volunteer go see them, or at the worst case, I would call them and talk with them personally about your monthly giver program.

If you were talking about thousands of people that need to be seen, then you might look at a volunteer phone-a-thon with good training and scripts, but I suspect that like most other small non-profits, you can invest a few hours a week into making a personal appeal for this type of gift and in no time you will exhaust your best prospect list. Good luck!

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    If your organization has a monthly EFT giving program already in place, we'd love to incorporate your experience into the discussion. If you have a program, what's worked for you -- and what hasn't? Add your thoughts by clicking on the "ask a question" link on this page. Thanks.

Question from Kate Lee, Corphilis - philanthropy consulting:
    Is the main attraction for donors the perception of simplicity (set up monthly donation and no further effort required to support the NPO), or that it is a smaller impact than the one-time donation? Can you give an example or two of effective communication by the NPO to donors?

Greg Gorman:
    Kate, For some it may be the ease and simplicity on their end, for others it is the knowledge that the fund raising cost is reduced and more of their money is being put to work...but I think for the bulk of the donors it is the bond with your organization. When properly framed they become partners with your director. We send a special devotional every three months with a note from our director outlining the progress we are making because of their donations. We have also have held teleconferences that they are invited to call in and get special information. ( The format is like a call in radio program they can listen to live...) Occasionally ( 4 or 5 times a year ) we send a "breaking good news" email to them and only them. We pamper this class of donors and treat them very special. In fact we have hired a full time person to steward this group of donors.

Question from PlannB c/o Zondra Rideout:
     Being a struggling new non-profit, is there anyway we can offer in-kind trade in lieu of compensation to Vendors for receiving contributions on the nonprofit website that needs an awful lot of work? www.plannb.org Please advise?

Peter de Keratry:
    Zondra,

I don't think so. Most companies who are in the non-profit sector are supportive of the field, but they need to make a profit just like everyone else. They have salary and benefits to pay just like you and me.

Having said that, one of the nice things about EFT giving programs is that most of those vendors process the gifts for you, then transfer the gifts to your organization net of fees and expenses. That is to say if I give you $10 as a gift, the vendor might only send you $8.75 because they charge $1.25 in fees and expenses.

Fees go down dramatically as volume increases over time, but keep in mind that the EFT giving program will take time to build.

Question from Jen, mid-size nonprofit:
    We are in the beginning stages of establishing our monthly giving program. From your experience what type of response rate can we expect during the first year? second year?

Greg Gorman:
    Jen, I remember when we started our program in 1999 I lined up a donor to post a $10,000 reward if 1000 people signed up for our new monthly giving program. Our mailing list was just over 20,000 and I figured 1000 should be a piece of cake. I was very optimistic and naive in those days, I think got just over 100 people to sign on. Then I realized of the 20,000 on our list only about 3,500 had ever given us any gifts so I felt a little better. But we did not give up. The second year our numbers dipped some probably because we had " picked the low hanging fruit" We built steadily and slowly about 50 new monthly givers a year. Then the momentum starts to build your donors keep seeing this option and after a while they will sign up. Today it is much more acceptable or normal form of giving than it was 10 years ago. Keep asking, and keep thanking this class of donors in special ways. Last year we had 180 new monthly givers sign up. Hang in there it is well worth your effort. We just finished our budget process for next year and even in this economy we are expecting increase in support. This is a very stable base of support. Greg

Question from Kathleen Frantz, The Meadows School:
    We are a small private school. Our business office thinks the cost associated with the credit card automatic deductions is too costly. How do you get around the bank fees for processing credit card donations being a stumbling block?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Kathleen,

I have never met a bookkeeper or cfo that likes to pay fees. Unfortunately for everyone, we must do this in order to accept these types of gifts. There is some competition in the market, and I would encourage you to seek several bids, but you will be paying fees.

The essential lesson here is to learn from what others have done to make it easiest for people to give you money. Have you ever looked at the credit cards taken at your local Exxon? They take cards and forms of payment I have never heard of. They do this to make it as easy as possible for the consumer to give them money.

