Missions to Movements

When World Central Kitchen shows up within hours of a disaster, that response didn’t start that day. The relationships, infrastructure, and funding were already in place, and more than 80,000 Kitchen Corps members are a huge reason why.

Monthly Giving Manager Lindsey Latham joins me to share how WCK turned an already successful recurring donor base into a true community, including a monthly newsletter that catapulted their open rates to 40-45%, along with a 4-part welcome series designed around stewardship.

We also talk about their $500,000 monthly giving match, why it keeps matching gifts through the end of the year instead of just once, and what nonprofits with an unnamed recurring donor base can learn from their retention first strategy.

Resources & Links

Learn more about World Central Kitchen and Kitchen Corps and connect with Lindsey on LinkedIn.

Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

1. Use code: MOVEMENTS for 25% off Monthly Giving Builder 
2. Join the Sustainer Slack Group (FREE) 

Is monthly giving on your year-end fundraising plan, or is it just one email? In this tough love episode, Dana Snyder shares two quotes from Emma Grede that changed how she thinks about her work: "If everything feels important, you haven't made a decision" and "The work you avoid would probably change your life."

If your nonprofit says it doesn't have time to start a monthly giving program, this episode is for you. Dana shares:

• Why "we don't have time" usually means monthly giving isn't at the top of the list
• Why one monthly giving email at year-end is not enough, and how to build a full season of asks
• How leading with a recurring ask can raise one-time gifts too
• How St. Jude turned a booth at Create and Cultivate into new supporters, and how to build visibility before year-end
• A 3-step challenge: cut one thing this week, choose who owns monthly giving, and block time on your calendar in the next 7 days

Join the free Sustainer Slack group at positiveequation.com (click Resources) to share your plan with other nonprofit peers.

Ready to build a monthly giving program? Use code MOVEMENTS for 25% off the annual plan of the Monthly Giving Builder. On October 22nd, Monthly Giving Builder users get a live coaching call with Dana to work on their year-end plan.

Coming Wednesday: our final Monthlies winner, World Central Kitchen, and how their 80,000 Kitchen Corps members fund day zero disaster response.

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

During a funding crunch, Lucy Madden, CEO of Letters to a Pre-Scientist, recorded a video asking volunteers if they could spare $5 a month to help the organization finish the school year. That first ask brought in 300 monthly donors, and today, more than 90% of Stamp Squad members have also been penpal volunteers.

We get into why this worked so well, including how Lucy embedded the monthly giving ask directly into required volunteer training, and how their word-of-mouth momentum is now spilling into fundraising, too.

Recurring revenue changed Lucy’s mindset about what was possible. And her biggest lesson for anyone building a recurring program? Get your tech right!

Resources & Links

Connect with Lucy on LinkedIn, learn more about Letters to a Pre-Scientist, Stamp Squad, and follow them on Instagram.

Want to make Missions to Movements even better? Take a screenshot of this episode and share it on Instagram. Be sure to tag @positivequation so I can connect with you. 

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

If you've ever wondered whether a membership model could work for grassroots organizing and not just traditional fundraising, today's guest is going to show you exactly how.

The African American Roundtable (AART) won this year’s Monthlies award for Strongest Sense of Community, and Executive Director Markasa Tucker-Harris is joining me to share how AART created a five-tier membership structure, inviting donors to “be the work.”

That shift has influenced EVERYTHING, from fundraising and staffing to storytelling and retention, including how they think about dedicated membership roles, relationship-building with donors, and creating pathways for members to organize more people into the movement.

Markasa also shares why AART’s churn stays low and what nonprofits considering a membership or recurring giving model should do first.

Resources & Links

Learn more about the African American Roundtable and their upcoming events.

My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab a copy here and learn my framework to build, grow, and sustain subscriptions for good.

Want to make Missions to Movements even better? Take a screenshot of this episode and share it on Instagram. Be sure to tag @positivequation so I can connect with you.

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

Recurring giving now makes up 27% of ALL online revenue, and for many nonprofits, 30-40% of total online revenue can arrive in the final three weeks of the year. Is your monthly giving program actually positioned to take advantage of all that attention and generosity?

Today’s episode is your front row seat into my Q3 State of Recurring Giving webinar, where I brought together the team from STella! alongside fundraising leaders from Habitat for Humanity Omaha and the Canadian Cancer Society to share what they’re doing heading into year end.

We also get tactical about the channels and tools driving that growth, including Google Performance Max, paid search, SMS, Fundraise Up, UTMs, and AI. Canadian Cancer Society generated an additional $171,000 from pre-donation upsells, while one recurring donor upgrade test produced an average increase of $14 per donor!

And if you’re wondering what to do before Q4, we end with four VERY practical actions.

