Grow your monthly giving program like the leading nonprofits
I’m Erika G. Musser, a monthly giving growth consultant. I help nonprofits turn monthly giving into a reliable, growing source of revenue.
Erika’s work elevated our communications, deepened donor engagement, and helped grow a culture of consistent giving that now fuels our mission.”
Amy L., Executive Director
Whether monthly giving is already part of your fundraising strategy or you know it needs to become one, it carries real weight inside your organization.
It shapes how confidently you can plan, hire, and serve. Which is why it needs a clear strategy to sustainably grow it.
Recurring revenue is too important to grow on hope alone.
Most nonprofits I talk to struggle with a combination of these four challenges with monthly giving:
#1: Growth feels inconsistent
You have a monthly option, but there’s no clear acquisition plan, so new donors trickle in instead of building steady momentum.
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#2: The program lacks a clear identity
Monthly giving exists, but the value isn’t clearly defined or compelling enough to move donors from one-time to recurring.
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#3: Retention isn’t intentional
There’s no clear communications plan to steward monthly donors, strengthen belonging, or build long-term commitment over time.
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#4: Internal structure is unclear
Ownership is scattered, reporting is limited, and without leadership alignment and clear systems, it is hard to scale what is working.
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When monthly support is strong, missions move farther
A recurring-first fundraising strategy multiplies your impact.
☺︎︎ With a strong monthly giving program
✔ Monthly donors give 2–3× more over their lifetime
✔ Retention can reach 70–90% annually
✔ Revenue becomes more predictable year over year
✔ Small retention gains compound over time
✔ Teams spend less time replacing donors and more time strengthening relationships
✔ Revenue growth relies less on expensive donor acquisition
✔ Leaders can plan the future of the mission with confidence
☹︎︎ Without one
✖ Monthly donors cancel before reaching full lifetime value
✖ Retention mirrors one-time giving at ~40–45%
✖ “Recurring” revenue behaves unpredictably
✖ Acquisition carries most of the growth burden
✖ Each year starts closer to zero than it should
✖ It’s harder to move the mission forward year-to-year
What I can help with
📈 Revenue Health & Retention
📅 Monthly-First Growth Strategy
📝 Sustainer Messaging & Impact Positioning
🖥 Donation Page & Form Optimization
🌱 First 90-Day Donor Experience
🤝 Ongoing Stewardship & Loyalty
📊 Upgrade & Expansion Strategy
⏸ Cancellation & Downgrade Protection
💳 Payment Recovery Systems
📆 12-Month Communications Plan
✉ Email & Text Sequences
⚙ Tech Stack & Platform Recommendations
👥 Leadership Buy-In & Internal Alignment
📂 Infrastructure & Accountability
Here’s what working together looks like
Audit → Accountability → Execution
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#2
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The Audit
A full review of your recurring revenue engine.
I assess your program across seven key areas: growth, retention, messaging, onboarding, upgrades, revenue risk, and internal systems.
We look at churn trends, failed payments, donor experience, acquisition strategy, leadership alignment, and where revenue may be leaking.
You get a detailed report and a focused 90-day plan built around the highest-impact moves to make next.
Ongoing Strategic Support
Implementation with structure and accountability.
For 3, 6, or 12 months, we meet every other week to implement your roadmap.
We review your numbers, track churn and growth, refine messaging, and solve problems in real time.
You’re never guessing what to do next because you have crystal clear priorities.
VIP Week
Senior-level execution, done for you.
If your team needs helping building out key assets, my team steps in and executes. Some examples of what can be done:
Landing pages designed for monthly-first giving.
Email sequences that improve early retention.
Upgrade campaigns.
Recurring-first appeals.
Messaging that clarifies your value.
“Erika is such a pleasure to work with. I needed a partner to help me clear up messaging. I was immediately impressed by several things. She quickly understood the complications my company faces, and her recommendations were spot on. She made the process so simple! We’ve seen immediate improvement. We were so impressed with her work that we immediately requested to work with her again.”
Bethany, Marketing Director
Let’s see if this is the right fit
Frequently Asked Questions
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Most nonprofits do, but there’s still plenty of opportunity to optimize. Many monthly giving programs were set up years ago and haven’t been intentionally revisited. They may exist, but lack clear positioning, a retention plan, or a defined role in the overall fundraising strategy.
If you’re unsure whether a full engagement makes sense, we can talk that through during a free intro call. Some organizations choose to start with a monthly giving audit first. Based on what we uncover, you can decide whether a full engagement is the right next step.
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Most organizations can expect:
2–3 live working sessions, 60–90 minutes each
Asynchronous review and feedback on drafts
Occasional clarifying questions via email
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Usually one or two key decision-makers. This is often the Executive Director, Development Director, or whoever owns donor communications and fundraising strategy. In some cases, it’s also beneficial for me to interview volunteers, existing donors, or other team members.
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Because momentum matters. :) Monthly giving programs stall when planning drags on for months. This timeline creates focus and forward motion while still allowing enough time to think strategically and build something solid.
The goal is to help you plan or relaunch your monthly giving program efficiently so it can start doing its job sooner.
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It’s typically done virtually.
Virtual work allows us to move quickly and keeps costs lower for most organizations. In-person options are available and can be discussed if that’s a better fit for your team. In those cases, pricing increases to account for travel and time.