New research demonstrates the potential for nonprofit organizations to secure even more funding in the long term while creating sustainable donor relationships through monthly giving.
Recurring giving is preferred by donors and organizations alike. It enables a predictable source of revenue for nonprofits while giving donors added convenience, since they don’t have to manually donate every time they want to show support for causes they care about.
The time is now to focus your efforts on retaining donors, and recurring giving is the way to go.
With a whopping 57% of donors already enrolled in a monthly giving program, your nonprofit can provide supporters the ability to give repeat donations by including several recurring donation intervals right on your donation form.
And, convert those one-time donors into long-term supporters with upsell tools like Donorbox’s Recurring Donations Upsell feature!
Here are some ways to transform your one-time donors into recurring givers:
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- Acknowledge every gift: Thank your donors every time they donate to your cause. Automated donation receipts and donor management tools streamline this process and minimize your workload so you can encourage consistent giving by acknowledging every donation – and turn one-time donors into long-term givers.
- Demonstrate your impact: In addition to donor acknowledgement, include a short story or video of a beneficiary to showcase the impact of donors’ gifts. More donors want to know how their donations are being used, and this establishes trust and transparency between you and your donors.
- Offer incentives for one-time donors: Make donors aware that they can manage their recurring plan at any time, offer multiple recurring donation intervals to appeal to different donors’ preferences, and use social proof (with donors’ consent) to acknowledge your supporters.
- Create a monthly giving program: And make it visible! Use clear calls to action in your communications to encourage signups, promote your monthly giving program in your newsletters and email signatures, showcase the impact of recurring gifts on social media, and add a button on your website.
- Upgrade your fundraising technology: A recurring donation program starts with the right fundraising and donor management tools. Platforms like Donorbox make it easy to create donation pages and forms that offer multiple recurring intervals, short descriptions that showcase the impact of each gift, goal meters, our Recurring Upsell feature, tax-deductible receipts, and more.
- Upsell at in-person events: Leverage in-person contactless fundraising tools like Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, which allows you to add recurring donation intervals to your in-person campaign and upsell donors on the spot.
Beyond that, engaging with your donors is equally important to encourage consistent giving and boost donor retention.
Remember, not every communication should be an ask. Keep your supporters informed and show them how much they mean to your organization by inviting them to your in-person events, conducting surveys to gather their feedback, and sharing newsletters to keep them in the loop. Acknowledge their first donation anniversary or when they’ve updated their contact information.
Utilize an effective and powerful fundraising platform like Donorbox that supports monthly giving, offers multiple donation intervals on donation forms, easy upsell features, user-friendly donor management tools, and streamlined recurring plan management via the Donor Portal.
Ready to unlock sustainable growth and nurture those all-important relationships with your donors? Download our 2025 monthly giving insights report, and give this video a watch to see why recurring donations are the key to donor loyalty.
