Latest / The Nonprofit Podcast / Ep 201| Membership vs. Monthly Giving: Which Actually Builds Loyalty?

Transcript

Ep 201| Membership vs. Monthly Giving: Which Actually Builds Loyalty? · The Nonprofit Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: The average nonprofit keeps just 42.9% of its donors.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: So the real question isn't how to get to the next gift.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's how to turn donors into supporters who actually feel like they belong.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: The Nonprofit Podcast, powered by DonorBox.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Britt Stalker, your fundraising coach over here at DonorBox.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Each week we share practical insights and real-world strategies to help you raise more, reach further, and strengthen the work you're building in your community.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: That number, 42.9%, it tells us something important.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: Most donors, they're not leaving because they stopped caring.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: Very often the relationship simply never moves beyond that first gift.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: And hey, we already know nonprofits, they're stretched thin.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know that, I know that.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: But hey, there is a real gap between someone who gives once and someone who actually feels connected to what you're building.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: That gap that I'm talking about, that is where membership programs can live.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: So today we are talking about what nonprofit membership programs actually are, whether one makes sense for your organization, and how to start one without creating a whole new system that your team just can't sustain.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so first let me clear up something that I hear all the time.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, isn't membership, isn't it just monthly giving with a fancier name?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: And no, that distinction matters.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen organizations, they relabel their monthly donors as members and they expect something big to happen or to change.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: But donors, they notice that immediately because if your experience is identical, if it's the same emails, if it's the same landing page, the donation page, same everything, the label doesn't do much.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: The difference isn't necessarily the word, it's very much the feeling.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Think of monthly giving all about generosity, right?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Someone, they go on your monthly giving page, they set up a recurring gift because they're deeply committed.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: They believe in the work, and that matters deeply.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: But let's be honest, nobody wants to feel like just another monthly giving charge, right?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Memberships take it a step further.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: And membership, it only works when it feels like something that you belong to.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's very much about identity.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: And it allows someone to say, okay, I am part of this, not just because I have an automated donation that happens on a recurring basis.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: So is this right for every nonprofit?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I will tell you honestly, no.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: The organizations that I've seen where membership programs work, they already have some kind of amazing community energy happening around their mission.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: Supporters, they respond to their emails.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: They have people who share posts, they have folks who show up to their events or volunteer.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: These are organizations that they don't necessarily have huge audiences, but they do have those signals that people want to feel closer and deeper to their work.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if you don't have recurring donors yet, I would say, well, membership probably isn't where you want to start.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: Because membership programs, they grow out of relationships that already exist.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: The other honest question that I get, it's all about capacity.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't something that you just set it up and forget it, right?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Someone on your team needs to own it.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because in exchange, to belong to a membership program, benefits need to be tracked.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: They need to be delivered, right?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: Members are part of this very exclusive community that is deeper beyond your monthly giving program.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: And if that structure isn't there, what's going to happen?
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: Your membership program, it's going to fade.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: And what's worse, you've broken trust with supporters who were deeply invested in you.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that's going to be a hard thing to come back from.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about the natural progression.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: When does a membership program work well?
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: I see a natural flow in this where let's talk about it.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Someone makes a gift, their very first gift, they stay connected to your mission.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Eventually, they take that next step, they become a monthly donor, they show up consistently.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: Then over time, some of those monthly donors they want to do a little bit more, right?
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: They open almost every one of your emails.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: They reply, they give feedback on your programming, they share your work.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes they even increase their gift.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Those supporters are already behaving like members.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: They just haven't been invited yet.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: And that word invited, it matters.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: Memberships, it shouldn't feel like a website banner or an automated, you know, drip campaign.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: It is your opportunity for them to feel like they are part of your community and that your organization noticed their engagement and you want to bring them closer into your work.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Membership programs are highly relational first.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Now you're ready to build a membership program, right?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: I would say please start simple because I can almost guarantee you that very first planning meeting, you think you're cool, right?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: You you map out, let's just say three or four membership tiers, someone else on your team, they start listing those benefits.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: And before long, what do you know?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: You have designed something that looks impressive on paper, but hey, nobody on your team can actually deliver it.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: They don't got time to run it.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when I usually ask one question.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: I've asked it twice in coaching sessions just this week.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: Who's actually going to run this thing?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's where membership programs quietly fail.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not talking about in the planning, I'm talking about in the delivery.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: You promise your members something, and then you cannot consistently follow through.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: That is way worse than not having a program at all.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: So in both coaching conversations, what we did is we scaled things back.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: We kept it focused to one tier.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, we're still negotiating on maybe having two.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: But by doing that, we are focusing on delivering a great experience where we're not overpromising.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: And hey, the coaching client, their team will be able to execute consistently with the time and the capacity that they have.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: And then of course, yes, you can always scale it and then you can grow it.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so what should it really offer?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, here's a question I love asking organizations.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: If you can give your members one thing that nobody else receives, what would actually make them feel special?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not talking about a mug, right?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Or a bookmark.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: I mean something meaningful.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's early access to one of your exclusive events.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's a printed impact update mailed just to their home.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's a one-on-one phone call with your executive director to get buy-in on one of their initiatives they're having.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: Something that makes a supporter feel genuinely inside the work, not just as a recurring donor on an automated schedule.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: You want to start there.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Prove that it works, proof of concept, right?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then you can expand later.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: And pricing, pricing matters too.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: Your membership tiers, I would say they should sit above your average monthly gift because let's just say your typical recurring donor, they give$50 a month, right?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: There's no exchange of access to perks or benefits.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: But hey, at the same time, your entry membership tier is also$50.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: What's happening?
