Large national and international charities such as Greenpeace and Save the Children are often held up as examples of how to set up monthly credit- or debit-card giving programs.

But can such programs also work for smaller groups?

Greg Gorman, development director at St. Mary’s Catholic Center in College Station, Tex., answers that question with an emphatic yes.

Mr. Gorman’s center, which is affiliated with Texas A&M University, operates with a modest $1.8-million annual budget. And roughly one-sixth of that budget — about $300,000 — comes from monthly gifts from donors who pay with debit and credit cards.

Those donors have become a source of consistent, predictable income for his organization — and he believes they are likely candidates for more significant gifts in the future.

“It’s about trust and it’s about major gifts in the future,” he said today in a session at the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual conference in New Orleans. “This is a way to institutionalize bringing people up the giving pyramid.”

Smaller groups do have to be smart about setting up such programs. To make them work, they need to determine their technological needs, figure out whether to manage the program internally or through an outside vendor, and create a consistent, simple message.

Mr. Gorman, for instance, started his first campaign by sending lunches in brown paper bags to potential donors. The message: If donors give up one lunch a month, they can use the money they saved to support the center through a monthly gift.

Mr. Gorman talked in detail to The Chronicle about what it takes to solicit monthly gifts. You can listen to audio excerpts.