How to Thank, Retain, and Upgrade Recurring Donors

Meaningful community connections are the heartbeat of successful fundraising, and recurring giving offers a powerful way to deepen donor engagement. With sincere thanks and thoughtful donor retention strategies, nonprofits can transform one-time donors into monthly supporters while increasing gift amounts.

Recurring donor retention strategies are critical, especially following major giving days like Giving Tuesday and December 31. These periods of heightened generosity often precede significant donor drop-off, typically due to a lack of meaningful connection or perceived value from the organization. January exemplifies this risk, with monthly recurring donors 1.4x more likely to lapse than other months. 

To prevent new-year churn and year-round risks, we’ve compiled this comprehensive guide to recurring donor stewardship. Below, find key ways to thank these loyal supporters, promote upgrades, and elevate your engagement and outreach practices to safeguard your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts and long-term sustainability.

Why thanking recurring donors is crucial for nonprofits

Recurring donors are worth the investment to acquire and retain. According to Classy from GoFundMe’s platform data, 25% of all recurring donors return to give an additional one-time donation within the same year. This showcases the magnetic appeal of ongoing support and exemplifies donors’ willingness to become highly engaged when it’s clear what their contributions do for your cause.

Our Recurring Donor Sentiment Report depicts why donors opt for sustained giving: 56% believe it facilitates continuous support, 47% feel their contribution wields a more profound impact, and 38% experience a deeper connection with the organization.

Beyond these compelling statistics, the true impact shines as 84% of recurring donors become champions of your cause, extending their involvement through volunteering, additional donations, event attendance, advocacy, and peer-to-peer fundraising initiatives.

8 ways to engage recurring donors to prevent churn

To increase your retention rate, it’s critical to engage new donors quickly to make them feel like valued members of your community. Here are eight approaches to get you started.

1. Send timely and creative thank-you’s

When donors commit to monthly giving, prompt acknowledgment is key. Classy offers automatic, customizable thank-you receipts sent to donors following each transaction, ensuring they feel appreciated.

However, thanking donors in a way that builds stronger relationships goes beyond timeliness. Get creative with your recurring donor thank-you letters to add personal touches that supporters remember. For example, you can:

• Include a thank-you video message in your emails.
• Send a handwritten thank-you card with a sticker or other swag.
• Ask your board members to sign your thank-you letters with personal notes.
• Mail quarterly or annual gratitude updates summarizing supporters’ contributions to date.

For additional ideas, check out our blog 16 Creative Ways to Write Meaningful Donation Thank-You Letters. 

2. Email a welcome series

For first-time recurring donors, develop a comprehensive welcome series that makes them feel valued and connected from the start. Here’s a sample timeline to use for your email sequence:

• Day of donation: Thank-you email. Send an initial thank-you message celebrating the new donor’s generosity and the impact their recurring gift will make.
• 1-3 days later: Second personal thank-you. Send a follow-up note or video sharing why monthly donors are so crucial to your cause. 
• 1 week later: Transparency message. Communicate timely, relevant information about where the donor’s gift will go during a specific period—this month, quarter, or year.
• 2 weeks later: Impact story. Highlight the difference your work makes, with first-person testimonials adding a heartfelt touch. Get creative—for example, an animal shelter could write from the perspective of a rescued cat or dog.
• 1 month later: Anniversary message. Record a video of your team throwing confetti or celebrating the donor’s second installment in a fun, unique way. Embed it in an email about how much their continued generosity means to your cause.

3. Share real impact stories

Keep recurring donors updated on your latest initiatives. Share regular stories showcasing the tangible impact of their gifts on beneficiaries’ lives. You can:

• Include personal notes from staff members or beneficiaries within your community.
• Send annual reports that connect personal success stories to impact data.
• Post short videos on social media with behind-the-scenes footage.

To tell memorable stories, check out these psychology-based storytelling tips.

4. Acknowledge anniversaries and special days

Use your customer relationship manager to track important donor milestones, such as their giving anniversaries and birthdays, and celebrate them with thoughtful emails and thank-you notes. This simple gesture expresses gratitude and creates a sense of belonging. The attention to detail communicates to donors how deeply you care about them and appreciate their support.

To add a little something extra, try including a QR code that links to a video update about your organization’s work or an Instagram post that shares an impact story.

5. Deliver VIP updates

Keep recurring donors in the loop with exclusive monthly updates, making them feel like valued members of an insider community. For example, you can:

• Share programmatic updates made possible by recurring donors’ support.
• Ask for donors’ feedback in special surveys. 
• Announce upcoming events before inviting the public.
• Host webinars and other donor appreciation events that educate and entertain attendees.

The sense of importance and connectedness associated with these exclusive communications can fuel ongoing donor loyalty.

6. Partner with a corporate sponsor

Corporate partnerships can enhance the value of being a recurring donor by offering additional benefits, such as:

• Custom apparel in collaboration with a fashion brand
• Discounted meals or attractions at local businesses
• Unique branded swag or other donated gifts

Exclusive offers from your corporate sponsors can help attract new members to your recurring donor community and make existing donors feel special.

7. Use preferred communication channels

Perfect your stewardship strategy by identifying how each recurring donor wants to hear from you. Some may enjoy direct mail or phone calls, while others are more active on email and social media. Ask for their preferences in your welcome series.

