Have you asked your donors to cancel their direct debits yet?

OK, maybe actually asking them to cancel is going a bit far. But you should ask if they’d like to.

Seriously.

Times are tough. Some of your donors will have lost their jobs, others will be getting by on a lower income than before. Most will be feeling uncertain and fearful about the future.

Show them that you understand where they’re at. Next time you write to them, let them know that if they feel they need to cancel, or reduce, their direct debit that’s OK. And make it easy for them with a nice big tick box to that effect on the donation form.

Of course, while you’re at it, explain that you do still need their support and that, if they can spare a few extra euro each month, it would help even more.

The Irish Hospice Foundation recently did exactly this.

(click on the image to enlarge)

Sure enough, some of their valuable, direct debit donors ticked the box to cancel.

Four of them, to be precise.

And I’m sure each of them had very good reasons for canceling - job losses, financial difficulties, or perhaps they had fallen out of love with the Irish Hospice Foundation. It happens.

But over 400 donors chose to increase their monthly gift, resulting in a very significant increase in the Foundation’s monthly direct debit income. And they got loads of positive feedback as well. Donors were impressed.

You see, if you treat donors as adults, if you try to have a grown-up relationship with them, and recognise that they’re the ones who have chosen to support you and that they can change their mind at any time and that you can’t force them, or trick them into giving you money… well, donors respect that. And they’ll respond accordingly.

You can make a donation to support the Irish Hospice Foundation’s work here