This blog is a plea for help. Please write comments to help charities overcome credit card expiry issues.
For years charities in Australia, UK, Canada and almost certainly more countries have been able to continue to process donations on a monthly basis from people who have made an ongoing commitment to that charity. Often credit card expiry dates would go by, without the donor's details being updated. Credit card processing companies have just let the donations continue.
A client of ours recently found out their bank is about to stop this practice.
Of course, we all know that charities should take opportunities from phone calls and even appeals to capture up to date expiry dates - every phone call, even a 'failed sale' should update credit card expiry dates.
From the fundraisers out there who read this blog - and from the commerical people who deal with a similar issue, please can you post some comments with some ideas of how to help?
Thank you!
5 comments:
...and I am kicking off with the first one, with help from Fiona - head of data services at Pareto Fundraising:
[how about] using SMS and email to ask donors whose cards have/are about to expire to call in?
But make sure the SMS number is not premium and works from most people's mobile phones.
We know that phone is much better than mail, and will get higher responses than SMS or email, but starting with SMS or email will capture a load of people on the cheap.
Hi Sean - GREAT QUESTION!
One important point, in Canada at least, new credit cards are mailed to consumers two months in advance of a credit card expiring. That means a donor will only have the new number a maximum of six weeks before the card is expired. Also, credit cards expire on the last day of the month listed on the card, not the first day of the month as commonly assumed. So if the expiry date is ‘07/08’ the card will expire on July 31, 2008.
How many charities know when new credit cards are sent to their donors? In addition to this – if a credit card is lost, stolen or cancelled, how many donors know who to contact at a charity to provide the new credit card number?
Charities could set up a monthly reporting query detailing when credit cards expire as a first step. The query should detail the amount of credit cards expiring within six months, three months, two months, one month and identify already expired credit cards with no response from a donor. Each segment should have a defined monthly donor communication strategy, with the overall objective of renewing all monthly donor contributors. As well, the number of donors within each segment should be taken into account - a different strategy could be in place if there were only 2 credit cards expiring, versus 2,000.
A sample strategy plan could look like this;
1 – Once a donor has decided to contribute to a charity on a monthly basis – send out a monthly donor welcome kit that thanks a donor for their monthly contribution to the charity. In it, have a business card or some other device that informs donors of who to contact at the charity should something happen to the credit card. Charities can also notify the donor in this mailing that the credit card expiration date is listed as XX/XX. Give the donors a sticker (if the credit card expires within the calendar year) to put on their calendars, as a reminder to call the organization to give them their new credit card number and continue with the monthly donation.
2 – Give monthly donors a special mailing or contact point (email/sms/phone) at the beginning of each calendar year. Report to donors on how their monthly donation is being used, and thank donors for their contribution to the organization. Give the donors a sticker (if the credit card expires within the calendar year) to put on their calendars, as a reminder to call the organization to give them their new credit card number. Also, give donors an update on who to contact at the charity should something happen to the credit card. (Business card, etc…)
3 – Remind monthly donors by mail/email/sms 2 months in advance of a credit card expiry. Thank them for their previous gifts as a monthly donor and let them know how important they are to the organization’s success. Give the donors a contact number to call when their new credit card number comes in the mail.
4 – Phone monthly donors in the month of the card expiration, if the donor has not already called in. Thank them for their previous gifts as a monthly donor and let them know how important they are to the organization’s success. Ask donors to continue with their monthly gifts to the charity.
Hope these ideas help :)
Krista's response is a good one. I've used a system very much like this in past and it was never a big problem - I don't believe that card expiries were connected to donor attrition among regular donors.
Recent experience suggests to me, though, that if you have the time and resources (and you've collected adequate donor information) it may be best just to phone the donors for a new expiry date or card number. When I handle this personally, I find donors frequently anticipate the subject of the call as soon as I've introduced myself.
Love to see comment on canada.
it is really important to update the credit card expiry dates,so that card holders must be aware of it.bank must continue their charity or fund for charity,it's so helpful to all the charities out there.i believe that we must not take this issue for granted.thanks for sharing this blog.
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