Why Recurring Giving Matters: Benefits of Monthly Giving for Nonprofits
Let’s face it: Nonprofits need a steady stream of income to make a lasting impact.
But that’s easier said than done.
What if there was a fundraising model that provides a steady, predictable stream of income, allows for more efficient planning, and cultivates deeper relationships with your most dedicated supporters?
While one-time donations are always appreciated, the strategic shift towards recurring giving programs (aka, monthly giving programs) offers a real solution for stability, sustainability, and long-term growth.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the importance of monthly giving for nonprofits and provide a high-level look at how to launch a successful program, but use these links to skip ahead if needed:
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6 benefits of recurring giving programs for nonprofits
Monthly giving programs have become increasingly popular among nonprofits in recent years. (And for good reason.)
In fact, M+R Benchmarks reports that monthly recurring donations increased by 5% in 2024 and accounted for 31% of all online revenue—while one-time giving revenue was flat year-over-year.
But incorporating monthly giving into your fundraising strategy provides many benefits beyond just a steady stream of income.
Here are the top benefits of implementing a monthly giving program for your nonprofit:
In this video, nonprofit fundraising expert Ronald Pruitt covers the benefits of monthly giving for nonprofits, including higher donor retention, predictable revenue, and reduced fundraising costs.
⭐️What if you could do big asks less often?There is a way! It’s called recurring monthly giving, and it generates 2.4X more revenue on average than one-time gifts. This Monthly Giving Program Toolkit simplifies the whole initiative.
Higher giving potential
Monthly donors tend to give more over time compared to one-time donors.
Why? Because they have a longer-term commitment to your organization and are more likely to increase their giving over time.
The average one-time gift amount on 4aGoodCauseis $245. (4aGC is the easy-to-use online fundraising platform for monthly giving and more).
And the average monthly recurring donation for 4aGoodCause clients is $63, which would add up to $756 within a year.
From what I’ve seen over and over again in my years of experience, by encouraging monthly giving, you can increase the overall giving potential of your existing donor base.
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A typical monthly donor on 4aGoodCause gives $63 per month, or $756/year.
Predictable and reliable income
One of the most significant benefits of monthly giving programs is that they provide a predictable and reliable revenue stream for nonprofit organizations.
Unlike fluctuating one-time donations, monthly contributions provide a stable financial forecast, allowing your organization to plan initiatives, allocate resources, and budget with far greater accuracy and confidence.
This steady stream of income allows you more time to focus on your mission and long-term goals.
Recurring givers tend to have higher retention rates compared to one-time donors. They’re your most loyal supporters.
Industry benchmarks consistently show that recurring donors have significantly higher retention rates than one-time donors.
In fact, recurring donors have an average donor retention rate of up to 90% (which is significantly higher than the 29% donor retention rate for one-time online donors).
Once a donor opts into a recurring program, they are far more likely to continue their support for many years, dramatically reducing the need for constant new donor acquisition, giving stability to your long-term planning.
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As a small and growing nonprofit, we need a fundraising platform that serves not only our budgetary needs but also provides a seamless experience for our donors AND for us as well. 4aGC checks ALL the boxes.
Kelly Mellen
Making Things Right
Cost-effective fundraising with an excellent ROI
Monthly giving programs are more cost-effective because they eliminate the need for repeated solicitation efforts.
New donor acquisition can cost 50-100% more than donor retention, so you’ll save money on fundraising materials, staff time, and other expenses associated with ongoing donor outreach.
This frees up resources that can be redirected toward other critical programs and initiatives.
Additionally, monthly giving programs can also lead to less reliance on event fundraising, which frees up staff time to solicit major donors and spend less time planning complex events or one-off campaigns.
By focusing on recurring donors, you can spend less time chasing new donors and build a stronger, more reliable funding base for your nonprofit.
Try our monthly giving fundraising calculator to see it for yourself. 👇👇
How much can you earn?
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Total raised for your organization
Improved donor engagement
Monthly giving programs offer a unique opportunity for donors to connect more deeply with your organization.
By offering exclusive benefits, such as newsletters or other insider content that promotes a sense of community, you can provide your monthly donors an experience that promotes pride in supporting your organization.
This can improve donor engagement, increase understanding (and promotion) of your organization’s mission, and help to build an overall stronger relationship with your donors.
💡Pro tip:You don’t necessarily have to work harder to raise more. Learn about how to attract monthly donors into your recurring giving program.
Less stress on your team
Imagine the relief for your team when they aren’t constantly scrambling to meet fundraising goals through unpredictable annual donation campaigns or labor-intensive fundraising events.
A robust recurring giving program provides a foundational layer of funding, reducing the pressure to meet aggressive one-time targets.
Rather than being caught in a perpetual cycle of short-term fundraising sprints, this stability allows your team to focus on more things like:
Building better marketing and communications
Meaningful donor engagement
Program development
Long-term strategic initiatives
It frees up time and energy, leading to a more productive (and less stressed) workforce.
Raise more with less stress.
Our fundraising platform makes monthly giving programs simple.
