How to Attract Recurring Donors
Aren’t recurring donations simply lovely? Not only are you getting consistent donations each month, but you also have a foundation of regular supporters (a.k.a “sustainers”) behind those donations. There’s a greater feeling of not only secured finances, but also secured support when you have recurring donors. So, how do you attract more of these individuals?
Attraction in Action
It may be daunting to hear, but the truth is that recurring donors are rare and hard to come by. HOWEVER, once you get a donor to sign up as a recurring donor, you have successfully attained one of the most valuable assets to your organization. And it’s a big deal to get someone to become a recurring donor. Typically a donor will only sign up for recurring donations with a limited number of orgs (possibly only one!), so if they choose you, you’re doing something right!
A major part of attracting recurring donors is how you emphasize the importance of your nonprofit’s cause. The more you believe in its importance and put forth the effort to let the right people know how important it is, the greater your chances are of attracting people who want to continuously give to your organization.
Are you reaching out to people who are likely advocates of your cause? Are you making it clear on your social media channels, website (and even during your events and campaigns) that what you’re working toward is critically important? If your cause helps provide food to those in need, for example, are you sharing current data on how many people are affected by this? Are you sharing personal impact stories of the people your nonprofit efforts have helped? Are you letting your community know exactly how much funds are needed to make an impact, and if so, are you doing this on a regular basis?
Recurring Donation Option
Making recurring donations a readily available option on your donation form is also crucial. With GiveGab, for instance, this is already an option that can be selected by donors when making an online donation via the platform. Without the option there, it’s very unlikely that a donor will reach out to inquire about how they can sign up for recurring donations.
Power of Choice
Giving your donors the power to choose more specifically what their donations are contributing to has been shown to increase the number of people willing to donate in the first place. This point alluding to restricted funds might make nonprofit admins like yourself grit your teeth, but hear us out… if you know that a large percentage of donors are more likely to continue donating if they get to choose where the funds go, isn’t it worth giving them this option?
Your Cause is Worthy of Recurring Donors
You already know that what your nonprofit stands for is important, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article. Getting more recurring donors will only help your mission, so ask yourself if the prior action steps are something you can start to implement. The sooner, the better. You can do it!
