In the Benevon Model, a critical part of building a system of lifelong donors is a Multiple-Year Giving Society^™—a group of higher-level donors who pledge to give an unrestricted gift of at least $1,000 a year for five years. This society has a special name, and members receive special recognition from your organization.

Many groups are reluctant to launch a Multiple-Year Giving Society, saying, "Our donors would never go for that." In truth, what they often mean is that they would feel uncomfortable asking for multiple-year pledges. But asking for multiple-year contributions is not for the organization; it is for the donor. Multiple-Year Giving Society Donors are people who already love you and, in many cases, have been giving to you, year after year, with relatively little contact or cultivation.

Now you are giving them an opportunity to come forward and declare themselves part of your organization's family. Some will say, "No, thank you." Others will ask, "What took you so long to notice?"

Start your Multiple-Year Giving Society with pledges of five years. Organizations bold enough to write those few extra words, "for five years," on their pledge cards almost always wish they had done it sooner.

Since you're launching a giving society that will last for years, take the time to name it carefully. For your overall society, consider the name of a famous person who has championed your cause, or perhaps the name of one of your founders. Or you can choose a name that has a direct connection to the essence of your work, like the Full Plate Society for a food bank or the Hope for Children Society for a children's home.

You should have only three levels of giving in your Multiple-Year Giving Society. These levels are called Units of Service^™, and they are either:

• $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 a year for each of the next five years or
• $1,000, $10,000, and $25,000 a year for each of the next five years

Choose your levels based on the largest gift your organization received in the last two years. If it was $10,000 or more, then you belong at the three higher levels. If it was under $10,000, use the three lower levels.

The names of your levels are intended to personalize your work and give donors a sense of what their gifts can do. Donors also like to see that the three levels relate logically to one another.

Think through your options carefully to come up with units that capture the essence of what your donors are giving to. For example, if the lowest level is "sponsor a child," your middle level could be "sponsor a family," and your highest level "sponsor a neighborhood" or a community. Be sure to explain to your donors that these are really unrestricted gifts and that these levels are just an example of what their money can do.

Of course, these levels won't be a good fit for everyone, which is why you'll always have a space on your pledge card for people to write in their own gift amount and pledge length, as well as a box they can check to indicate that they have advice or other forms of support for you.

This process gives your donors guidance without pressure, and your fill-in-the-blank option gives them the freedom to give at whatever level they are comfortable. Multiple-year asking, if done consistently and with cultivation, will get your organization off the yearly treadmill and build the lifelong donors you are looking for.