The same is true for non-profits. As an example...My wife uses our checkbook. She probably writes about 5-6 checks a month. I write about 5-6 checks a year. The vast majority of our purchasing is done with a debit card or credit card. Guess what... We don't use Mastercard or Visa. We have only an American Express, or debit card. Therefore, if you are soliciting a gift from me, you better take American Express, or you won't get a gift from me.

That will drive your bookkeeper crazy because Amex charges a premium fee over Mastercard and Visa. Guess what... You need to pay it. So what if it costs a couple of extra points to process if you are establishing a positive donor relationship with someone who is trying to give you money.

Oh, and one other thing... American Express card holders are in large part wealthier than non-Amex card holders in the United States. We need propensity in our donors, we need them to be close to us, but we also need them to have capacity.

Question from Lisa, small nonprofit:
    Is there an ethical problem you see with charging monthly sums to the credit cards of donors who may be in increasing debt?

Greg Gorman:
    Lisa, this is a very good question and one that we have spent some time reflecting on. We are a college campus ministry so some of our support come from the students. When signing up a student we suggest that unless they pay off their cards monthly they should not put the donation on their credit cards, instead we steer them toward the debit card or checking account option. We do not go through this extra step when signing up a regular donor. I/we feel that if they drowning in debt they would not be signing up for monthly giving anyway. Bottom line, for the mainstream donor let them choose, credit/ debit/ or checking... and down the line try to convert them to checking account EFT. This is the most stable form of donation out of the three. Greg

Question from Bill Slayton, University of Saint Francis:
    How are you Peter!! Great to hear from you again.

Q. How do most schools account for the expenses associated with online giving? While we do not have online giving capability, we do accept credit card gifts over the phone and by mail. In those cases, the Business Office charges the transaction fees against our development budget. I would like to know what other schools are doing.

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Bill, I hope you are well. While I don't know about the internal process for crediting fees against one budget versus the next, I do know that the fees for processing eft gifts should be consistent with the fees for other types of gifts.

I.e. if a donor gives you 1,000 shares of stock, you receipt the donor for the 1,000 shares time the average high/low stock price on the date gifted. Then, the organization sells that stock. Even if done on the same day, it is likely that the sale price will be slightly different than the gift amount. The difference (either high or low) and all fees associated with the sale of the stock are a cost of doing business that comes our of the organization budget.

The same is true for EFT and Online gifts. The donor makes a gift, we credit them for the total amount. The fees (cost of doing business) comes out of our budget.

Question from Bill Slayton, University of Saint Francis:
    Q. Do schools use the same software/services for both online giving and online tuition payments?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Bill, I know that some of the larger software packages, like Blackbaud's suite of software for schools, has complicated functionality that allows for this process in a streamlined and organized way. I also know that a lot of small school use their EFT capability to accept tuition payments online or in a monthly debit process. They simple keep track of what is a gift and what is tuition for acknowledgment purposes.

Question from Natasha Lewis, ACLU Maryland:
    What's the best way to enroll donors in a monthly giving program? We've always listed it as an option in our newsletter and other direct mail pieces but very few people select it as an option.

Greg Gorman:
    Natasha, At every point of contact make sure this monthly giving option is available. Yes, newsletters and direct mail are good. At any special event, have some people with clip boards and sign up opportunities present. We have had had very good response to matching programs for special events. ( This weekend we have a group of donors that will match the first months donation for anyone who will start or increase a monthly gift)

Note: We always lead with the monthly opportunity, BUT we still accept monthly direct or one time gifts.

Bottom line, even though very few select this option, keep asking and treat the ones who do select this option as Rock Stars. Greg

Question from The PERICO Institute:
    How can small organizations serving African American residents in the state of Mississippi attract donors who are decendents of white aristocracies?

Peter de Keratry:
    Well that is an interesting question that I have never contemplated in the past. I guess I would suggest to you that I believe the key to soliciting philanthropic support is to inspire potential benefactors that the investment of gifts in your organization will make a difference in the world. People don't respond well to being cajoled, or forced. They do respond well to being inspired that they can make a difference. Make this a positive for them. Make the connection to their historic roots and support of the next generation of leaders in the South a good and positive thing in their life. And, get them to sign up for a Monthly EFT gift!!

