May is for Monthly Giving: 3 Lessons from the First U.S. Sustainer Program

May has been a whirlwind.

On May 1, we announced The Center for Sustainable Giving, a new home for the work we do to equip and advise nonprofits to grow sustainable recurring giving.

Following that, I facilitated a panel discussion in Chicago with leaders from Color Of Change, Doctors Without Borders, Ford’s Theatre, and Tunnel to Towers on the lessons they’ve learned about growing sustainer programs. Special thanks to GoFundMe Pro for bringing me out to shed light on this incredibly important opportunity. 

Then it was on to celebrate Monthly Giving Awareness Week, May 11-15, where we recorded a special live episode of the Sustainable Giving Podcast on The Future of Sustainable Giving, featuring industry and charity leaders across the sector.

We explored the bright future of creating sustainable funding for the causes that desperately need it. You can catch that episode here:

Sustainable Giving Podcast, Season 3, Episode 5

The Future of Sustainable Giving: From What Is to What Could BeWhat if recurring giving isn't just a payment plan, but the single biggest untapped opportunity for your nonprofit?

Over those same few weeks, my team and I at The Center also had the opportunity to:

💟 Host AMA (ask me anything) calls with customers and team members at RKD Group and Virtuous. 

💟 Teach practical lessons on growing sustainable giving via the Missions to Movements and We Are for Good podcasts (and recorded a few others, coming out shortly!).

💟 Facilitate a series of sessions on seizing the opportunity to grow impact with the team at DickersonBakker. 

💟 Consult on a series of offerings coming shortly to the rescue mission space from BDI.

💟 Advise organizations around growing recurring giving, from Action Against Hunger, Favor International, Heritage Foundation, Jews for Jesus, SEND International, and World Relief, among others. 

I love what we get to do to help nonprofit leaders grow recurring giving. 💜

May is truly for Monthly Giving.

Want to know why else May should be a time to recognize, celebrate, and lean into the opportunities surrounding sustainable giving?

Because May 24, 1815 was the foundation of the first one-to-one-style sponsorship recurring giving in U.S. history. 

In many ways, May 24 is the birthday of recurring giving in the United States. 🥳🎂🎉

Let’s explore that first recurring giving program and a few lessons we can apply to our context today. 

The First US-Based Sponsorship Program

We have a rich heritage of generosity in North America, dating back to pre-colonial times and the original indigenous peoples that lived in what is now the U.S. and Canada. 

By the nation’s founding in 1776, the roots of private philanthropy in the U.S. were already deep, leading to the establishment of many churches, clinics, schools, orphanages, libraries, colleges, and hospitals. 

The earliest documented case of one-to-one sponsorship dates back to May 24, 1815, when a group of missionaries to Bombay, India, penned a letter to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM) in Salem, Massachusetts. 

The letter proposed the concept of Christian donors “sponsoring” children while they lived in missionary homes and schools. In the ensuing months, the ABCFM wrote that the plan was “very captivating” and “contributions and communal subscriptions for this object exceed our most sanguine expectations.”

“Communal subscription.” I like the ring of that. :)

In today’s subscription economy, the irony is not lost on me that the first recurring giving program in our nation’s history was called a “communal subscription.”

It’s amazing to think that recurring giving in the United States was born on May 24, 1815, more than two hundred years ago.

💡 Takeaway: Recurring giving in the United States is not new, dating back to the nation’s foundations. May 24 marks the 211th anniversary of sustainable recurring giving in the U.S. And yet, today, recurring giving is more accessible to more nonprofits than ever before. 

I’m always one to look for the lessons we can learn from historical events, so let’s conclude today’s Wave Report with three lessons we can draw from this important moment in the nation’s history.

Lesson #1: We Can Learn from History

The first recurring fundraising in our nation’s history referred to their program as a “communal subscription” more than TWO CENTURIES AGO. There truly is nothing new under the sun. 

It’s important to not only learn from history but apply and translate the lessons – the good and the bad – to today’s context. 

Consider your context. 

What lessons have you learned from history – of your organization or from your own experience – that you can apply today?

Lesson #2: Human Connection is Vital

The earliest recurring programs were rooted in the care for other people – creating connection among real, live, breathing human beings. The best recurring giving programs are not focused on process or even outcomes – they connect people to real human needs and to each other. 

The first recurring giving program in U.S. history tapped into the power of human connection. 

Consider how you can create connection with your donors.

How can you cultivate human-to-human connection with your donors? 

Lesson #3: Generosity Begets Generosity

It warms my heart to see how an act of generosity can change everything. Generosity is contagious. When done well, generosity inspires generosity. 

My friend Jessica Langelaan serves as head of partnerships at GoFundMe. She and I got some time together this month while I was at the Collaborative conference. After we returned home, she posted to LinkedIn:

Inspired by the conversations at Collaborative — and by the focus on sustained generosity that Dave Raley has brought into the conversation — I started a new monthly donation last night. 
💜💜💜

She went on to share how heartbroken she was that a charity she admired was forced to close several programs because of a lack of stable funding, and yet how inspired she was when the charity she committed to called her to thank her for her monthly gift. 

Acts of generosity inspire acts of generosity. 

To end our Wave Report, here’s a quick list of ideas to spark generosity today, thanks to the help of my AI co-worker ChatGPT:

💟 Send a handwritten thank-you note to a donor.

💟 Cover a colleague's coffee or lunch as an act of appreciation.

💟 Share a helpful resource with a friend or colleague.

💟 Publicly compliment a team member's contributions.

💟 Donate to a cause a friend cares about.

💟 Listen fully to a family member going through tough times.

💟 Host a "gratitude circle" for sharing what you’re grateful for.

💟 Offer your time to help someone with a task.

💟 Send a surprise gift to a donor or colleague.

💟 Make an introduction between two people who can benefit.

What’s ONE act of generosity you can offer today? 

Until next week… Surf’s Up! 🌊

  - Dave