Loyalty isn’t reserved just for best friends and golden retrievers. In the world of fundraising, nonprofits seek devoted team members, volunteers, partners and donors who continue to show up for them day after day. Once supporters make themselves known, how can we get them to stay and to help nonprofits achieve a sustainable future?
Recurring donations bring both stability and growth, among many reasons why every nonprofit should prioritize monthly giving. But once you've gotten a donor to commit to a monthly gift, how do you keep them committed to that gift each month?
We've outlined a few strategies for you so that your monthly donors choose you time after time, despite life’s challenges.
Let’s start with ideas on how to spark conversations with your monthly donors and how to develop that relationship.
Create tailored digital content for monthly donors
Segmentation helps nonprofits understand and cater to specific audiences within donor files. Developing specialized content for your supporters who give regularly can help keep them engaged and giving.
Houston Food Bank has created a specific sub-brand for their monthly donors, called “Faithful Friends.” Their team creates monthly cultivation pieces that focus on updating this community on the impact of their gifts and on current events and offering deeper dives into programming their ongoing support helps sustain.
Watch the video below to see this retention program in action.
By seeing how their continued aid changes lives for the better, monthly donors are inspired to keep giving and to grow their trust in your organization and mission.
Curious about leveling up your recurring donations? Look to direct mail.
Use direct mail appeals to cultivate sustainers
“No ask, no harm” is a popular belief among direct mail (DM) fundraisers because some don’t want to ask too much of their monthly donors. However, we’d like to challenge this. Sustainers are some of your most committed supporters and may give an extra gift from time to time.
When working with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), we saw that, over four years, the donors who made one-time gifts in addition to their monthly donations also increased their recurring amount 17% more than pure sustainers. On recurring revenue, we found that those donors who gave in different ways ― hybrid donors ― were 36% more valuable than their pure counterparts.
Direct mail appeals can help you foster your relationship with your monthly donors and encourage more giving from this dedicated group. In the long term, hybrid sustainers make for a robust and valuable audience ― open to showing your mission extra support.
Sustainers come in different forms, so different options might help them stick around.
Broaden your definition of “monthly”
Monthly giving doesn’t have to follow a calendar to a tee. Sustainers may be more likely to keep giving on a quarterly or bi-monthly basis. Four or six gifts a year may seem more feasible than 12.
To make this ask unique to your organization, consider tying it to regular happenings in your community. Try pulling inspiration from your org’s birthday, national holidays and more.
If you’ve lost some sustainers, there’s a way to get them back.
Reactivate sustainers via peer-to-peer texting
Using a peer-to-peer (P2P) texting platform, you can send a personalized message to reactivate monthly lapsed sustainers (0-24-month-lapsed monthly donors).
Our client Feeding South Dakota recently tried this and saw a 3% renewal rate, which will drive 124% ROI when looking at annual revenue. A well-timed and well-placed message can motivate sustainers to give again.
Last but not least, you’ll want to prepare your team and your donors for big transitions.
Ensure a smooth transition when switching tech platforms
Our friends at Heller Consulting walk us through the steps for a seamless donor experience.
- Set expectations – Within your internal team, accept that some attrition is normal.
- Communicate with vendors – Collaborate with legacy and new vendors.
- Engage donors directly – If token migration isn’t possible, reach out to donors with a fresh ask and updated link.
- Consider a data update – Use this time as an opportunity to update status or IDs in your database.
- Reach out to expired cardholders – Clean up your files and re-engage lapsed recurring donors.
The key to sustainability is maintaining it. Whether through texting or tailoring content, retaining monthly donors can take many forms, and there are multiple pathways to consistency and growth. Reach out to us if you’d like to amp up your retention efforts, and find more monthly giving resources here.
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