Question from J.B. Robison, Jr., Home of Hope, Inc.:
    How important is it to steer the donor towards automatic monthly payments vs getting a pledge signed for the donor to utilize our web site to make monthly contributions? There is reasonable argument to drive donors to the web site where they will read current press releases, announcements and most importantly our planned giving section of the site.

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi J.B., I know there are some good reasons for you to want to drive traffic to your website, but I would suggest to you that the automatic monthly benefactor is a much more interested advocate for your organization that someone who is not automatic. That is to say, get people signed up for montly gifts and then steward that relationship to keep them interested.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    We're about halfway through today's discussion and I wanted to use this as an opportunity to remind you that you are welcome to ask questions or post comments at any time during the discussion. To do so, click on the "ask a question" link and type in your question or comment. Thanks.

Question from Jennifer McLean, USGBC - Southeast chapters:
    Hello! The local chapters of our organization are just now discovering on-line fundraising. Several have simply set-up a Pay-Pal feature for small on-line donations. I am curious first of all about what particular software setups are most recommended and, secondly, whether there are any legal issues to be aware of. thank you!

Greg Gorman:
    Jennifer, On line fund raising is different than monthly recurring giving. A one time on line gift is wonderful. A monthly recurring gift is WONDERFULISTIC We use Raisers Edge software and handle everything our selves, but there are several vendors that will handle back end of you. When you handle peoples credit cards and bank info you will be responsible for keeping the info safe. But there a plenty of vendors to help you our.The Chronicle of Philanthropy and AFP often have advertisements for such vendors. If you can't find one there, Google: monthly giving or recurring gift programs to locate a few.

Interview a couple of firms and get your board to sign on to the program and start it up... don't give up. this is a very stable base of support. Greg

Question from Jennifer Kaminski, Pulmonary Hypertension Association:
    We have a monthly giving program (currently 81 donors). Along with automatic credit or debit card transactions, we provide our donors with the option of giving monthly via check. However, many of our donors forget to send us their monthly check. Do you know the complexities surrounding ACH withdrawals from donor checking accounts? Is it worth the logistical burden for a few donors?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Jennifer, Yes, I think you should be accepting ACH transaction gifts along with credit cards. Make it as easy as possible for people to give you money.

Question from Pamela Grow, consultant:
    Would you recommend introducing your entire database to monthly giving - or inviting a selected few? How do you recommend initially monthly giving to donors?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Pamela, I would segment your best prospects and work your way down the list just like you would do in a major gift campaign effort. Those people who concistently give in the past. Who sends you a check every time they receive your direct mail or newsletter? Who sends a check multiple times per year. Who has the closest propensity to your organization.

Having said that, I would structure future pledge cards, Letters of Intent, online giving forms, etc... with the option to give through the monthly gift program.

Question from Maggie Maclean, University of Central Lancashire (UK):
    We are hoping to start a donor recruitment campaign with the priority to build up our donor base rather than fundraising - in the first instance.

The request is an affordable (we hope!) £2 pm commitment. Although we will be attempting to follow up a portion of our alumni with a telephone call - we do not have the resources to "chase" everyone.

Our approach will be:
1:Direct Mailer
2:Telephone call (not all)
3:eCard
Points 1 & 3 directing donors to our website.

What messages have worked to get a greater click rate onto website and more importantly onto the donation pages/to sign up to the campaign?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Maggie, I don't have much experience with mass appeals to websites. It is my opinion that quality of the monthly EFT gift is as important as quantity. Yes, make it easy for people to sign up, but also make it meaningful. Two pounds serling is a small gift by any standard. Others might disagree with me, but I would encourage you to set the 'floor' for solicitation at a higher level. In the USA, we would normally suggest $20 per month or something similar. $240 per year can accomplish.... and you can make that happen... Monthly EFT gift programs are usually most successful when a benefactor has a trust relationship with your organization. Donor acquistion (builidng your donor base) is something that is typically left to other fundraising vehicles.

Question from Leslie, national hunger response organization:
    Are recurring credit card payments or checking account withdrawals more effective? How do you deal with expired credit cards?

Greg Gorman:
    Leslie, Between the Credit/Debit/Checking option. My favorite is the Checking. It is the least costly and most stable. With credit cards you not only face the expiration date issue but today many credit card companies will send the cardholder new #'s if they suspect the older # has in some way been compromised.