5 case studies and research about the benefits of monthly giving for nonprofits
If you want to see what the real benefits of monthly giving look like once these types of programs are put to work, check out one (or all!) of these case studies below.
My team interviewed real 4aGoodCause clients and nonprofit organization leaders about online fundraising and the benefits they’ve experienced through a monthly giving option.
Foothills Animal Shelter Paw Program Case Study
This animal welfare organization grew to 400+ recurring donors, achieving ~10–15% year-over-year growth. Their team created a branded “PAW Program,” streamlined acknowledgement workflows, and prioritized personal stewardship (calls, thank-you letters, consistent branding).
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And our goal is 10% or more growth in that program every year. We've been hitting it for the last two or three. Recurring donors are really such a gift to an organization and those programs are worth the effort for sure.
Amanda Boerman
Director of Philanthropy at Foothills Animal Shelter
What is the best price, with the most features, with the least work, and the best service? That’s 4aGoodCause for us.
Dave Andrews
Station Manager at KJOL
Culver-Stockton College (Private College) Case Study
In their giving day campaign, Culver-Stockton embedded recurring giving as an option. Though this case study is more about a big one-time campaign (over $187K raised through 4aGoodCause!), recurring giving was built into the structure for future growth.
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There is just better transparency for [our donors], so that they know and can trust that their gift is going where they want it to.
Susie Biggerstaff
Culver-Stockton College
River Crossing (formerly YMCA of Bucks & Hunterdon Counties)
During a “Cause Week” campaign, they enrolled 173 new recurring donors.Yes, in one week. The program now maintains over 245 members (monthly + annual) with many paying $10/month or more. This particular case study lends evidence to the fact that many of your donor base are likely already ready and willing to participate in a monthly giving program.
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We use 4aGoodCause for all of the Y's online campaigns, including the most recent fundraising effort, in which we asked board members to create their own pages and fundraise on our behalf…. It was so easy!
Meg Tedesco
River Crossing YMCA
Rotary Club of San Mateo
This case is about a Rotary chapter increasing fundraising by ~30% in a completely volunteer-run organization. They found that integrating recurring giving into club campaigns helps boost their overall revenue.
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I'd say actually it's fun to do the fundraising with [4aGoodCause]. Before, it was more of a chore.
Jeff Lowenstein
San Mateo Rotary Foundation
Fundraising software that feels like part of your team.
Try 4aGoodCause and experience partnership—not just a platform.
Additional data-backed research on the benefits of monthly giving for nonprofits
In addition to the stats and studies linked below, the work of wise nonprofit industry leaders, educators, and all-around smart thinkers like Erica Waasdorp, Dave Raley, and Harvey McKinnon have driven the strategy, research, and popularity of successful monthly giving programs.
And their well-established expertise in this topic deserves a read, when you have the time.
But here are some key statistics you need to know:
A typical monthly donor’s lifetime value (LTV) is around $7,604 on average.
Recurring givers have retention rates from 77% up to 90% (depending on the the study).
New donor acquisition can often cost 10 to 20 times that of donor renewals.
31% of online revenue came from monthly giving in 2024. (And according to M+R Benchmarks, if long-term trends continue, it’s likely that percentage will only increase.)
Launching a recurring giving program
Wondering where to start? It’s not simply about adding a checkbox to your donation form.
Below, I’ll walk you through the basics to follow when getting started.
For a full walkthrough on how to launch, grow, and maintain your monthly giving program, check out these 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.
Become a champion for the program
To launch a successful monthly giving program, you need someone to champion the program. Without a dedicated advocate, it’s a challenge to get a recurring giving program off the ground.
This person will be the go-to person for questions, the motivator for the team, and the visionary who sees the program’s potential for real impact.
How about you? 🙂
You should be passionate about your organization’s mission and committed to making the program a success. This means that you need to be prepared to put in the time and effort to get the program off the ground and keep it running smoothly.
Be prepared to present data and success stories from other organizations to make your case.
A few tips:
Emphasize the long-term financial stability, increased donor retention, and cost-effectiveness.
Frame it as an investment in the organization’s future, demonstrating how it aligns with their fiduciary responsibilities and strategic vision.
Highlight successful case studies from similar organizations to build confidence.
A great way to solidify their support is to ask each board member to become a monthly giver!
Define your monthly giving ask
To launch a successful monthly giving program, you need to define your monthly giving ask.
This means deciding how much you will ask donors to give each month and how that level of giving will impact your organization and those you serve.
You should also consider whether you will offer different giving levels and what each level will include. The asking amount should be paired with an impact statement to help demonstrate how funds will be used and the impact they can make.
For example, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has a page promoting its Partners in Hope recurring giving program that suggests four giving levels and describes the impact each gift could make.
$19/month could help St. Jude provide one rehabilitation ball for physical therapy.
$25/month could help St. Jude provide one day of meals for a patient in the Kay Kafe, the hospital cafeteria.
$50/month could help St. Jude provide one bone marrow needle for a patient.
$120/month could help St. Jude provide a red wagon used to transport patients through the hospital.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital monthly giving program
Name and brand your program
To make your monthly giving program stand out, you need to name and brand it. Choose a name that is catchy and memorable, and create a logo that reflects your organization’s mission and values. Use your branding consistently across all of your marketing materials to build recognition and trust.
