Soapbox Engage Blog

Before the advent of online donations, monthly or recurring donations were quite a burden for both the donor and recipient. It involved convincing supporters to mail a check or call your organization to donate by credit card over the phone regularly.

Now online fundraising systems make recurring giving convenient and accessible for nonprofits and donors. No more writing and mailing checks or making donations over the phone. People appreciate scheduling automatic withdrawal donations like they enroll in automatic bill pay programs.

Recurring giving programs have practically become a necessary fundraising strategy to cultivate more stable year-round revenue streams. Now that it's become more accessible and practical, it's time for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes to add a recurring giving program to their fundraising strategy. Let's explore some of the top benefits of recurring giving programs for nonprofits!

Table of Contents

• 5 benefits of recurring giving programs for nonprofits
• 4 tips for establishing a strong recurring giving program

5 Benefits of Recurring Giving Programs for Nonprofits

We spoke with some industry experts. Here are five benefits most nonprofits can expect to enjoy when adding a recurring giving program to their overall fundraising plan (in no particular order).

1. Recurring giving programs can boost donor retention

Many studies reveal that donors who enroll in recurring giving programs tend to stick around much longer than donors who do not participate in such programs. A monthly giving program can nearly double your donor retention rate by some estimates! That can result in a massive boost to your overall revenue.

2. Recurring giving can increase the lifetime value of a donor

Many donors are eager to give generously but might not have a large sum accessible for a one-time donation. Recurring giving programs allow them to break their contribution into smaller, more manageable chunks.

For example, it might be challenging to write a $1,000 check, but giving $100 each month feels more feasible–and that's a $200 increase compared to that $1,000 one-time gift!

Additionally, monthly donors tend to give longer than one-time donors. One study revealed that people who give on a recurring basis usually give for five to seven years. Imagine the impact of a donor giving $100 each month for seven years compared to the impact of a single $1,000 donation!

3. Boost your budget stability with recurring giving programs

Fundraising campaigns like year-end giving or Giving Tuesday can bring in vital funds. Surprise donations are lovely. However, monthly donations give your organization some consistency and predictability in your funding.

A recurring giving program can free up time and energy to focus on donor care and retention because you won't need to spend as much time pursuing new donors throughout the year.

Over time, a well-established recurring giving program can help you with long-term planning and decision-making. Because revenue from recurring giving is more predictable than one-time gifts, it's easier to plan and prepare for major projects, expenses, and expansions.

4. Recurring giving options are attractive, especially to younger donors

Making a donation should be easy and convenient. Monthly or recurring giving programs enable people to schedule their gifts days, weeks, and months in advance without the hassle of revisiting a donation site or mailing a check.

This automated giving option is especially attractive to millennials and younger donors who are accustomed to subscription-based products, services, and billing. Recurring giving programs also allow people to upgrade, downgrade, or edit their donations anytime, relieving you and your team from some of the bookkeeping and paperwork pressures.

5. Improve donor engagement and loyalty with recurring giving

Communicating with recurring donors is less focused on finances, enabling you to share more about how their gifts are impacting the mission. Regular interaction about progress, programs, and impact improves donor engagement and loyalty.

Plus, sustaining donors enjoy the "feel good" moment of giving throughout the year, deepening their loyalty and commitment.

As donors learn more about your work, monthly donors are more likely to attend events and champion your organization to their network (helping expand your donor base).

4 Tips for Establishing a Strong Recurring Giving Program

Now that you're convinced of the value of recurring giving programs let's look at some practical steps to building an effective recurring giving program for your nonprofit.

1. Start with specific and measurable goals

Begin by clearly identifying what you'd like to accomplish with your recurring giving program. Of course, you'll want to raise more money, but what percentage of your overall budget would you like a recurring giving program to cover? How many monthly donors will it require to reach that goal?

Next, begin to identify how monthly giving will benefit your program and mission. Articulating these advantages internally will help you cast a vision for recurring giving to potential donors.

It's critical to articulate what your monthly donors will help you accomplish. It's one thing to convince someone to make a one-time donation. It's quite another task to convince a donor of the value of monthly gifts.

Will recurring gifts benefit a specific program or purpose? What is the tangible result a monthly donor can expect? What do you anticipate will be the impact of each donation and the cumulative impact each year?

2. Get specific with program details

Now that you've got a sense of your goals begin working out the specific details of your new recurring giving program.

What will you call your recurring giving program? While the name isn't the most critical part of your program, it can help strengthen the brand and show your donors they're part of something unique and impactful.

Create a page on your website for your monthly giving program so potential supporters can gather all the essential information in one place. Include testimonials and photos of current monthly donors. This is a powerful way to build trust and credibility with current and potential supporters.

3. Promote your recurring giving program

Just like you need to invite people to donate to a standard fundraising campaign, you need to promote your recurring giving program.

Once your recurring giving page is up and running on your website, send emails and advertise the new program on your social media pages and other communication avenues. Don't forget to include monthly giving as an option on all your donation forms.

Consider making personal phone calls to follow up email invitations. They add a personal touch and build trust. Brief phone conversations also allow potential supporters to ask questions.

One recruitment strategy could be to contact all your lapsed donors to see if they would be interested in enrolling in your monthly giving program. One great question to ask lapsed donors is, "what is the biggest obstacle that keeps you from giving consistently?" Their answers might be very insightful and informative!

Promoting your recurring giving program is easier than ever with Soapbox Engage Donations App new “recurring giving upsell” feature. With this feature, when a donor makes a one time donation, they will receive a popup message that encourages them to make a smaller, sustaining donation. It’s very simple to use! Watch the video below to see how it works:

4. Establish suggested giving amounts for your recurring giving program

When establishing a recurring giving program, it can be tough to know what size gifts to ask for. While it might be tempting to just copy suggested donation amounts that other nonprofits use, you want to ensure you're sensitive to the giving abilities of your unique audience.

One approach is, to begin with your average online gift amount and use 15% of that number for your lowest suggested monthly giving amount.

For example, if your average online donation is $200, a reasonable baseline suggested amount for your recurring giving program would be $30 and step up from there. So, your recommended online monthly gift amounts might be $15, $30, $50, $125.

Don't be afraid to experiment with suggested giving amounts to see what works best. Some nonprofits even tailor the recurring giving appeals to different segments of supporters. A $15 monthly donation is a reasonable request for a new supporter, but that same appeal will likely cost you a lot of money if you send it to a major donor currently giving hundreds of dollars annually.

While there are many other benefits to adding a recurring giving program to your overall fundraising strategy, we hope you're convinced it's worth the time and effort! Set yourself up to conquer your fundraising goals in 2022 and beyond by establishing a recurring giving program for your nonprofit.

 

Here are three more resources to keep your fundraising efforts going strong.

• 8 Top Online Donation Software Options for Nonprofits: Nonprofit professionals know how essential online donation software is. But it comes in all shapes and sizes, and online donation software options are designed to address a wide variety of needs. What every donation tool has in common is that it can help your nonprofit raise more money by streamlining the donation process. This blog walks through eight top online donation software options for nonprofits to consider.
• Increasing Your Donation Page Conversion Rate: 9 Smart Tips: How do you ensure your donation page is as effective as possible? A higher conversion rate for your online fundraising page means more money for your nonprofit. This blog offers nine strategic tips to increase the effectiveness of your online fundraising forms.
• How to Write the Perfect Nonprofit Thank You Email: How can you stand out from your nonprofit competition with all the different calls-to-action and donation appeals? A well-timed, heartfelt thank you email that shares value with your donor and shows appreciation really does go a long way. Check out this blog for some practical strategies for writing effective thank you emails!