BUT take the credit card if that is the donors preference. We have some donors who donate on their credit cards to accumulate air miles. Can you believe it, I hate being used that way... but I secretly wish we had thousands of such donors...

We have also found the most important contact information you can have for any donor is their cell phone #. They can change their address, phone # credit cards, banks, and even their names, but they never change their cell #. With that number you can call or text them when the credit card expires... There are also vendors that will keep track of all the back end for you. Good luck and go for it. Greg

Question from Bill Slayton, University of Saint Francis:
    Have you compared donors' giving before and after implementation of online given/EFT and, if so, has total dollars increased?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Bill, One of my clients did an analysis of donor retention over time. The monthly EFT benefactors not only give more consistently over time, but gave substantially more gifts.

In one case, a person signed up for a $25 monthly gift and then about 3 years later increased to $50 per month. Then, the same donor made a $10,000 camapign pledge, while maintaining the $50 annual fund - undesignated gifts. We are convinced the $10,000 pledge would not have happened were it not for the relationship established with the monthly EFT giving program.

Question from Megann Panek, Des Plaines Senior Center:
    I work at a Senior Center and senior citizens tend to be more protected about giving their information out to people since they are so often targeted for scams. Is there anyone else who has encountered this and can offer suggestions?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Megann, I hear all the time that "our donors are too old for an EFT program to work." I don't think that is what you are saying here, but it is a commen theme. The fact is that all segments of society are becoming more e-friendly. My 70 year old neighbor spends more time online than I do.

Here is the real issues for you, and everyone else trying to establish a Monthly EFT giving program. Do you have a trust relationship with your donors? If not, how can you build one? Do they know you personally? Do they clearly understand how the system works? Do you communicate with them regularly and report on the positive impact made by thier gifts to your organization? I find the older a benefactor is, the more detailed I should be when reporting what we do. That is to say, a direct mail appeal to a 30 year old might be a short and sweet one page. However to a 70 year old, we might take 4-6 pages to tell the story more broadly and with more details. Same message, different delivery.

Final thought.... Never underestimate the power of a hand written thank you note that is hand addressed with a real stamp. All of us like those notes, especially those who grew up before e-mail.

Question from Deborah, Hadassah Southern California:
    Do you have any tips to help encourage computer wary donors (those that like writing checks, and hesitate to use credit cards over the internet)to sign-up for EFT?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Deborah,

In that situation, I think you have to make it personal.

I am asking you to do this because of the positive impact on our mission. You can persoally make a major difference by becoming part of this program that allows our organization to have a consistent and predictable monthly income to support these important programs. Would you please consider joining our Monthly EFT program...

Why give this way as opposed to others? Consistency? Predictablity? People understand the need for good management, budgeting and stewardship of gifts. An EFT program is a "Living Endowment" which can be used to change the lives of many impacted by your organization.

Question from Kelli Cochran-West, The Mental Health Association in Southwestern NJ, small, private, non-profit:
    Monthly online giving sounds ideal. Our board sometimes can be luke warm to fundraising and our staff is very difficult to engage in giving. In order to start this, should we go to our "regular" donors that give yearly for specific programs or drives and then move on from there? We are in the process of really defining what we do and it often is a hard sell as our programs and services are designed for persons with chronic mental illness and the general public doesn't really see the need and urgency for this cause (blanket statement but in a lot of ways true). What are some suggestions for engaging staff?

Greg Gorman:
    Kelli, I remember hitting some resistance from our finance board because they were concerned with the bank cost associated with the monthly giving program. I jokingly stated it they were true bean counters they would want that bank charge to be ever increasing because that meant our donation base was ever increasing.

Some boards can be luck warm to fund raising. Ask them to be the first to sign up for this important program... then every time you see them in the future you won't have to ask them for money you can simply thank them for their support. ALSO this monthly giving option is a very easy ask that can be done by any board member, staff person or current supporter.