Example names with an accompanying ask:
Champions of Change: Join our monthly giving program and become a champion for our cause.
The Sustainers: By supporting us monthly, you help sustain our mission and impact.
Hope Builders: As a monthly donor, you are building hope for those we serve.
Circle of Care: Join our circle of care by giving monthly to support our programs and services.
Partners for Progress: Join us as a monthly partner for progress and help us move forward towards our mission.
Change Makers: Your monthly gift is making a change in the lives of those we serve, becoming a change maker in our community.
Legacy Builders: Your monthly gift is building a legacy of impact and change for generations to come
Beyond looking for software that is easy to use, affordable, and provides great customer support, you should also consider the monthly giving features.
Specific monthly giving features to look for include recurring donation management, upsell boxes to convert one-time donors to recurring, recurring donation alerts, automatic updating of expired cards, and monthly giving “first’ donation pages.
Remember, your donation pages are critical conversion points.
Add a monthly giving option to your donation pages, and make sure it is prominently displayed.
The option to choose a monthly gift should be listed first. You can also build a donation page with monthly donations as the only option if you are specifically soliciting recurring gifts.
Make a monthly gift the default option on your donation pages to encourage more recurring donations.
Also, consider offering an upsell pop-up box at checkout to entice a one-time donor to convert their one-time gift into a smaller monthly gift that will make a bigger impact over time.
Start promoting the program
Once everything is in place, it’s time to actively promote your new program. This is not a one-time launch; it’s an ongoing effort.
Take care to feature it:
On your website: Prominently include the monthly giving option on your homepage, “How to Help” sections, and dedicated donation pages.
In email campaigns: Dedicate specific email appeals to recruiting monthly givers, clearly outlining the benefits and impact.
Throughout social media: Use engaging visuals and compelling stories to promote the program, linking directly to your monthly giving page.
In direct mail campaigns: Include a recurring giving option on your donation reply cards.
Via personal outreach: During thank-you calls or donor interactions, gently suggest becoming a monthly giver.
Within impact storytelling: Share compelling stories of the impact made possible by consistent, ongoing support.
Remember to continually educate your audience about why their sustained support is so vital to your mission.
Ready to start your monthly giving program?
The evidence is clear: investing in a recurring giving program is one of the most strategic decisions your nonprofit can make to secure a strong and stable future.
Are you ready to take your monthly giving program to the next level?
Book a demo today to see how you can acquire more monthly givers and increase your nonprofit’s long-term fundraising success and retention goals.
With the right tools and strategies, you can create a sustainable and reliable revenue stream for your organization.
When does it NOT make sense to have a monthly giving program?
We’re big fans of recurring giving here at 4aGoodCause, and I’ve only seen organizations benefit from having a monthly giving program option for donors.
However, there could be a few cases where a monthly giving program might not be the right move for an organization:
You don’t have the right software in place to make recurring giving secure and easy, both for your team and donors
You don’t have leadership buy-in. This is crucial to making your efforts toward building a program worth it.
You don’t have donor trust guardrails in place (like secure giving and payment processing) or your systems for donor communication aren’t well-established.
Recurring giving provides your nonprofit org or charity with a stable and predictable income stream, enabling better financial planning and more consistent delivery of services.
It reduces fundraising costs and allows your organization to focus more resources directly on your mission. Learn how to benchmark monthly giving programs to see the impact over time.
Why is monthly giving important?
Monthly giving is crucial because it transforms irregular donations into a reliable revenue foundation for nonprofits.
It significantly boosts donor retention rates and often results in donors giving more over time than with one-time gifts. This predictable funding empowers organizations to plan and execute programs with greater confidence and stability. You should try it if you haven’t already!
How do nonprofits benefit from the donor psychology behind monthly giving?
Understanding the psychological principles that drive recurring giving is pretty important to getting buy-in on a new way of thinking about fundraising. For donors, monthly giving is not just about convenience; it taps into fundamental human behaviors and desires.
Your organization directly benefits when you take additional work off of your donors. For donors, monthly giving:
Reduces the cognitive load of decision-making
Lowers financial and executional hurdles
Activates peer influence and community belonging
Deepens connection toward the mission (and their giving’s impact)
Donating $19 a month is significant because it represents an accessible entry point for many donors, making recurring giving more feasible. (See the St. Jude monthly giving ask example above.)
This specific amount (or smaller amounts, like $8 or $10 a month) can be easily translated into a tangible, impactful outcome, such as “providing X meals” or “supporting Y hours of service.”
Is it difficult to start a monthly giving program from scratch?
Starting a monthly giving program from scratch requires strategic planning, but you can do it! Yes, even if you have a smaller team.
4aGoodCause makes it really easy to start and grow your recurring giving program with all the tools you need to make it successful.
The main challenge? Securing internal buy-in, selecting the right technology, and consistently promoting the program.
But with clear goals and a dedicated champion, the long-term benefits far outweigh the initial effort, making it a smart investment of time for your nonprofit.
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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