How can an NGO receive recurring monthly donations by direct debit?

Recurring monthly donations are the most predictable income an NGO has, because they do not depend on a campaign. The mechanism rests on a direct debit mandate signed by the donor.

Short answer

The donor signs a direct debit mandate authorising the monthly debiting of their account.
In Romania the mechanism is operated through the infrastructure promoted by the Association for Community Relations, on donatie.ro.
It is used by large organisations such as Salvați Copiii, WWF, SOS, Declic and Recorder.
If the donor does not have enough money in the account when the debit runs, the transaction fails for that month.
The legal basis for processing data for the mandate is the performance of a contract, not consent.

How it works in practice

You pick the provider through which you will collect the direct debit and check its costs, which vary from provider to provider.
You prepare the giving page with the proposed monthly amount and the data-processing notice.
The donor signs the direct debit mandate and authorises the monthly debiting of the account.
The debit runs monthly, and the organisation receives the list of successful and failed transactions.
You record each receipt on the donor record and issue the supporting document.
You contact donors whose debit failed, before the monthly gift stops for good.

Practical examples

300 donors at 30 lei per month means 9,000 lei per month, that is 108,000 lei per year.
If in one month 24 of the 300 donors have no funds in the account, you lose 720 lei that month.
A recurring donor giving 30 lei a month brings 1,080 lei over three years, more than a one-off gift of 500 lei.
A large 4,000 lei donation paid by direct debit no longer passes through the cash desk, so it does not touch the cash ceilings.

Common mistakes

Consent is requested for the direct debit mandate, although the correct legal basis is the performance of a contract.
Failed debits are not monitored, and a donor lost for one month disappears for good.
All donor data is removed on an erasure request, including the accounting document, which must be kept for 5 years.
Costs or fees taken from other sources are communicated to donors, without checking them with your own provider.
No supporting document is issued for the monthly receipts, although every donation needs one.

How 4ong helps

Keeps recurring donations separate from one-off gifts, with the monthly amount and start date per donor.
Automatically flags interrupted recurring donations, so you can contact the donor in the same month.
Shows the forecast monthly recurring income and how much of the campaign target is already covered.
Generates the supporting document for every monthly receipt and attaches it to the donor record.
Anonymises donor data on a GDPR request, while keeping the accounting documents for the 5 years.