Recurring Giving 101: A Guide to Implementing Your Program
Advancements in technology, like artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile giving campaigns, are transforming how nonprofits connect with supporters and collect donations. However, the core purpose of these fundraising asks hasn’t changed: Nonprofits need reliable, dependable funding to achieve financial sustainability.
This is where recurring donations come into play. Statistics show that the number of donors who give consistently and the amount of revenue raised from this type of contribution are on the rise! The average recurring donor gives nearly $950, and the average retention rate for recurring donors is 77%. In other words, these donors don’t just give generously—they’re in it for the long haul.
Clearly, recurring giving plays a significant role in helping nonprofits like yours grow and thrive. However, it’s up to you to encourage these gifts and make it easy for donors to sign up. Let’s explore how to implement a recurring giving program at your nonprofit.
What is Recurring Giving?
Recurring giving is a method of donating to a nonprofit in which donors contribute a set amount of money regularly. Most often, recurring giving occurs monthly, but donors can also opt to give at other intervals, like weekly, quarterly, or annually. Double the Donation’s recurring giving guide explains that fundraising software automates these payments to make participating more convenient for the donor.
How to Create a Recurring Giving Page
To facilitate recurring gifts, you must enable donors to make their initial gift, opt-in to the program, and provide their payment information. Incorporate these elements into your donation page in these three key steps:
1. Invest in or Upgrade Your Fundraising Software
Your nonprofit might already invest in fundraising software for specific events or campaigns, like auctions or crowdfunding initiatives. Or, maybe you tackle each fundraiser on your own, handling tasks manually.
Whether you’re selecting a platform for the first time or evaluating your current tech stack, check to see if your fundraising tools support recurring giving. To support recurring giving, your fundraising software must:
- Integrate with your CRM so that you can track donor information and giving schedules
- Support various recurring gift frequencies, allowing donors to give according to their preferences
- Offer secure payment processing to protect donor information each time their payments are automatically processed
The right platform will also simplify implementing a recurring giving program alongside your other campaigns. For example, Snowball Fundraising recommends encouraging donors to donate repeatedly through text-to-give fundraising. This makes it easier than ever for donors to sign up for recurring contributions because it eliminates needing a desktop or laptop.
2. Customize Your Page
Most donors opt-in to recurring gifts via your donation page, so you must make a compelling request for their continued support there. When donors arrive on your page, they should find giving convenient, understand the potential impact of their gift, and feel assured that they’re supporting the right organization. You can ensure a positive user experience by:
- Simplifying the giving form. Your entire donation form should be mobile-friendly and user-friendly, especially any fields related to recurring giving. Use simple checkboxes or dropdown menus to encourage donors to opt in—the fewer clicks it takes to sign up, the better.
- Tying gift amounts to tangible impacts. Suggest donation amounts and tie them to specific achievements to showcase the potential impact of a donor’s recurring gift. For example, an animal shelter might specify that a monthly donation of $20 allows the organization to purchase treats for all the animals in their care. A $50 monthly gift might cover the cost of food for two dogs each month, and a $100 monthly gift might go toward various medical costs.
- Offering multiple giving tiers. A wide range of giving tiers can also make recurring gifts more accessible to donors with limited budgets.
- Adding your branding. Incorporate your logo, brand colors, and fonts into your donation page. Your brand elements reassure donors that they’re donating to the right organization and remind them of the mission their gift will support.
Remember to keep your donation page as straightforward as possible. After all, you don’t want to distract donors from finishing what they came to do—commit to continuously supporting your mission.
3. Tailor Your Recurring Giving Messaging
Think about your audience. How do they prefer to give? How often do they currently give to your nonprofit? Segment donors according to their activity, then craft messaging that is relevant to their current involvement.
For example, if you’re following up after a fundraising event, discuss your recurring giving program as an additional way to get involved, and remember to highlight your gratitude for the impact the recipient has already made by attending your event.
Here, you can also emphasize the impact of recurring gifts and explain how they help you sustain your mission. Highlight additional incentives for recurring giving, such as perks associated with specific giving tiers.
3 Tips to Market Your Recurring Giving Program
A key step in implementing your recurring giving program is advertising the opportunity to potential donors. Keep these three tips in mind to capture donors’ attention most effectively:
1. Use Email Marketing
This can be a standalone email campaign asking donors to sign up for recurring giving, or you can set aside a section of your current email newsletter to discuss the opportunity. The latter option provides more flexibility for donors who are on the fence. For example, they may be hesitant to commit to recurring gifts but excited to hear that they can still support your nonprofit by attending your upcoming auction fundraiser.
2. Leverage Social Media
Mobile communication is undeniably effective at engaging donors because it reaches them right where they are: on their mobile devices. To this end, your nonprofit may already use tactics like QR codes or text messaging for engagement.
Similarly, social media channels offer numerous ways to capture donors’ attention and encourage them to take action. On average, people spend over two hours on social media each day, making it a surefire way to put your recurring giving program in front of supporters.
Eye-catching infographics and visually-driven stories can effectively spotlight the power of recurring giving on social media. For example, a picture of the school supplies your nonprofit can purchase for underserved communities with a monthly $10 donation is more compelling than simply providing a list of those supplies on your donation page.
3. Boost Your Website’s Visibility
Since your donation page lives on your nonprofit’s website, it only makes sense to point potential donors back to your website. Google’s Ad Grant program is a useful tool for this, as it grants eligible nonprofits $10,000 worth of free ad credits, which can be used to create and display search engine ads.
Research Google Ad Grants to learn more about the program’s rules, restrictions, and application process. If your nonprofit qualifies, you can use this resource to draw attention to your donation page and recurring gift information.
Special Note of Caution
It can cause terrible problems when an organization sends out a direct mail, email or other broad impersonal appeal asking for a recurring gift from a Principal Gift or Leadership Gift Donor. Because there can be misunderstandings which cause a donor who is giving $50,000 per month to reduce their monthly contribution to $5,000 per month because of confusion caused by the wording. For this reason, many institutional charitable organizations do not allow anyone to communicate with donors at a certain level (be it $25,000, $50,000 or 100,000 or whatever) without express approval from the CEO or the Chief Development Officer. Not even to send a newsletter without speaking to leadership. Save yourself that trauma; clear it with the top officials in your organization before you run that risk. Good luck and be well.
Thoughtfully plan your recurring giving program before implementing it, considering details such as the target giving levels to promote and which donors are most likely to upgrade. With detailed planning, the right fundraising tools, and an effective marketing strategy, your nonprofit can prompt donors to become committed supporters of your mission.