The Most Important Window to Convert Sustainers
For nonprofit fundraisers, the ideal donor is one who gives faithfully month after month, year after year. They are bought into the cause and they give on a recurring basis.
However, for most charities, most donors do not start as recurring. Like so many others, they give a single gift in response to some sort of catalyst – an ask from a friend, a disaster, a moving appeal.
It’s on nonprofit leaders then to identify the right time and method to invite these single-gift donors into recurring, sustainable giving.
But when is the best time to invite a new donor to commit to a recurring gift?
The answer is unwaveringly clear – in the first 30 days.
The Critical Window
By far, the most likely time for a single-gift donor to convert to recurring is in the first 30 days following their first gift. The next most likely time is from days thirty to sixty. After sixty days, conversion falls off significantly.
My hypothesis is that this critical window for converting donors to give recurring after a first gift is due to a couple of factors.
Interest: The height of donor interest in a cause is typically when they make the initial significant decision to support that cause. They are the most open to the organization's mission and are most likely to take subsequent steps to reinforce their belief in and support for it.
Inertia: Like many things in life, patterns are difficult to break once they are set. Similarly, donors tend to settle into patterns of giving – they give at certain times, certain amounts, and certain frequencies. The longer a donor lives out a pattern, the more likely they will stick with it.
Donors tend to continue to give in the same way they initially gave – inertia is a powerful force. If we are going to change the pattern for a donor from one-time to recurring, it’s best to do so upfront before inertia sets in and it becomes harder to influence the behavior.
💡 Takeaway: Organizations that get most of their sustainers from converting existing donors tend to do so within the first thirty to sixty days of acquiring a donor. In these early days, donor interest tends to be high, and giving habits have not yet been formed, making it a perfect window for introducing recurring giving.
The first sixty days represent a critical window where there is not yet an established pattern of giving. You only get one chance to do it right.
What to Do About It – The First 60 Days
Based on my research, three fundamental strategies are important during this critical period in the life of a donor.
Start Early
Set the Tone
Ask Directly and Indirectly
Start Early
Conversion begins before the first gift. The ideal time to start cultivating a recurring gift is before a donor even gives their first single gift. Prospective donors should be aware from the outset that recurring giving is a core part of accomplishing your mission as an organization.
The recurring program should be prominently displayed on your website, featured in communications, and positioned as the critical foundation of loyal donor support upon which you can rely to power your organization’s impact month in and month out.
Set the Tone
During the first thirty days, your mission in onboarding new one-time donors should be twofold—affirming them and inviting them to participate in recurring giving.
The first priority in onboarding is affirming the donor and reporting back on their giving. The most important thing a donor needs before making another gift is closure on the first gift. Express authentic gratitude and clarity on how their gift made a difference.
After affirming new donors, the next priority should be to invite them to consider giving on a recurring basis, multiple times, both directly and indirectly.
Ask Directly and Indirectly
If you do not ask, you will not receive. Donors have limited attention for your communications, so it’s important to be clear and direct.
Start with the difference they’ve made as a new donor. Establish the ongoing need for the organization and how becoming a monthly partner gives us the confidence that we can depend on that money each month so we can focus on the crucial work before us.
I’m a fan of a direct appeal to new donors to stand with the organization in monthly giving. Lay out the need, the ongoing value proposition, and boldly ask the donor to extend their impact and make a difference on an ongoing basis.
Consider the role of all channels in your new donor onboarding process – receipts, email, a new donor welcome package, email, phone, and perhaps ideally, a dedicated sustainer conversion package. Other indirect channels include receipt inserts, website promotions, donation page promotions, paid search and digital media, and secondary calls to action in existing communications such as direct mail, newsletters, and emails.
This topic is far too big for one Wave Report, but I’ve written about it extensively in my upcoming book on growing recurring giving in the subscription economy. Stay tuned for an update on that.
💡 Takeaway: Converting sustainers starts before the first gift – make donors aware of the importance and value of recurring giving everywhere you can. In onboarding new one-time donors, set the tone by affirming donors' decision to stand with the cause and inviting them to have a greater ongoing impact through recurring giving. And consider all channels that can be used in those first 60 days, both direct and indirect.
This is not to say the only time to convert a donor is in the first sixty days. There are other strategies when charities can and should invite donors to convert to sustaining giving – both punctuated conversion efforts targeted to existing donors, and always-on conversion strategies. I’ll cover these in future Wave Reports and in my upcoming book.
Update on the Book
I’m happy to say we are almost ready to reveal the title and cover for the book – stay tuned in the next couple of weeks.
For those of you who are new here, the book is about the rise of sustainable giving – how the subscription economy is transforming recurring giving – and what nonprofits can do to benefit.
In the meantime, would you do me a favor? If this Wave Report was helpful to you, would you consider sharing it with one person you think would benefit from it?
With the book coming out early next year, I want to get the word out to as many leaders as I can – leaders who stand to transform how they fund and grow their mission.
Your willingness to forward these Wave Reports along means so much to me. It might only take one minute, but it means the world. Thank you. 🙏
Until next week… Surfs Up! 🌊
- Dave
About the Author | Dave Raley
Consultant, speaker, and writer Dave Raley is the founder of Imago Consulting, a firm that helps non-profits and businesses create profitable growth through sustainable innovation. He’s the author of a weekly trendspotting report called The Wave Report, and the co-founder of the Purpose & Profit Podcast — a show about the ideas at the intersection of nonprofit causes and for-profit brands.
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