Different types of donors have different motivations, habits, and expectations. As nonprofits aim to retain donor support, they must also consider the nuanced fundraising appeals that will move supporters from one-time gifts to long-term commitment.
After all, CharityEngine’s recurring giving statistics report that monthly donors give an average of $173 more than one-time donors annually (accounting for 31% of all online revenue). If your nonprofit wants to increase donations, converting one-time donors to recurring supporters is the way to do it.
One-time donors may respond better to emotional, urgent appeals, while recurring donors may want to see the impact of their consistent donations over time. Understanding the difference will help your nonprofit curate a targeted appeal that pushes you closer to your fundraising goals.
This article explores how nonprofit organizations can optimize each type of appeal to boost short-term donations and long-term support with strategies to reach your supporters meaningfully.
Messaging
Messaging strategies should include different emotional and motivational triggers that will work best for each group. Here are a couple of differences between messaging that resonates with each:
- One-time donors: This group responds well to urgent and action-oriented asks that hinge on promptness. Speaking to the individual impact of their one-time gift will motivate them to give quickly. Use tones of emotional urgency with an emphasis on a specific need to encourage them to act fast. Consider using a call-to-action with words such as “immediately” and “today.”
- Recurring donors: Recurring donors want to see the long-term impacts of their donations. Approach them with a tone of gratitude for their support and highlight how their gifts have impacted your mission. In your call-to-action for these donors, use a phrase that encourages joining an ongoing community of supporters, such as “Join our community of monthly givers.”
Be sure to identify the goals of your campaigns before launching them to your supporters, and align messaging with these goals for better outcomes. For example, consider the following message for a campaign focused on gathering a large number of donations in a short time:
Don’t wait! With just $5, you can help us reach our fundraising goal before the end of the day!
Now, compare the above messaging to an appeal you might send for a campaign centered on long-term sustainable revenue:
Your loyal support over the past year has made an immeasurable impact on our mission. Will you join us in continuing our work next year by signing up for our recurring giving program?
Design and Format
Your donation form is where supporters convert into donors, so it’s important to optimize it and drive traffic to it. A good donation form hinges on simplicity and optionality, allowing donors to make their donations efficiently with multiple options.
For example, allowing only one payment method on your donation form greatly limits the number of donations your organization could receive, as many supporters choose to make their payments in different ways.
Below are just a few additional features that recurring giving forms require compared to one-time forms:
- Frequency options: Provide options for how often the donor will give. A simple toggle feature can make it easy for one-time donors to sign up for recurring gifts. Then, they should be able to choose whether they want to give monthly, quarterly, or at another frequency that makes sense for them.
- Donation tiers: Consider including a tiering system based on donation amount to encourage supporters to join a community of other donors. This can encourage both one-time and recurring donors to give more, especially if you use enticing names for each tier and offer small perks. For example, add a note like, “Join our Gold Tier for just $10 more and receive monthly impact updates.”
- Monthly impact descriptions: Describe the impact that each donation will have on your mission. For example, explain that a $25 gift buys new treats for the animals in your shelter, while a $50 gift feeds one animal for an entire month. You can attach tangible impacts to both one-time and recurring donations.
Your donation form’s layout should be simple and require minimal scrolling. Only include fields that ask for the essentials, such as contact information and payment information. For recurring gifts, you may need to include additional, flexible field types related to their gift type, such as donation frequency.
Timing and Cadence
According to Getting Attention’s marketing statistics, it can take 18-20 points of contact to reach a new donor for the first time. From there, you’ll continue guiding supporters through the donor journey, and reaching out with the right message is not enough. You must also reach out at the right time to ensure your appeal reaches willing audiences.
Here are a few touchpoints to keep in mind:
- Initial cultivation: Thoughtful donor cultivation strategies can move prospective supporters to make their first gift. In this stage, be careful to introduce prospects to your work and mission without overwhelming them with hefty requests for donations.
- Appeal for one-time gifts: Look at prospects’ responses to your cultivation efforts to determine the best time for an official ask. This may vary depending on the time of year when prospective supporters will be most responsive to your appeals, such as the end of the year or seasonal moments related to your organization’s mission.
- Introduction to recurring giving: After securing an initial gift, a drip campaign is a great way to keep up communications with one-time donors. This campaign keeps your organization top of mind and reintroduces the value and impact that a recurring gift can have.
- Post-donation outreach: Thank-you emails are a great way to show your gratitude and explain how a continued donation can have an even greater impact. This may even move one-time and recurring donors into other forms of engagement, such as volunteering or event attendance.
Segmentation and are great ways to tailor your cadence by donor behavior. For example, segment your audience by age, geographic location, giving history, or interests. Tailor your messaging to each segment to ensure donors are receiving messages that resonate with them.
Automated campaigns are a great way to reduce the manual labor of keeping up with donors according to their different behaviors. By setting up automations that trigger each time a donor exhibits a certain behavior, your organization will be able to maintain the lines of communication.
Donor Journey
One-time donors often come to your organization through a specific campaign, event, or urgent request, and are motivated by emotion or a sense of urgency. Their mindset is to make an immediate difference, and they’ll be motivated by emotional storytelling and a deadline.
On the other hand, your nonprofit will acquire recurring donors through thoughtful donor cultivation strategies. These supporters are shaped by the formation of a relationship where they feel like a partner to your mission, not just a financial contributor. They have a community mindset and will be motivated by a sense of belonging and the knowledge that their gifts have a long-term impact.
There are a couple of different ways to convert one-time donors into long-term supporters over time:
- Perfect your thank-you message after the initial gift. Reiterate the impact their gift will have on your immediate goals, and explain how continuing their support has the potential to influence your organization further.
- Make it easy for donors to become monthly givers. Adding a “monthly gift” option to all of your donation forms and offering flexible amounts will help gently nudge one-time donors.
- Build a sense of belonging and community. Highlight your monthly giving program and provide these donors with exclusive updates that will help them feel more connected to your mission.
Keeping recurring donors engaged in your mission is about building a long-lasting relationship that encourages them to continue giving. Offering frequent updates on the impact their gifts have on your mission, sharing statistics, and building a sense of community around your recurring donors will help donors feel involved and that their support has a long-term impact.
Tailoring donation appeals to the type of gift is essential to effectively communicating with different types of donors and encouraging them to make either a one-time or recurring gift.
Review your organization’s current donation forms and messaging strategies to identify areas for optimization and ways to distinguish your messaging so that each type of supporter feels heard and appreciated. Donor data and fundraising tools, such as a nonprofit CRM, are great assets that can help identify and make continuous improvements as you discover new ways to iterate.