How to Accept Recurring Donations Online at Your Nonprofit
If you want to grow predictable revenue for your nonprofit, accepting recurring donations online is one of the smartest moves you can make.
It’s simpler than you think to set up—and the long-term payoff is big.
Monthly giving programs have plenty of benefits for nonprofits: Recurring givers are known for higher donor retention rates and are also more likely to be legacy donors. (And that’s just to name a few pros!)
If you’re ready to enjoy the benefits of recurring giving (all while making sure you have the right donation tools and payment processing in place), look no further.
Important note:There are no affiliate links in this article. However, I do hold the opinion that you can serve your team and donors best with a fundraising platform that’s built for nonprofit recurring giving and provides long-term support. While I do share how 4aGoodCause can power your entire monthly giving program (yes, that’s our platform), this guide aims to help you make the best, most informed decision for your mission.
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What is the best way to accept recurring donations online?
Like I mentioned above, after my 25+ years serving nonprofits, I truly believe the best way to collect donations for a recurring or monthly giving program is to use a donation platform or fundraising tool that supports secure forms, recurring payments, and CRM integration.
This boosts security (and trust!) for your donors, but it also reduces overall stress on your team.
If you’ve been piecing together a system that allows for a few digital payment options through a homemade donation form on your website, things can get extra complicated when you start accepting recurring monthly donations.
Paypal, Stripe, and Venmo can only go so far in this department. These don’t necessarily offer recurring giving support for a monthly giving program. While they do offer secure ways of accepting online giving, things can get clunky and complicated when you rely on them for your entire fundraising process.
For example, 4aGoodCause offers tools that integrate donation pages, donor accounts, a built-in monthly giving program, and payment processing all in one stack.
With 4aGoodCause, you can:
Send recurring donation receipts automatically
Provide multiple secure payment options, like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, Authorize.net or bank account ACH, debit and credit cards, and more
Maintain donor relationships with a user-friendly CRM that connects to Mailchimp and Salesforce
Create unlimited beautiful, mobile-optimized, secure online donation forms and fundraising pages
Bring your own payment gateway (or use ours if you don’t have one yet)
Get best-in-class customer support from real humans who care about your mission
“
4aGoodCause is an intuitive platform for both our team and our donors. The donor experience is seamless, and the reporting tools give us the insights we need without being overwhelming. The customer support has also been exceptional — quick, personal, and genuinely invested in our success.
Lily Lombardi
Donor Relations, Manos de Cristo
5 step process to accept recurring donations
Before you start accepting monthly donations, you must have a smart, secure system in place. Let’s walk through that together:
In this video, Ronald Pruitt walks you through features in 4aGoodCause that manage monthly donation subscriptions.
1. Set up your donation platform
Remember, I highly advise that you choose a platform built for nonprofits and recurring giving.
(It doesn’t have to be us, although we’d love to have you! Find a nonprofit CRM that fits your specific needs. And check out our guide to the real cost of free fundraising software for more comparisons.)
Make sure to look for one that allows you to:
Create custom, branded forms
Offer recurring payment options
Automate receipts and donor thank-yous
And you should be able to do this easily and intuitively, so anyone from your team can jump in without having to do hours of training.
If you’re using 4aGoodCause, recurring giving tools come built in. You can create donation pages that let donors choose a one-time or monthly gift, set up default monthly options, and track every donor in one place.
2. Connect your platform and merchant account to a secure payment processor and gateway
This part sounds complicated, but it’s likely you already have this in place unless your organization is just starting out.
If you are setting up your payment system for the first time, you’ll need the following:
Merchant account: A merchant account is a type of bank account that nonprofit organizations use to accept and process credit card, debit card, and ACH payments/e-checks from donors. This is the service that handles the movement of funds during a credit card transaction or ACH payment. It communicates with the donor’s bank account, the credit card networks (like Visa, Mastercard, or American Express). With 4aGC Payments, your merchant account is included when you choose our all-in-one nonprofit payment processing solution, making it easy to manage payouts, processing fees, and donor data in one place.
Payment gateway: This acts as the secure connector between your donation pages and the payment processor. A payment gateway does for a website what a swipe terminal does for a physical store like a Wal-Mart: it encrypts the credit card data and sends it out securely over the payment network.
I’ve walked many 4aGC clients through this, step by step. If you need help, contact us.
In this step, you’ll need to make it easy for supporters to give monthly without ever doubting the security of their transaction.
Provide a button to your secure, custom recurring donation form on:
Your homepage
Your “Donate” or “How to support” page
Pages that tell stories about your impact
When your donation page looks professional, has security signals, and is branded to your organization, donors trust it—and conversion rates go up.
Bonus tip? Providing multiple payment methods can also increase conversion rates. So make sure to communicate to donors they can securely pay the way that works best for them.
The functionality has been exactly what our new Foundation needed to give the convenience of online donations and a positive donor experience. It's easy to see why 4aGoodCause was highly rated and recommended by other users in our market. The software was easy to set up and Ronald was available to answer any questions we had.
Kim Wall
Director, Community Development at The Georgia United Foundation
4. Promote your recurring giving option
Once your form is live, spread the word via all your outreach and communication methods!
