When Nacha set out to revamp its Nonprofit Toolkit, the goal was to make it as helpful as possible for nonprofits looking to start or enhance a donation program using electronic bank transfer (ACH). An expert in the field of charitable giving is impressed with the results.

“The Nacha Nonprofit Toolkit provides a range of resources that nonprofits will find valuable—from case studies and enrollment forms to plug-and-play templates for pledge letters, social media messages, and making the business case for electronic bank transfers,” said Rosie Siemer.

Siemer is the Founder and CEO of FIVESEED, which provides research and consulting to arts, cultural and conservation organizations looking to reach new audiences, and author of “Museum Membership Innovation,” which looks at innovative strategies for museums to thrive in a rapidly changing marketplace.

“One of the features of the Nacha Nonprofit Toolkit that I think organizations will find particularly useful is the phone script for conducting a calling campaign. The script is a simple resource that any nonprofit organization can begin using immediately to encourage sustaining donations,” said Siemer, noting that the Toolkit contains materials that will be helpful to nonprofits of all sizes.

“I think smaller nonprofits will find the checklist and enrollment form especially helpful whereas larger nonprofits will appreciate the calling script as well as the business case template for showing the potential impact of evergreen giving via electronic bank transfers,” said Siemer. 

Electronic bank transfer has been shown to help retain evergreen or recurring donors. Siemer said their value to a nonprofit cannot be underestimated.  

“I believe that evergreen giving represents the single greatest opportunity for nonprofits to generate predictable, consistent, and recession-resistant cash flow. Consumers have become more comfortable with online banking in recent years, and evergreen giving via electronic bank transfer is a natural next step that leads to higher lifetime contributions as well as increased donor retention rates,” said Siemer.

Additionally, with a younger generation of Americans who are particularly interested in electronic banking—and often lacking a checkbook—Siemer sees opportunity for charitable groups.

“As nonprofits seek to democratize philanthropy, electronic bank transfer will allow organizations to cultivate a younger, more diverse base of donors,” said Siemer. “I think the Nacha Nonprofit Toolkit is a great resource that can help more nonprofits get donors enrolled in evergreen giving.”

The Nacha Nonprofit Toolkit is free to download at Nacha.org/Nonprofits.

Visit FIVESEED.