Introducing the Sustainable Giving Partner Certification
When I first started speaking about the opportunity for charities to grow recurring giving, I focused most of my time on helping nonprofits see that this was a trend for them, not just for someone else.
Today, I’m seeing more and more leaders not only recognize the trend but also believe it could be for them. They want to grow recurring giving. They're ready.
The question has shifted from "should we?" to "how do we?"
And increasingly, the answer to that question depends on the providers they partner with.
The Hidden Gap Between Belief and Growth
There are an estimated 1.1 million nonprofits in the U.S. alone that have historically been left behind when it comes to recurring giving.
For years, that gap was a belief problem. Leaders didn't know what was possible. They hadn't been exposed to the rise of sustainable giving. They didn't see how the subscription economy was transforming donor behavior. And they didn’t believe that recurring giving was for them.
That's changed.
The message is landing, and charity leaders are seeing the opportunity to grow sustainable giving.
The question now is whether the ecosystem around them is ready to help them act on it.
Because there is a huge problem brewing. We can reach 1.1 million nonprofits with the message of sustainable giving. But if the providers serving them – their CRM, donation platform, agencies, and others – aren't bringing modern, sustainable-giving-ready best practices, we'll win the hearts and minds of nonprofit leaders and lose the mission.
Our mission is to grow generosity. And to do that, we need a healthy, thriving ecosystem of technology and service providers that enable sustainable giving.
💡 Takeaway: Sustainable giving doesn't grow in isolation. When a nonprofit commits to growing recurring revenue, its growth is accelerated – or held back – by the providers around it.
That's why, over the past year, we've quietly built something I'm excited to introduce today.
Introducing the Sustainable Giving Partner Certification
The Sustainable Giving Partner Certification is an objective, independently verified certification that evaluates a technology provider, agency, or advisor’s readiness to support modern recurring giving programs.
It evaluates providers across the capabilities required to enable subscription-ready sustainable giving – from donor experience and reporting to payment infrastructure and recurring donor strategy.
We’ve created the certification to help the sector:
Identify providers that offer modern sustainable giving capabilities.
Encourage better products, services, and practices across the industry.
Give nonprofit leaders confidence when choosing partners where sustainable giving is a priority.
💡 Takeaway: Sustainable Giving Partner Certification is about shining a light on the providers who are doing the hard work to help nonprofits grow sustainable giving – and creating a clear standard the rest of the sector can rise to.
The certification serves as a signal of three things:
💟 Capability – The systems and practices are in place to drive recurring giving growth.
💟 Commitment – An organizational focus on sustainable fundraising models.
💟 Credibility – Readiness to help nonprofits grow recurring support.
Becoming Partner Certified – A Rigorous Process
The certification process is administered independently by a neutral third party and designed to evaluate providers' readiness to partner with charities and help them grow.
Technology and service providers are evaluated separately across 11 distinct capability areas, spanning strategy, donor experience, payment infrastructure, data and reporting, and organizational commitment to sustainable giving. There are different criteria for technology providers than service providers.
The result is a Sustainable Giving Readiness Report – a detailed, area-by-area breakdown of where the provider is doing well and where there are areas for improvement. This actionable report provides a roadmap for continued growth in effectiveness and impact. Every organization receives this full readiness report.
And if a provider meets the sustainable giving standard and passes certification, they earn the Sustainable Giving Certified Partner designation and are publicly listed in our directory.
Providers who do not pass certification receive the full readiness report and can reapply when they feel ready.
Importantly, certification is not a permanent seal of approval – providers renew annually. The bar for what "modern recurring giving" looks like will continue to evolve, and we want certification to evolve with it.
Meet the Launch Certified Partners
Today, I'm proud to introduce the first cohort of providers to earn the Sustainable Giving Partner Certification:
🌟 Avid – AI-Powered Donor Engagement & Fundraising Optimization
🌟 CharityEngine – Nonprofit CRM and Fundraising Platform
🌟 GoFundMe Pro – Donation Platform
🌟 Share Services – Fundraising and Marketing Agency
🌟 Virtuous Raise – Donation Platform
Each of these organizations has undergone an independent evaluation process and demonstrated the capability, commitment, and credibility required to help nonprofits grow modern recurring giving programs.
I'm grateful to each of them for being willing to be early – to put their work in front of an independent evaluation and help set the standard.
And this is just the start. More providers are in the certification process now, and we'll be announcing additional Certified Partners in the coming months.
💡 Takeaway: A growing roster of certified partners means nonprofit leaders have more confidence when choosing the providers that will shape the future of their recurring giving program.
What This Means for You
If you're a nonprofit leader:
When you're evaluating a new CRM, donation platform, agency, or advisor – or reassessing the partners you already have – the Sustainable Giving Certified designation gives you a meaningful signal. It tells you the provider has been independently evaluated and is equipped to help you grow sustainable giving.
You canview the current Certified Partners and learn more here.
If you're a provider:
If you're a technology provider, agency, or consultant who's serious about serving the recurring giving space, I'd love for you to explore certification. The process itself is valuable – many providers tell us the readiness report alone surfaces opportunities they hadn't seen.
You can read more and inquire about Sustainable Giving Partner Certification here.
If we're going to see sustainable giving thrive for charities, we need the whole ecosystem to rise together. Modern donors. Equipped nonprofits. And partners – technology and service providers alike – who are bringing modern best practices.
That's how we grow generosity.
I'll have more to share about the Sustainable Giving Partner Certification in the weeks ahead.
Until next week… Surf's Up! 🌊
- Dave