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What is a giving program?
A giving program is the collection of ways people can support your work through philanthropy. It brings together the ways you attract, engage, recognise and retain donors, rather than treating each donation or campaign as a separate activity.
It can start simply, with one clear way to give. As your supporter base, skills and culture of philanthropy grow, you can add more giving opportunities.
Step 1. Set your giving program goals
Your goals will help guide how you structure your giving program and where to focus effort.
Start by deciding what you want your giving program to achieve. Philanthropic giving can play different roles depending on your context. You might want to:
- build a regular and reliable source of income
- grow the number of people who give
- increase the value of giving over time
- fund specific projects or programs
- build stronger relationships with donors
- grow significant or long-term support.
Step 2. Review how people currently give
Look at the current state of giving to see what’s working and where there’s room to grow.
Review the information you have about your donors and donations. As you do this, consider:
- how many people currently give
- how much they give
- how often they give
- whether they give once or repeatedly
- the range of gift values.
You may already have several ways for people to support you, even if they’re not yet formally structured into a giving program.
Use the donor pyramid for strategic planning
The donor pyramid is a commonly used planning tool. You can use it to understand and visualise how your giving is distributed across your donor base and how your overall giving program works together.
At the base of the pyramid are prospective supporters and a larger number of donors making smaller gifts. As you move up the pyramid, there are fewer donors making larger gifts.