To start, Sell the board, sign them up, sell your normal donors , sign them up( you should be able to get about 10% of your donations coming in electronically ) and then build on that foundation. Good luck and keep making a difference in your important mission- Greg

Question from Bernice, legal aid non-profit:
    Thanks for answering my earlier questions. Just a couple more brief questions. I've noticed that you have mentioned good stewardship of our monthly EFT donors, which includes good communication of our work. In this day of junk email and spam, I am afraid to inundate our donors with more information. What's an appropriate and helpful level of communication?

Secondly, what's the benefit of having EFT withdrawals vs. credit card charges? How does one move to EFT withdrawals? Thank you!

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Bernice,

Stewardship... I would suggest that at a minimum you have an annual report of gift activity along with the standard communication that you give to all of your benefactors. I am a big fan of the hand written thank you note and/or anniversary or birthday cards. Treat people like family. If you do something good and have a couple of good photos, go down to CVS and have the actual photos copied. Then send them with a personal note to some of your best donors. This is much more personal than a newsletter.

EFT - I think by EFT withdrawals you mean ACH transactions from checking or savings accounts vs. credit cards. I would suggest that you need to be able to do both. My wife and I give our philanthropic gifts through a separate checking account we have for that purpose. Each month we set aside a portion of our income to give to charity. To recieve money from our philanthropy account, you would need to be able to accept ACH transactions. Just remember, make it as easy as possible for people to give you money!

Comment from Bill Slayton, University of Saint Francis:
    No question, just a comment. While we do not have EFT/online capabilities yet, I continually stress that for every donor we would get to make an automatic monthly gift via EFT we remove one of our donors from the "phonathon" and move them to the "ThankaThon". We all love our jobs, but it is much easier to call a donor to thank them than to ask for additional funding. This is also something to remember no matter how we recieve gifts, pick up the phone within 48 hours of recieving a gift and thank the donor.

Question from Laura H., Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra:
    What are the best ways to acknowledge monthly gifts - monthly statements, year-end statements? Our fiscal year differs from the calendar year. Should we utilized calendar year-end instead of fiscal year-end for donors tax purposes or do both?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Laura,

At a minimum, you must do an annual statement thanking your donors and giving them an accounting of the gifts made. I would consider this a report back to a donos on how you used their money.

Monthly statements seem a little burdensome to me unless you are using a system that automatically generates an e-mail message when the transaction has been processed. Many of the vendors do this.

On the calendar vs. year-end question, I would suggest that you use this as an opportunity. There is NO REASON you cannot solicit additional gifts from monthly EFT benefactors. You can utilize one of the year-end efforts to ask Monthly EFT donors to increase the size of their gift - I.e. please consider a gift of $10 more per month. The other could be a simple, please help us exceed our annual fund goal with a one-time gift of $250...

Question from Meg, ivy institution:
    I am more interested in knowing how you market a monthly campaign.

Greg Gorman:
    Meg, We market it everywhere and every time we reach out to our donor base. Internally we have hired a full time person who's purpose in life is stewarding and growing this segment of our support. She has a " dancing flower pot" that she plays anytime we get a new monthly donor. Sounds corny but the staff up and down the hall " Hears" that we got a new supporter.

Not very dignified but fun and now the entire staff knows that our future is just a little more secure since they have someone partnering with them to accomplish our mission. At an Ivy Institution, you may need to ring a bell or play piano riff, but have some signal up and down the hall that you have a new monthly donor.

Externally, Keep this option on the forefront of your marketing efforts. Let your donors know that no matter what level of support, this option of monthly recurring gift is the most important level of support. It is support you can bank on. Good luck Greg

Question from Jenna, UN Foundation & Nothing But Nets:
    For Nothing But Nets, our messaging always pushes the $10 ask to send a net and save a life. How do we use monthly giving to increase the gift amount?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Jenna,

What a fun organization. I would think of asking people to help you buy five nets a month with a gift of $50 or $100 per month. You could create a whole marketing concept around the 5 or 10 per month - 60 or 120 per year - nets purchased.

Many organizations choose to ask for gifts of $100 per month. You could talk about ten. Ten lives saved, Ten lives improved, etc...

Question from Sheena/PRIYDE :
    What advice would you give an up and coming non-profit on laying the foundation to monthly giving?

Peter de Keratry:
    Start asking those closest to you. Just start asking. If you don't ask, you will NOT receive Monthly EFT gifts.