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: There isn't a real upgrade happening.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't signaling deeper engagement, right?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: No, your membership program should be that upgrade in your pricing.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: It should signal deeper, higher engagement.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Again, belonging and identity.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: If you're unsure where to set the numbers, again, you hear me in a lot of these episodes.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Look to your donor data to guide you.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Or, hey, why not simply ask?
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: Reach out to a couple of recurring donors, launch a pre-launch survey with some of your most engaged donors, and ask them what they would be willing to sign up for with those very few membership tiers that you have.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: You can start much smaller than you think.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Again, you don't need a massive audience.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: You just need the right people.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Look through your recurring donors, your repeat one-time donors who are giving multiple times, and identify the supporters who clearly show up.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Again, we we talked about this earlier, the ones who reply, who share your work, who are deeply invested.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: Pick three or four of them.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't mean send them an email or text them.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: You got to get on that phone and call them.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Be candid.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Tell them that you're experimenting with something new and you wanted to invite them first in on this action to belong to this community because you've been noticing how engaged they've been since whenever, right?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: That conversation that you have, that one-on-one, it's going to shift the relationship.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then from there, you can grow slowly.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: Your longtime donors, your volunteers, even your board members should be part of this.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: And speaking of board members, let's have a heart-to-heart.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: If they aren't willing to be founding members of something like your very first membership program, I would say that is something very much worth paying attention to.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Founding members, there's something nonprofits they often underestimate.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: When someone joins early, what is that signal?
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: When someone joins early before the program is even proven, guess what?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: They are doing more than giving money.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: They're betting on you.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: They are helping you build the program.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: They are taking risks that no one else would.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: Again, that identity that they're signaling, it should, it should stick.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Your founding members should remain permanent in your recognition, right?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not talking about years later.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about the legacy of your program, especially as your program and your membership tiers evolve.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: People genuinely love being able to say that they were there right from the get-go, right from the beginning, taking a bet on you.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: Lean into that.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, operational considerations and basics.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: These are things that I share in my coaching sessions.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, keep monthly giving and your membership program separate.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: You want separate giving pages.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: You want separate donation forms, right?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: You need targeted, tailored, different messaging.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Because we talked about it, there are very different experiences.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: Your membership program is a highly relational experience.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's how you want folks to feel.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: They represent different relationships.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: And you're onboarding, it also matters more than your organizations might realize.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: The very first thing that someone receives after becoming a member is going to set the tone for the entirety of that journey that you have with them.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: It shouldn't be just another automated receipt.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: You're going to want to go deeper than the traditional welcome series nurture campaign.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: And you're going to want to set this up in your CRM or email marketing tool, right?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: So that your members feel acknowledged and included from the start.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Also think about what happens if someone needs to step back, right?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: Life happens.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: Can they move back to monthly giving?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: What does that downgrade experience look like?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: Does someone check in from your team first?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: A graceful transition.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's going to protect the relationship even when life happens.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: And someone on your team needs to own that.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Membership, it's going to drift without those clear expectations or leadership.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: And just last week, I worked with a small nonprofit.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: You would be surprised.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: They have limited resources.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: They don't have a big budget, but they saw the potential for a membership program, for stable, predictable revenue, for third space to deeply engage your community.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: So guess what?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: They created a full-time role to lead their membership program.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: This investment, it's going to pay off for you.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're tuned in and you're already using DonorBox, we have an amazing membership feature.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's built right into your platform.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: You can create tiers, you can manage member data, and allow your supporters to upgrade or update their memberships without extra admin work on your part.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: So as we talked about, most of your donors, they don't leave because they stopped believing in your mission.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: They leave because a relationship that never moves beyond the transaction.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I will tell you honestly, even with your recurring giving program, it still can be surface level.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: There's nowhere next to go, right?
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: Think of the membership program as one of the clearest ways that nonprofits are changing that.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: It turns that thank you for your donation into you belong here.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: This is very much part of your identity.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: And when your supporters genuinely feel that sense of belonging, again, they stay longer, they give more consistently.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: They're going to be very much part of the legacy of your work.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: And hey, they're going to bring others into the fold as well.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's when fundraising stops feeling like a constant search for that next gift.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: And it's going to start feeling like you are building something together.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being part of the nonprofit podcast community.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: Your work matters, and we are honored to support it.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: If you found this episode helpful, share it with a colleague, leave us a review, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: And hey, if you try launching your very first membership program, I'd love to hear how it's going.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: Keep doing the work that strengthens your community, and I will see you next time.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: That warm feeling when you help someone, it's not just happiness, it's fulfillment.
• 13:30
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• 13:36
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• 13:39
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• 13:40
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