Thoughts about Giving: Sustaining Gifts
by Kimberly Goodrich
Vice President of Development
Improving Lives Today…
and Every Day!
Mary’s indoor cooling vest was provided to her thanks to the thoughtfulness of MSAA’s many sustaining donors.
Thanks to our generous donors, Mary received a cooling vest through MSAA. Now she is able to enjoy going to her grandson’s baseball games and spend time in her garden. Tamara received a rolling walker that allows her to walk farther and with less fatigue, meaning she has been able to enjoy family trips for the first time in years. The equipment program is one of MSAA’s core programs providing items that increase a person’s safety, dignity, and mobility, as well as improve his or her overall quality of life. Our goal at MSAA is to continue growing this program in order to meet the increasing demand for these items. This requires that we not only do more, but that we do it better.
As a nonprofit organization, MSAA works hard to be sure we are using the dollars given by our donors in the most effective ways possible. This means we are always looking for ways to increase the efficiency of our operations, stretching your generous gifts to reach more and more people each day. Lately we have heard a lot about “sustaining” gifts and the many benefits this type of giving can have – not only for an organization and those it supports, but also for the donors themselves.
What is a sustaining gift? Essentially, a sustaining gift is a donation automatically given at regular intervals, such as monthly, quarterly, or annually. These gifts can be set up in advance and given directly via electronic funds transfer (EFT) or credit card.
How do these gifts benefit the nonprofit organization? Knowing that regular gifts are happening allows us to plan better for future needs, such as the increase in cooling requests that happens each summer. However, the primary benefit is a savings in postage, mailing, and administrative costs. When you join MSAA’s Sustaining Partners monthly giving program, you will no longer receive mail solicitations – this means more of your contribution goes toward improving the lives of individuals with MS!
How does this help the donor? It’s easy! Once it’s set up, no work is required on your part. You too will save on postage and time. A cumulative tax receipt is issued at the end of each year and you can easily increase, decrease, pause, or stop your gifts at any time.
Many people find they are able to give more generously when they spread their gift throughout the year. A regular gift of just $10 per month adds up to a very generous $120 for the year. And that $120 can provide a shower chair and a safety grab bar that keeps someone safe in his or her own home.
We encourage you to consider becoming a Sustaining Partner of MSAA and share in the benefits this program offers. To learn more about joining our Sustaining Partners monthly giving program, please visit our website at support.mymsaa.org/sustainer or call (800) 532-7667 and ask for the Development Department.