It is really not that difficult to find a vendor that will work for you and get this process started. The longer you wait to begin asking, the longer it will take you to get good at the process. You will be better on ask 100 then you are on ask #1.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    We'll keep the discussion open for a bit longer to accommodate some of the questions we haven't yet answered.

Question from Theresa Duell, IU School of Medicine:
    We do not have a monthly giving program, but we are considering one. I am limited to only soliciting through direct mail, possibly not accepting credit and debit cards, and have no newsletter or special publication to offer. Would you recommend going forward? If so, what time of year works best for a launch?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Theresa,

I would suggest that you should begin the process of accepting gifts in as many forms as possible. You could begin your Monthly EFT program internally, soliciting the doctors in the school and other faculty/staff. Get a few poeple signed up, figure out the system, then begin to expand to others. I personally think that no time is better than another for getting started. Just do it now!

Question from Cara Russell, Buena Vista Heritage:
    Is the annual appeal the best time to request a monthly gift?

Greg Gorman:
    Cara, Any time is a good time to request a monthly gift. Annual Appeal -Yes
Group Presentation- Yes
Special Event- Yes
Newsletter-Yes
Personal Visit- Yes
It is a huge commitment on the donors part to permit you to draft their account. If you don't ask you won't get.

At any level of support- give them the option of electronically giving AND always, have this electronic monthly or quarterly option for pledge fulfillment. Have a great day. Greg

Question from Allison Mitchell, small nonprofit:
    Thanks for a great discussion. What are your thoughts on using social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc) to boost enrollment numbers in a monthly giving campaign? Any successes? These are great low-cost tools for small non-profits to do marketing.

Peter de Keratry:
    ah Allison, you have caught me. I am using Linked In and Facebook, but I have not begun to use them for fundraising. I think they are great for developing relationships with people. People who know you are more apt to support your cause than those that don't.

Question from Deborah Ricci, Charlotte Community Foundation:
    We had not thought of this fundraising tool until we saw this forum. How do you begin to encourage donors to consider this option?

Greg Gorman:
    Deborah, Start with your self, become a founding member of your monthly recurring gift club. Then get your board to commit. And then always include it in your options of support. Make this class of donors aware that they are one of the most important partners in your mission. Good luck. Greg

Question from MK, mid-size non-profit:
    We have 5 different major programs that people get excited about. Have you had success with targeted communications by passion/interest area for getting more people to enroll? Or is it still best to promote EFT as unrestricted funds?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi MK, I am a believer that the most valuable gift to a non-profit is an undesignated (unrestricted) gift. I think you need to arrange your solicitation activity around the 'highest and best use' of staff time and organization resources. Keep It Simple really is a good motto to follow in this effort. A Monthly EFT giving program could be something that you ask everyone to 'join' and be part of the next generation of mission changing support...

Question from Leslie, national hunger response organization:
    Do you publish the names of your recurring donors or give them the opportunity to opt out of having their names published?

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi Leslie, Some of our clients to publish names, but I will tell you that the trend I see not just in EFT giving, but in all giving, is to limit the publication of donor names. We once thought that this would be a huge incentive for people to give (i.e. my name is not there but my friend John is). But, I think that most of my collegues will tell you that it is not a huge motivator. And it is certainly a way for other non-profits to identify potential benefactors.

I would suggest that an annual report be more a report of the mission of your organization. What did you do with the money benefactors gave you? Maybe you could profile a partiular monthly EFT donor and talk about how consistent monthly support has helped your organziation while inspiring them to be more connected to your mission.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    We are out of time. Thank you for taking the time to join us for today's live discussion on monthly giving. I'd also like to extend a special thank you to our guests, Greg Gorman and Peter de Keratry. The Chronicle and our audience appreciate the time you gave us all today.

Peter Panepento (Moderator):
    We'll be back next Tuesday at noon Eastern time for our next discussion. The topic: How Charities Can Benefit from a Foundation Visit. You can access that discussion here: http://philanthropy.com/live/2009/07/foundation_visit/

Peter de Keratry:
    Hi All,

Thank you for your participation in the online Chat. I hope you found it helpful.

Take care, Peter

Peter L. de Keratry, CFRE