Watsi Analysis: SaaS Economics Are the Future of Charity

From the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to the ASPCA and American Cancer Society, it's virtually impossible to find a large charitable organization that doesn't offer donors the ability to make recurring donations. Most donation forms (online and paper) include a highly-visible opt in for recurring donations.

Watsi may or may not be an innovative organization, but it is hardly pioneering the recurring donation model and the notion that established charities aren't dedicating resources to optimizing their recurring donations just isn't accurate.

The reason most charities/non-profits have trouble raising funds is not that they don't ask for recurring donations; it's that they don't have the resources to compete effectively for donors in the first place.

I wonder how this SaaS "subscription" giving model would work for non profits that don't have a humanitarian mission. The model seems well suited to open source projects or advocacy groups.