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How to Name Your Monthly Giving Society (With Real Examples From the Field)

You’ve decided to launch a monthly giving program. You’ve got your donation page concept, your ask drafted, and your email list ready to go.

But there’s one thing you keep skipping because it feels like a small detail: what do you call the people who join?

I’m going to stop you right there. That name is not a small detail. It is one of your most powerful retention tools – and one of the places I consistently see organizations either get stuck indefinitely or blow past it without thinking. Both are mistakes.

Why the Name Is a Retention Strategy

When someone becomes a monthly donor, they’re not just setting up a payment plan. They’re making an identity decision. They’re saying: I am someone who supports this mission consistently. Your job is to honor that decision with language that makes them feel like they’ve joined something meaningful.

I illustrate this in The Monthly Giving Mastermind with a simple comparison. Which ask would you respond to?

‘Will you give to charity: water’s monthly giving program to end the water crisis?’ versus ‘Will you be part of The Spring to end the water crisis?’

One sounds transactional. The other makes you feel like you’re joining something bigger than yourself. A name gives you the ability to build a brand, create engaging marketing materials, talk about it in a completely different way, lend credibility, and develop recognition. That’s not a soft benefit – it directly impacts retention.

The Naming Exercise I Use With Every Client

In my Monthly Giving Mastermind, I walk organizations through a 90-minute virtual naming session. I open a collaborative board in Canva, set a timer, and have everyone brainstorm words and phrases rooted in their mission – no filtering in the first round. Then we vote with emojis and narrow down to 2-3 finalist names.

The prompts I use to spark the brainstorm:

• How would you describe your monthly giving program?
• What makes it different?
• What impact does it create?
• How does someone feel when they join?
• What is your organization’s personality?
• Are there any numbers, dates, or names of significance?
• Say ‘I joined ______’ or ‘I’m a part of ______.’ How does it sound?
• Is it easy to read and pronounce with no explanation needed?

Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and try it right now. You might surprise yourself.

15 Names We’ve Built Together in the Mastermind

At the time I published The Monthly Giving Mastermind, our group had collectively named 15 monthly donor programs. Here they are:

• The Roots – Roots Ethiopia
• The Bench
• The Essentials
• Joyraisers
• The Promise
• The Party
• The Table
• The Pink Society
• The Path
• The Beacon – Friends of the Columbia Gorge
• The Beat
• The Trellis
• The Village
• Builders Guild
• RISE

Each one tells a story about the mission it serves. And each one came from that collaborative process – outside perspectives helping an organization see itself through fresh eyes.

Two Case Studies in Getting the Name Right

Roots Ethiopia joined my mastermind in 2022 with an existing name – ‘Grow’ – that had never caught on. Their board initially wanted an Amharic word, ‘Meseret,’ meaning foundation. Deeply meaningful. But the mastermind community flagged that it was too hard to pronounce – and for a program you want donors to share with their networks, that’s a barrier.

“With a lot of counseling from you and also the community – they are a better representation of who would be looking at joining the program – we ended up going with The Roots.”  – Meghan Walsh, Executive Director, Roots Ethiopia

The Chamber of Mothers took the opposite path and leaned into boldness. Their program, The Matriarchy, was deliberately provocative. Nonprofit strategist Jessica Campbell told me: ‘We want to repel the people offended by that word, and strongly attract people that are like, hell yeah!’

The name acts as a filter – drawing in exactly the right donors and creating instant community among those who join.

What to Avoid

• Anything with ‘monthly’ or ‘recurring’ in the name – center the mission, not the mechanism
• Generic words like ‘friends,’ ‘supporters,’ or ‘partners’ with no specificity
• Names that require explanation to understand or are hard to pronounce
• Being too close to your own mission to see it clearly – always get outside perspective
• Rushing the process just to check a box – but also don’t let perfect be the enemy of launched

One final note: your name doesn’t have to be perfect on day one. What matters is that you name it – because naming something makes it real.

Need help naming your monthly giving program? The Monthly Giving Builder includes my naming framework and guided exercises. Visit monthlygivingbuilder.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dana Snyder

Dana Snyder is the founder of Positive Equation, creator of the Monthly Giving Builder, a sought-after keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, and the author of The Monthly Giving Mastermind: A Framework to Build, Grow & Sustain Subscriptions for Good. She is also the host of the global nonprofit podcast Missions to Movements, and host of the Monthly Giving Summit, a worldwide event for nonprofit professionals focused on building stronger recurring revenue programs.