I just cancelled a monthly subscription to a service I hadn’t used in several months. I signed up, lost interest, schedule changed… you know how it is and paid for the service for at least another six months. It’s easy to forget! That’s the downside of monthly deductions, you can loose track of them. That same mechanism though that makes it easy for us to start something and then forget about it can also be used for good.
If you take a moment and look back on your recent charitable giving history, did it happen in response to a direct mailing or request? Was it prompted by the Holidays or maybe some news coverage? As an Executive Director of a small non-profit I can tell you that, typically, that is when most donors give. And while no time of year is particularly ‘fat’ with giving, Christmas is usually when people respond to a news story or mailing with the most gusto. That giving though is effected by things you might not even think about; obviously negative changes in income or instability in the markets puts people in a less giving mood. Things like a dip in the price of gas and snow in November can put people in a giving mood, but 60 degree weather can quickly turn people’s attention from the jolly season.
Giving monthly, using our on-line portal is a one and done experience that takes the moods and seasons and constant flux out of the equation and puts money into services and programs when they are needed. If you support the work that we are doing at The Pantry, if you want to see us continue to move from a transactional model to a transformational model, then sign up today to give each month. Any level gift helps and every individual donor, no matter what level they give at, is a valued part of the team and part of the solution.
For $100 a month, you can provide food service for an entire day, once a year. For $25 a month, you can feed a different family each month, for a week. For $10 a month, you can provide nearly 500 bowls of cereal to children before school each month.
The Monthly Giving Club began in 2015 as a means to make securing help for those in need as easy and painless as possible for our donors. Everyone is moving, at least in part, to bill paying on-line (think Netflix, gym memberships… those things you pay thoughtlessly each month). Since feeding the hungry and providing quality nutrition classes, referral services and case management are year round endeavors, it just makes good sense that our donors have the option of supporting those efforts each and every month when that help is needed, without trying to remember to put that check in the mail.
Joining our monthly giving club is easy! If you haven’t given via the on-line portal before, take a brief moment to fill out the First Time User info. After you have completed the registration form simply click on Scheduled Giving, enter when you would like the gift to be withdrawn and then give your card or checking information. Click Active Schedule and you’re done. It’s that easy! Additionally, through the end of January if you sign up as a new monthly donor The Pantry will receive a $100 gift from a friend.
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