660. Working Session: How to Grow Monthly Donors with Dana Snyder
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Overview
If you want to raise more monthly gifts at year-end, this Working Session is your new playbook. We’re breaking down the simple changes that make recurring giving more visible, more compelling, and easier for your supporters to say yes to.
Top 3 Takeaways:
1. Make Monthly Giving Impossible to Miss — Clear, separate buttons for one-time and monthly gifts can increase conversions by up to 45%.
2. Lead With Monthly Giving at Year-End — Put recurring giving front and center in your year-end messaging so supporters actually choose it.
3. Test Fast, Learn Fast — Small orgs have the advantage. Simple experiments in copy, ads, or donor journeys can unlock major monthly giving growth.
This episode kicks off our new Working Sessions series — hands-on, clarity-filled conversations designed to help you move real work forward inside your organization.
Let’s get to work.
Resources:
“Make your email sound like they’re coming from a human, not a brand.”
Episode Transcript
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Episode Highlights
The Missed Opportunity: Not Asking for Monthly Gifts (00:42
Making Monthly Giving Visible: Website & Button Optimization (02:43)
Reframing Annual to Monthly Giving (03:17)
Success Story: Turner Syndrome Foundation’s Campaign (06:10)
Working Session: Analyzing and Optimizing Current Plans (07:35)
The Power of Strategic Website & Form Copy (08:14)
Setting Accessible Monthly Gift Amounts (08:51)
Humanizing Donor Communications (09:57)
“Mind Movies”: Relatable, Impactful Storytelling (11:11)
Practical Donor Engagement Tips for Email Outreach (12:10)
Dana's One Good Thing: Working Assignment (13:38)
Powerful Quotes
"For anybody that gives to you, craft an email that says, 'Thank you so much for your generosity this giving season. We’d love to hear what inspired you to give—just hit reply.'" - Dana Snyder
“Even if you’re small, it’s totally doable to spin up these things, to essentially run tests."- Dana Snyder
“Don’t discount asking for monthly gifts on Giving Tuesday and don’t discount adding it to your emails. Lead with it in your emails.” - Dana Snyder
"The point is to not start over at zero. Focus on generating sustainable, recurring gifts (like monthly donations). This way, even if only 10% or 20% of your donor base switches to giving monthly instead of one time at the end of the year, you won't be at zero in the new year. You will have guaranteed income coming in right away in January." - Dana Snyder
“Another thing that I recommend is look at your copy and does it sound different than everything you’ve been saying the whole rest of the year?” - Dana Snyder
"Review your donation amounts. This is a quick win: make sure you are not asking for the same amount monthly as you are for a one-time donation."
One Good Thing / Working Assignment
The goal is to gather your team, board, or both, and have them collectively share their personal connection to your mission on LinkedIn.
📝 Actionable Steps
Gather Key Stakeholders: Bring together your team, board, or staff (perhaps during a regular meeting).
Set the Stage & Timer: Explain the goal of the exercise—to share personal stories of support. Set a 15-minute timer for the drafting process.
Draft Individual Posts: Ask each person to draft a short LinkedIn post answering these questions:
What made them support your mission?
What do they love about being a part of it?
Collective Posting: Have everyone post their individual story on LinkedIn at the same time (or within a short window).
Humanize the Mission: Encourage them to tell a personal story about why the mission matters to them and why the work is so powerful.
💡 Why It Works
Visibility: Sharing across multiple personal networks significantly increases reach. (As noted, one person saw a 4,000% increase in profile impressions!)
Authenticity: Personal stories are more engaging and trustworthy than generic organizational posts.
Low Effort: It only requires 15 minutes of focused time.
Template Availability: A template can be found on LinkedIn (as mentioned) to streamline the process further.
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