Monthly recurring donation programs are a lifeline for nonprofits. With retention rates averaging at a staggering 90%, compared to the overall donor retention average of around 45%, they present a golden opportunity to build financial stability and deepen donor relationships.
Monthly giving inherently appeals to donors because it’s convenient for supporters to set up recurring contributions and requires minimal effort to maintain them. Yet, that convenience alone isn’t always enough to retain donors over the long haul. These programs require nurturing and strategic effort to sustain their success.
To help you get the most out of your program, here are five expert tips to drive retention and maximize impact.
1. Provide personalized impact updates.
Donors want to know that their contributions are making a difference. Personalized updates are your chance to show them the powerful impact of their recurring gifts and recognize their individual contributions to your cause.
Use these ideas to keep donors engaged and inspired:
- Send emails with impact stories and videos showcasing specific beneficiaries. Share compelling narratives about the real difference donors’ support makes. For instance, feature stories about families who now have enough to eat thanks to the support of local food banks and community meal programs. Pair these with visuals like photos or videos to make them even more compelling.
- Provide personal annual impact reports. Break down the collective quantitative and qualitative outcomes of donors’ support. For example, perhaps one donor contributed $1,000 to your nonprofit throughout the year. Show them how their support helped distribute over 100 meals to families in need through community meal programs. To make this data more personal, tell them how one family shared that these meals provided nourishment and stability during a challenging time, demonstrating the profound impact of the donor’s generosity.
- Offer an impact dashboard via your nonprofit’s donor portal. Provide access to digital dashboards where donors can stay updated on the progress of specific initiatives they’re passionate about. Include personalized metrics for each donor, such as a running tally of the number of individuals helped due to their generosity.
Pro tip: Automation tools can help you personalize outreach. Marketing integrations with your CRM can help match donors with relevant updates based on past giving habits, interests, or campaigns they’ve contributed to. Plus, you can stay on top of donor outreach with automated emails personalized with donors’ names and information about their giving histories.
2. Create a monthly giving community.
Giving can feel transactional if there is no sense of connection. By fostering a community around your monthly giving program, you can create a shared purpose and ongoing engagement.
Build your community by offering specific perks to monthly donors, including:
- Exclusive events, such as meet-and-greets with staff, webinars, or virtual Q&As with nonprofit leaders
- Event example: A standing quarterly open Zoom meeting that monthly donors can attend to get program updates and ask impact questions. (By the way, these exclusive events can also be open to other donors, so take a look at what types of events you may already have in place.)
- Seasonal campaigns for monthly donors
- Campaign examples: A spring-themed peer-to-peer fundraising 5K or gala
- Discounts on merchandise and event tickets
- Discount examples: 15% off your merchandise store and early access to event tickets with a 25% discount
- Unique advocacy opportunities: For example, you can use a text-to-donate platform to ask monthly donors to take urgent action to support your mission.
- Example communication: “We’re reaching out to our most dedicated supporters like you for support with an urgent advocacy need. Sign and share our petition now to keep trash out of our local waterways!”
- Behind-the-scenes tours of your nonprofit’s operations
- Tour example: Show monthly donors around your nonprofit’s food sorting facility so they can see the impact of their donations up close.
Pro tip: Use membership management software to streamline communication and organize your community. Bloomerang’s membership software guide recommends looking for a tool that “unites all member data in one convenient location” through features like a member database, automated annual renewals, and multichannel communications.
3. Highlight milestones with perks.
Recognizing a donor’s loyalty over time strengthens retention. Celebrations aren’t just feel-good moments, but strategic touchpoints for donor relationships.
Milestones to recognize include:
- Donating for a certain amount of time, such as six months or five years straight
- Reaching a certain total donation amount, like $1,000 or $5,000
- The anniversary of the donor’s first gift
Offer unique and fun rewards to donors who achieve these goals, such as:
- A branded t-shirt, tote bag, or calendar
- A gift card to a local business or restaurant
- Shout-outs in your monthly newsletter
- Award certificates with pins, stickers, and other small prizes
- Handwritten thank-you letters from staff, volunteers, or beneficiaries
Pro tip: Leverage your nonprofit CRM tool to track milestones through a supporter interaction timeline. This technology helps you stay organized and commemorate key moments, making it easier to personalize rewards and acknowledgments.
4. Plan appreciation campaigns and events.
Intentional appreciation campaigns remind donors why they’re vital to your mission. Plus, research shows that receiving a timely thank-you message is one of the top reasons donors continue giving to nonprofits.
Ideas for meaningful appreciation initiatives include:
- Welcome video for new monthly donors: Create a genuine and heartfelt video that welcomes new members to your monthly giving program. Use it as an opportunity to share your values and express gratitude. Feature clips and sound bites from organizational leaders, staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries.
- Appreciation gala for monthly donors: Host donor appreciation events, such as casual receptions, formal galas, or art events featuring creative works by beneficiaries. Have your staff members speak one-on-one with as many attendees as possible to get to know them and inform them of their positive impact.
- Personalized thank-you messages from beneficiaries. Introduce creativity into your thank-you gestures. For instance, beneficiaries could create paintings, drawings, or poems that convey the direct influence of donor contributions.
Pro tip: Balance appreciation displays with authenticity. Grand gestures of gratitude won’t mean as much if they don’t reflect the core of your organization’s mission.
For example, let’s say your nonprofit offers a local community center for youth to participate in performance arts. You could host a talent show featuring performances by the kids in your programs. Invite supporters to attend, and have your performers write thank-you notes to donors to showcase the impact of their support and foster personal connections.
5. Track key metrics.
You may have heard the phrase, “What gets measured, gets managed.” In the case of monthly giving program retention, this saying rings true. Tracking data enables you to refine your donor retention strategy, improve retention rates, and boost program effectiveness.
Key metrics to track consistently include:
- Monthly giving program retention: Monitor how many donors continue giving month after month and year after year. Compare these numbers to your program goals.
- Email open and click-through rates: These data points demonstrate whether your communication strategy resonates with monthly donors.
- Average monthly gift donation amount: Understand the financial standing of your monthly giving program to identify growth opportunities.
- Total revenue earned from monthly gifts: Track the number of donors who increase their recurring donation amounts after targeted upgrade requests.
- Annual value of those monthly gifts and if you’d like to take it even further, five year value. It’s especially important to share the long-term revenue with those who are less familiar with monthly giving.
Pro tip: Don’t just gather data—act on it. If you notice lower engagement or poor performance for a specific campaign, dig deeper to identify what went wrong. Test new strategies, adjust your messaging, and learn from the results to improve future outreach efforts. Every roadblock is an opportunity to refine your approach.
In summary: Take a donor-first approach to monthly giving management
A thriving monthly giving program puts donors first, building relationships rooted in trust and shared purpose. When you prioritize making donors feel valued and connected, they’ll deepen their commitment to your mission over the long term.
That’s why we emphasize using data insights to understand your donors’ preferences. By tailoring your communications to their interests, you can strengthen their connection to your cause and help your monthly giving program thrive.