For those active on mobile devices, collect Instagram handles, LinkedIn URLs, and cell phone numbers to leverage the power of text messages or social media direct messages (DMs). These more casual outreach channels help you: 

• Provide quick updates.
• Express gratitude.
• Ask for approval to feature donors on your social media.
• Maintain an open line of communication.

Texts and DMs generate push notifications, making them a powerful tool to increase donor engagement. 

8. Promote other ways to get involved

An effective recurring giving program isn’t just about getting donations. It’s also about fostering a community of dedicated changemakers. Strengthen recurring donors’ connection to your cause through ongoing engagement within and outside of your recurring program.

You can get recurring donors involved with other parts of your organization through:

• Volunteer opportunities
• Fundraising events, like a benefit concert, charity run, or annual gala
• Peer-to-peer fundraising 
• Updates on other campaigns
• Interactions through social media
• Regular, tailored communications
• VIP experiences and opportunities

7 appeal strategies for upgrading recurring gifts

Once you’ve established genuine bonds with recurring donors, begin stewarding them toward increasing their donation amounts using donor data to identify loyal supporters who may be ready. Consider how long they’ve been involved and in what ways they’ve engaged with your nonprofit. Then, use these seven tips to make your upgrade appeals more effective.

1. Name your recurring giving levels

Giving your monthly giving program a name helps create a sense of exclusivity and community that attracts supporters. You can elevate this by naming different giving tiers for added appeal.

For example, supporters of an environmental restoration nonprofit could claim the following titles for the corresponding minimum monthly donation amounts:

• $5: Seed
• $25: Sprout
• $50: Sapling
• $100: Tree
• $150: Forest

This adds playful creativity and opportunities to match impact messaging for each of the named levels. It also helps donors feel more connected to your cause through their special titles.

2. Connect giving levels with real-world impact

A monthly giver can lose enthusiasm if they don’t see the results of their generosity. However, linking donations with specific results helps supporters visualize how their monthly donations create tangible change. Doing so can also inspire them to reach for a higher level.

Highlight the specific impact of different giving levels as you steward recurring donors toward upgrades. Using the same example from above, this could look like:

• Seed: A $5 monthly donation helps us plant five trees.
• Sprout: A $25 monthly donation supports a weekly litter pickup crew.
• Sapling: A $50 monthly donation buys needed soil and supplies for tree planting.
• Tree: A $100 monthly donation funds annual controlled burns for wildfire prevention.
• Forest: A $150 monthly donation covers a week’s worth of staff time for in-field habitat restoration work.

3. Offer enticing member benefits at different levels

Part of creating a community of monthly givers involves offering them a seamless, engaging, and intuitive donation experience. Offer compelling perks for each giving level to encourage supporters to upgrade and gain additional benefits.

Recurring donor benefits can include things like:

• Regular exclusive updates on your impact
• Branded swag or surprise gifts
• Invitations to monthly or quarterly progress calls
• An annual lunch with your leadership team
• Free entry to your signature event
• Discounts from local businesses

Remember that donors want their recurring gifts to support programs in clear ways, so the best benefits you can offer are evidence of your success.

4. Give public shoutouts for recent upgrades

In addition to personal thank-you messages, visible displays of gratitude drive home the importance of recurring donations to your wider community.

Consider highlighting one of your recurring givers each month on social media. This can inspire others who see it to become recurring donors while making the selected individual feel special. The donor can share why they choose to support your nonprofit and re-post the feature on their page.

Another great way to acknowledge recurring givers is by listing their names on your nonprofit donation page. Creating a “wall of fame” for your recurring donors allows you to recognize their partnership, regardless of their monthly contribution amount.

5. Run a special upgrades campaign

Make an annual push for recurring gift upgrades. You can do this by creating a dedicated campaign with a clear goal, such as the number of upgrades or the total amount to raise from increased gift amounts.

Then, send a targeted email series promoting the campaign to current members of your recurring community. Remind them of the big impact that a few extra dollars per month can make over time.

6. Highlight options for giving frequency

Some supporters may want to upgrade their donation amount but prefer a different frequency. Classy offers donors several recurring frequencies so they can easily select the best option for them. Remind recurring donors that beyond monthly donations, they can opt to give:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Biweekly
• Quarterly
• Annually

This may help supporters better budget their contributions and meet their goals for giving.

7. Personalize your appeal

As with your thank-you messages and other stewardship touchpoints, personalize your upgrade appeal. Including a handwritten note or short video message directed to the recurring donor can make your appeal more memorable.

Also, personalize your ask amount. Your donor management system can help you identify who among your recurring givers may be ready to become a major donor or who is likely to bump from $5 to $15 per month. 

Tools like Classy’s Intelligent Ask Amounts can further streamline this personalization by using machine learning to predict what a donor will most likely give based on their unique giving profile and customize an ask to that individual.

Thank recurring donors early and often to promote retention and upgrade gifts

A robust monthly giving program not only builds a community of engaged and invested donors but also creates a reliable stream of revenue that allows you to make long-term plans. Recruiting, retaining, and nurturing recurring donors is critical for fundraising success. 

Let your recurring donors know how impactful their donations are to your cause and do everything you can to keep that sentiment in mind throughout the year. Their involvement has the potential to transform your organization’s goals into reality.

Copy editor: Ayanna Julien