Use your email newsletter, social media, and website copy to invite supporters to “make it monthly” or “upgrade to monthly giving.”
Here are a few simple ideas to get you started:
Highlight how consistent gifts create lasting change (“Just $20/month provides supplies for one child all year.”)
Feature a story of a recurring donor and why they give
Include a monthly giving option in every campaign
Add a QR code to signage at fundraising events
Remember, recurring giving isn’t about asking for more—it’s about making it easier for donors to sustain the impact they already believe in in a way that fits their budget.
If you’d like more in-depth guidance on how to start, grow, and promote recurring giving, check out some of the resources below:
How to upgrade monthly donors over time: This video walks you through how to invite existing monthly donors to increase their support with just one click in 4aGC
How to retain monthly donors: This guide provides actionable strategies—like personal outreach, donor events, and payment automation—to minimize donor dropout.
5. Manage and thank your donors
Use your donor CRM or fundraising platform to:
Automate thank-you emails and receipts
Track donor history and trends
Send quarterly or annual impact updates
Perfectly time your monthly giving upgrade asks
Recurring donors are some of your most loyal supporters.
Take time to thank them, share progress, and show how their ongoing support keeps your mission strong. Honor their anniversary every year, and make thoughtful, strategic asks for an increase in their monthly gift over time. (4aGC makes this easy with donor upgrade links.)
Keep recurring giving and nonprofit payment processing simple with 4aGoodCause
Don’t let the logistics and tech needs stop you from adding a monthly giving program to your fundraising efforts. It’s one of the best moves you can make for your organization and your team.
And it doesn’t have to be complicated to accept donations on a recurring basis. That’s why we designed our platform incredibly easy-to-use and intuitive.
With 4aGoodCause, you can have your recurring giving program running in a week.
Our Monthly Giving Toolkit makes it easy with built-in best practices, so you can grow your donor base and sustainable fundraising goals—securely and all without needing tech expertise.
Ready to get started?
Book a quick demo to see how simple it is to accept recurring donations online.
You focus on your mission. We’ll handle the tech
See how to run recurring giving programs with ease.
The first step is to offer a “monthly/recurring” giving option on your donation form as a prominent default choice, with suggested gift levels and clear “$# / month” labeling.
But don’t stop there. Promote monthly giving through your email campaigns, social media, and in stewardship messaging.
Use onboarding and upgrade sequences to turn one-time donors into recurring supporters.
How does my small nonprofit or club create a simple online donations source?
Pick a trusted donation platform that can generate a hosted donation page or pop-up form. Make sure the form is simple—minimal fields, clear instructions, recurring option, donation amounts with impact labels (see 4aGC’s guide to designing donation forms).
What are the benefits of a monthly giving program?
Monthly giving provides more predictable revenue, increases donor lifetime value, and helps reduce fundraising overhead. Recurring donors tend to be more loyal and easier to retain than one-time donors. At 4aGoodCause, we’ve seen monthly donors give an average of $63/month (or $756/year), which often exceeds what they might give in one-time gifts.
Is PayPal or Venmo better for nonprofit recurring giving programs?
It depends on your audience and donation model. PayPal offers broad functionality, donation buttons, and nonprofit-discounted fees (1.99% + $0.49 for eligible charities). Venmo is simpler and more mobile-friendly for small, casual gifts, with a fee of 1.9% + $0.10 for charity profiles. But Venmo does not support recurring giving well, which is a limitation for building a sustained program.
What online payment system is best for nonprofits?
The “best” system depends on your needs: ease of use, recurring support, fees, donor experience, and integrations with your CRM.
Systems built for nonprofits (like 4aGoodCause) often provide the full stack (donation pages + CRM + donor management). If you need flexibility or international reach, you might combine tools (e.g. a donation platform plus payment processing options Authorize.net, Stripe, PayPal, or others—all of which 4aGoodCause integrates with).
But always weigh total cost and how well it fits your workflow. Book a free payment processing audit with 4aGoodCause and we can help you figure out what payment processing options may work best for your unique situation.
Is a free fundraising platform really free?
No. In some cases, a free fundraising platform might be the right choice for your organization, but your donors carry the cost burden through donor tips.
And often, the costs incurred are much higher than flat platform fees from subscription-based fundraising software options. Read our in-depth cost analysis on free fundraising platforms to learn more.
💡Fun fact:All donor tips through 4aGoodCause go directly to your organization—not the platform.
How can I set up recurring donations on my website?
First, use a donation platform or plugin that supports storing payment methods and recurring billing. Create a donation form that includes “monthly/recurring” as a clear option.
Link that form from your website (homepage, donate page, impact pages). Then integrate it with your donor CRM to manage, thank, and report on those recurring donors.
4aGoodCause makes this really easy, so you can raise more and stress less.
Raise more with less effort.
See the fundraising platform that makes it simple.
Ronald is the President and Founder of 4aGoodCause, the fundraising CRM that makes recurring, monthly giving a breeze for small nonprofits.
For over 25 years, Ronald has had the joy of doing what he loves, building online solutions that make a difference in the world. He’s helped raise millions of dollars online for small nonprofits across the country. Connect with Ronald on LinkedIn.
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