When you are asked for monthly donations in favour of a one-off donation, you may initially feel as though you are being encouraged to commit to something you’re not ready for. Making a one-off payment to a charity comes much more easily. Once you make your donation, you know that you can choose when or if you want to donate again. But why do charities encourage people to commit to monthly payments and how can this work to your benefit?
This article will go over:
- Some of the reasons people hesitate to make monthly payments to charities
- Reasons why these need not be barriers to giving, and
- Why monthly donations are so important to charities
Reasons You Might Hesitate
We will start by looking over some common concerns and considerations when it comes to making monthly donations and offer our perspective on these issues.
Monthly Payments Feel Like a Commitment
When you are approached by a street fundraiser who asks for a moment of your time to explain the cause they want to raise support for, you know that at the end of their pitch will come a request for a donation. Quite often, they will ask for a monthly donation, sometimes even refusing to take a one-off donation. When an unfamiliar charity approaches you like this, you are less likely to connect with its cause, and the request for a monthly donation may feel like an overstep. Essentially, the charity is asking you to commit to something you’ve only just been introduced to, all within a few brief minutes.
Making the decision to donate shouldn’t feel like a pressure sale. When you are actively looking for a charity to donate to whose goals resonate with your own, you can research which charities support the causes you believe in. You can take as much time as you like to make your decision. You can approach them and ask to learn more. There should be no demand to make quick decisions.
Once you have found the cause you want to support, whether or not to make monthly donations deserves careful consideration. It is a commitment, but it should not feel like a burden, like a bill or mortgage payment. This is a commitment that represents your goodwill and desire to help those in need. It should leave you with a positive feeling.
It is also far more flexible. When you decide to make monthly donations to a charity, you can choose how much you want to donate per month. If times are uncertain but you feel strongly about supporting a cause, you can adjust your payments to reflect your circumstances.
You Might Want to Support a Different Cause
The things that are most important to you can change over time. You might realise that there is something else you would like to support, or that the charity has made good progress on a project you contributed towards and now you would like to help somewhere else. If, down the line, you decide there is another cause you would like to support, you can tell us where you would like your donation to go, and we can change it.
It is Stressful to Think About
We understand that people have a lot going on in their lives. You may feel overwhelmed by all of the news reports about the latest disasters happening around the world. The media is filled with videos and stories of tragedies, which only seem to add to the stress of the day.
Some people find that by donating to charity, they feel less troubled by the news. We hope that when you see the money debited from your account by a charity each month, you are not reminded of the struggle and pain of the people the charity is trying to help, but instead reminded that you are doing something to help alleviate it. By making regular donations, you can rest assured that you are consistently contributing to a good cause and are already helping to solve some of the world’s problems.
Why Donating Monthly is Better
So far, we have touched on some of the reasons you might shy away from making monthly donations and have given some reasons why these need not be barriers to giving. But why is this type of donation so important to charities? Here are some other benefits to giving monthly from the perspective of the charity.
It Provides Us with Greater Certainty
We are committed to helping communities around the world. We know how much The Anonymous Project’s support means to these people and we want to be sure that we can continue to help them without having to worry about whether we will receive enough donations to finance a project. By giving monthly, you are providing us with a more reliable stream of income, which helps us to plan for the future with greater certainty. We can commit to longer-term projects without the worry that they might be delayed should anything go wrong.
Regular Payments Add Up
A few pounds every month is less of a strain on your finances and is easier to budget for. The money you donate each month may seem small, but it compounds over time. We bring this money to countries where its value is even greater. This means that just a little can go an incredibly long way.
It Provides the People We Help with Greater Security
We are actively helping some of the world’s most vulnerable and deprived communities. We have personally met people in the communities that we help. Your regular support helps by providing them with the security that we can continue to be there for them. In times when one-off donations are scarce, we can rely on our monthly donors.
Conclusion
Initially, making monthly donations may feel like a big commitment or another financial burden, but donating to charity should not feel like an unwanted or rigid obligation. We want you to take the time to consider whether this type of donation is right for you. Think about how much you are comfortable giving each month and who you want your donations to help. These payments are not like monthly bills with set costs, they are adaptable. You can change your payments to suit your circumstances at different times in your life.
The Anonymous Project has tried to make the process of setting up monthly payments quick and easy. Just click on our Donation page and select “Monthly”. You can choose to donate one of our recommended amounts or you can enter your own custom amount. After you set up monthly payments, we will collect your donation automatically each month so you can cross it off your list of things to do. Each month, you can rest assured that your donations will be going towards a good cause.
If you’re considering setting up monthly donations but are still uncertain, you can always start with a small, custom amount. From there, you can tweak it to suit your circumstances.
If you have any questions regarding making payments, reach out to us by phone or email. We will be glad to answer any of your questions.