Build Institutional Resilience With Recurring Gifts

Recurring giving. Sustainable giving. Monthly giving.

Whatever you want to call it, if you don’t offer such a program — or if you have one but don’t promote it very much — what are you waiting for? 

During the COVID pandemic or another crisis with negative economic implications, recurring gifts provide steady, reliable income.

The vast majority of donors who give automatically via credit card or bank transfer on a regular basis often give more over time, and they rarely cancel their gifts. 

Over the summer, I took an informal poll on LinkedIn to find out if recurring gift donors had reduced or canceled their payments during the first six months of the pandemic. 

Here’s how 28 fundraising leaders at nonprofits across the country responded:

• 82% of them said “not at all or just a few” donors had stopped their recurring gift payments.

• 14% said “less than half” of their donors had canceled recurring gifts.

• 4% said “half or more” had stopped giving on a recurring basis.

This is great news. And it’s further evidence for why recurring gifts should be a high priority.

In fact, it should be the default on your online gift form.

If recurring gifts appear below the one-time annual giving option, or if (gasp!) you have to click another link to drop down additional fields, you’re doing a disservice to your organization’s long-term financial health and to your donors by making it harder to give this way.

In addition to making it easier for people to give regularly, here are three messages you can use in your recurring gift promotions:

• “You can increase your impact by making payments in smaller increments that add up to larger gifts over time.”

• “It’s a great option if you’re concerned about the environment because we’ll send fewer print appeals.”

• “It only takes a few minutes to set up your gift, but the good feeling that comes from making a difference over the long term is lasting.”