Resources & Links

Learn more about STella!, Habitat for Humanity Omaha and Canadian Cancer Society.

Read the Neon One 2026 Recurring Donor Report and the M+R Benchmarks 2026.

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

Your next donor may never visit your website!

Peter Byrnes, CEO of Fundraise Up, is joining me to explain agentic giving and the shift he sees happening RIGHT now from discovery, to recommendation, to delegation. 

Donors are already asking AI tools where they should give, and soon they may be asking those same tools to actually make the donation for them. We get into what nonprofits need to do now to become easier for AI to find, understand, and trust, including why consistency across your website, annual reports, financial information, and outside sources matters more than ever. 

We also talk about Fundraise Up’s free Agentic Giving Readiness Assessment, how to audit what AI is already saying about your organization, and why the goal isn’t to panic — it’s to prepare.

Resources & Links

Check out the Fundraise Up Agentic Giving Readiness Assessment.

Connect with Peter on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Peec.ai.

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

Global Catalyst is on a mission to mentor girls around the world to become powerful advocates and confident leaders. They went from just 7 monthly donors in July 2025, to growing their Girls First community by 500% to 35 monthly donors.

As a girl mom, this episode with Courtney Stricklin Burgan hits deep to my heart. In her role as VP of Engagement and Communications, Courtney leads a passionate team of fundraising and storytelling professionals, and we're going to get into every single detail of how she did it.

You’ll discover why donors started choosing $20, $25, and even $33 a month, how they steward their community with birthday cards, anniversary emails, sticker packs, and personal outreach, and why Courtney sees monthly giving as “major giving in a different way.”

Resources & Links

Learn more about Global Catalyst, follow them on Instagram, and connect with Courtney at [email protected]. 

Check out Courtney’s book recs, Dungeon Crawler Carl and I Am A Girl From Africa.

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

Planned giving does not have to be complicated OR expensive, and you don’t need an estate attorney to get started. What if your nonprofit already has planned giving prospects sitting inside your donor database, but you just haven’t asked them yet?

Tony Martignetti worked with a historical society who mailed just 250 people about planned giving. SIX donors responded that they had already included the organization in their wills!

We talk about how Tony built St. John’s University’s planned giving program to $20 million, why your best prospects are often your most loyal long-term donors, and why he recommends starting with donors around age 55-60+ and older. And yes, monthly donors absolutely belong in this conversation. Someone who has supported your organization month after month for years can make an incredible planned giving prospect.

Resources & Links

Connect with Tony on LinkedIn, tune in to his podcast Nonprofit Radio, and learn more Planned Giving Accelerated.

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

If you've ever wondered what's possible with zero full-time paid staff and zero development budget, this episode is for you. Magical Creatures Sanctuary is a 100% volunteer-run farmed animal rescue on Hawaii Island that cares for more than 100 rescued animals, and today, 48% of their individual donor revenue comes from recurring gifts, with an 83% donor retention rate.

Executive Director Jill Vanderhoef joins me to break down their Adopt a Magical Creature sponsorship program and how even a $5 monthly gift can create meaningful stability.

Plus, Jill shares EXACTLY what’s working for them on Instagram and TikTok and why emotional connection, before-and-after storytelling, and paying attention to the questions your audience is already asking can help create content that brings supporters closer to your mission.

Resources & Links

Learn more about Magical Creatures Sanctuary and follow them on Instagram and TikTok.

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...

How do you walk into the end of the year with your monthly giving program finally built? More than HALF of the nonprofit professionals who joined my recent monthly giving webinars either had no recurring giving program or had started one and stalled. 

And after analyzing feedback and behavior from more than 1,000 nonprofit leaders, I found that there are three primary barriers keeping organizations from making recurring giving the front door to fundraising.

I also take you behind the scenes of how I use Claude and MCP connectors to analyze webinar registrations, purchasing behavior, and participant feedback in a single afternoon. Plus, why another webinar, workbook, or framework won’t solve the problem unless it helps your team produce the actual program name, landing page copy, email sequence, and board-ready plan.

Resources & Links

This episode is presented by The Monthly Giving Builder.  Generate your comprehensive monthly giving plan and build your program step by step - with a guided companion working alongside you from start to finish. 

Now is the time to start making your plans for GivingTuesday. Visit GivingTuesday.org/participate for resources and inspiration.

Save the date for our next Monthly Giving Summit on February 25, 2027. Apply to speak here!

Applications are now open for the 2027 Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind and Retreat. If you have built a monthly giving program, join our high-touch peer coaching community for nonprofit leaders who are ready to break through.

Supercharge your monthly giving program and apply for my Monthly Giving VIP Intensive session. Only 2 spots are available this fall!

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab ...