You Don't Need More Tactics. You Need Discernment.
Do you ever feel like there is too much content in the world?
Too many quick tips.
Too many silver bullets.
Too much advice, not enough action.
Too much information, not enough wisdom.
In growing sustainable recurring giving, this can be paralyzing. There are dozens of "best practices" floating around at any given moment. Create an ongoing value proposition. Rebuild your welcome series. Run a sustainer campaign. Test a new offer. Fix your form. Add upgrade asks. Launch a newly revamped program.
Every single one of those could be a good idea.
But here's the thing I've learned after working with 40+ organizations to grow recurring giving:
Knowing what to do is the easy part. Knowing which things to do – and in what order – is where the real transformation lies.
Every charity leader I've ever worked with has felt the sting of two truths:
There are too many things to do, and
There are not enough resources to do all of them.
Above: Every nonprofit leader I’ve ever worked with feels like A) there are more things they could do and arguably even should do, AND B) the resources they have to do anything about it are extremely limited compared to the vast ocean of possibilities.
This has been true regardless of organization size. I've worked with teams of 100 fundraisers and budgets in the millions. I've also worked with small teams where the executive director is the entire fundraising department.
The math is the same. The list of things you could do always exceeds your capacity to do them.
Which is exactly why discernment matters more than activity.
💡 Takeaway: In sustainable giving, the constraint is rarely a lack of ideas. It's a lack of clarity about which of those ideas will actually move the needle right now — and in what sequence to pursue them.
The Difference Between Discerning and Doing
A wise mentor once told me, "Dave, don't mistake activity for progress."
He was trying to say that busyness is not the same thing as effectiveness. And in sustainable giving, this is where I see organizations spin their wheels.
It's not that they don't know what to do.
It's that they're doing the right things in the wrong order – or the wrong things at the right time – or trying to do all of it at once with a team of two.
I think about my friend's golf swing. If you asked me for advice, I could give you 20 tips that are technically correct – slow down your backswing, keep your head still, rotate your hips, follow through. Each one might be right. None of them will be helpful. Stacked together, they're overwhelming.
A great coach watches for a minute and gives you ONE thing to think about.
That one thing isn't picked at random. It's picked because the coach has the experience to see what's actually holding your swing back right now – and to know that fixing it will unlock everything else.
That's discernment. And it's the difference between an average coach and a great one.
It's also the difference between an organization that grows sustainable giving and one that stays stuck in motion.
💡 Takeaway: Discernment isn't about knowing more. It's about knowing what matters most, right now, in your specific context – and having the wisdom to focus there before moving to the next thing.
See > Perceive > Understand > Do
I call the process of moving from awareness to action the Imago Loop, and I've written about it before. It's something I've noticed effective leaders have in common:
🌊 SEE what's in front of you
🌊 PERCEIVE when something is relevant to your situation
🌊 UNDERSTAND how it applies to you
🌊 DO — take action on it
In sustainable giving, most leaders I meet are stuck somewhere in the middle of the loop. They've seen the opportunity. They perceive it matters. They might even understand the strategies. But the leap from understanding to coordinated action — that's where things stall.
Because action without discernment leads to a long list of half-finished initiatives.
And discernment without action leads to analysis paralysis.
You need both. And you usually need someone with experience to help you sequence them.
💡 Takeaway: Growth in sustainable giving doesn't come from having more ideas. It comes from discerning the right next move — and then actually making it.
Where This Shows Up in Sustainable Giving
In my experience, the leaders who break through are the ones who stop trying to do everything and instead get crystal clear on the one or two things that will create the most leverage in the next 90 days.
For one organization, that's fixing their onboarding journey before they spend another dollar on acquisition.
For another, it's redesigning their offer so the ongoing value proposition actually justifies a recurring commitment.
For another, it's investing in their existing sustainer base — because 97% of the lifetime value of a recurring donor comes after the first gift, and they've been ignoring it.
None of these strategies is a secret. They're all in the book. They're on the podcast.
But figuring out which one applies to you, right now, in your specific context — and then sequencing the work so it actually compounds — that takes either years of trial and error, or someone who's been down the road before.
And here's the part we haven't even gotten to yet: once you know what to do and in what order, there's still the question of doing it well. That's where experience compounds. That's where the right partner makes the difference.
Kathy Coady, Chief Development Officer at Hope Ministries Iowa, made this exact point on our Sustainable Giving Podcast recently — and honestly, in 60 seconds, she said it better than I have in this whole article:
👉Watch Kathy's 60-second take
"You don't have to go it alone. You have 59 other things to think about. Bring in the experts."
Which brings me to this:
A Small Number of Advisory Openings This Summer
If you have a meaningful base of recurring donors and growing sustainable giving is a priority for your organization this year, the following may be worth a look.
This summer, we're opening a small number of Sustainable Giving Assessment & Advisory engagements – the core of our work helping organizations grow recurring revenue. We dive deep into your program, identify the highest-leverage opportunities, design a tailored roadmap at a custom Sustainable Giving Summit for your team in Seattle, and then come alongside your team to execute.
Over the past three years, we've worked with 35+ organizations and helped generate more than $41 million in sustainable, recurring revenue.
When Chris Free, who leads communications and fundraising at The Joshua Fund, came to us just over two years ago, they had 1,900 recurring donors. By the time we recorded his story below, they had grown to 3,400 — and they've since surpassed 4,000. A reminder that well-built sustainable giving programs keep compounding.
👉Watch Chris's story
A few things to keep in mind:
This is best suited for organizations with at least 1,000 recurring donors or $500K in annual recurring revenue. If you're below that threshold but serious about investing in growth this year, you're welcome to reach out, and we can see if it's a fit.
We'll only be able to take on four organizations in this round.
Let us know you're interested by June 30. That's not a decision deadline – just when we'd want to know so we can talk through fit and timing together.
👉www.sustainablegiving.org/summer2026
Not the Right Fit for Advisory This Year? The Sustainable Giving Workshop Might Be.
If advisory isn't the right next step right now, our Sustainable Giving Workshop is a great place to start.
September 30 to October 2, we'll gather at the beautiful Hotel Murano in Tacoma for 2.5 days of connection, insight, and a clear plan to grow sustainable giving — designed for organizations at any stage.
👉Learn more and save your spot
There will always be more things you could do.
The question is which few things you should do — and in which order.
Discernment is essential. Action is critical.
Until next week… Surf's Up! 🌊
- Dave
P.S. If you're not sure whether your program is the right fit for our advisory work, just fill out the form, and our team will help you think it through. The window closes June 30.