3 Tech Tips for a Successful Sustainer Giving Program

Think about how many subscriptions you have today. It’s probably a lot — everything from content streaming services to the software you use. There’s a reason (or, really, many reasons) that subscriptions are so prevalent these days. They provide a convenient and budget-friendly option that allows the customer to charge a monthly fee to a credit card or bank account and pay for a product or service over time versus in one annual lump payment. 

As people have become more accustomed to subscriptions in paying for goods and services, they look to make donations in a similar way. Several stats shed light on this trend. 

According to M+R's "Benchmarks" report, revenue from monthly giving increased by 6% and accounted for 31% of all online revenue in 2023, despite a decline in average online revenue of 1%. And while one-time gifts might seem larger than monthly gifts, monthly givers give more over time than their one-time donor counterparts, so it’s not surprising that in the NonProfit PRO’s “2023 Nonprofit Leadership Impact Study,” 30% of respondents’ top priority for 2023 was to increase recurring gifts. 

So, how can you boost your nonprofit’s fundraising through the power of a sustainer giving program? Here are three tips to help you use technology to support sustaining gift donations.

Related story: 5 Ideas to Gain Donor Loyalty With Sustainer Giving in 2025

1. Get the Right Tech Pieces in Place

To support your sustainer giving program, there are multiple software solutions that you must have in place. Implementing the right technology pieces will help you ask donors to make gifts recurring, process the gifts properly, ensure a smooth donor experience and accurately report on monthly gifts. 

Here are some key technologies to consider for your sustainer giving program.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Also called “constituent relationship management” in the nonprofit world, your CRM system is at the heart of your sustaining gift program. It houses information about your constituents and how they interact with your organization — including everything from transactional data and giving history to information about email engagement, interests, services received and volunteerism.

When it comes to sustainer giving, make sure your CRM system can handle the volume and types of information you need to solicit, process and report on recurring gifts.

Payment Processor

Recurring gifts are typically given via a digital payment method, like credit card or ACH. Your CRM system might require that you use a particular payment processor, so make sure that you understand what payment processor will be used with your CRM system and that it can handle common digital payment options in a secure manner. Also, make sure that it has strong processes for credit card declines, notifications and the ability to enable automated credit card retries. 

Donation Platform

Your donation platform is what powers the online donor experience. It allows you to accept donations through an online donation form. Make sure that you test the donor experience to make sure your donation platform allows you to provide a logical and seamless donor experience.

Email Marketing

Your email marketing capabilities might come from standalone email software or it might be part of your CRM or marketing automation software. No matter what software powers your digital fundraising asks, make sure it allows you to segment your audiences and send them targeted, personalized asks, which are more appealing and impactful than general solicitations.

2. Promote Recurring Donations

There are many ways to convert one-time donors to sustaining donors. Here are some ideas to consider.

Talk About the Benefits of Monthly Giving

Feature information about your sustainer giving program in a prominent place on your website and in your fundraising communications. Let donors and prospects know that this option is convenient and budget-friendly. Also, tell them how recurring donations benefit your organization by providing a steady stream of revenue to support your mission. If you offer a gift for becoming a sustaining giver, be sure to mention that, too.

Add a Monthly Giving Pop-Up to Your Donation Page

As donors complete your donation form, present them with the option to make it a recurring gift, with the convenience of monthly payments charged automatically to their credit card or other digital payment method. This option might require some custom coding on your donation form, but it’s a great way to highlight the sustainer giving option.

Allow Donors to Update Their Information

Give donors an opportunity to donate monthly when they update their profiles in your online donor portal (which is typically powered by your donation platform and integrated with your CRM system) so that they can easily opt in (or out) when they want to. 

Set Up Automatic Receipts

Use your donation platform to automatically send donors receipts to let them know their contributions are being processed each month.

3. Regularly Review Credit Card Expirations

Your sustaining gift donors won’t always remember when their credit cards are expiring. Expired cards lead to declined transactions, which leaves you to follow up with your sustaining donors to update their information — possibly missing out on months of recurring donations in the process. Here are some ways to avoid missing those donations:

• Set up a monthly email campaign to automatically send sustaining donors a reminder that their credit cards will expire soon.
• Remind your sustaining donors via email 60 to 90 days before their credit cards are set to expire to give them time to update their credit card information.
• Create an online portal so that sustaining donors can log in and view/update their sustaining gift information and details.
• Use a credit card updating service that automatically updates sustaining donors’ credit card renewal dates.

Many software products will support these approaches. So, check with your software vendor or software consultant to make sure you have the right technology in place to put these tips to work for your sustainer giving program.  

The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.