Your Recurring Donors Aren't Done Giving

A couple of years ago, I sat down with a nonprofit leader who told me, with justifiable pride, that they had a $9 million recurring giving program.

Wow, I thought. What a base to build from.

Then came the part that has stuck with me ever since. That $9 million was only the revenue from recurring gifts. When we looked at what those same donors gave in total, the number was $11.5 million.

Two and a half million dollars – 27% over and above their regular recurring giving – came in the form of extra one-time gifts.

Same donors. Same year. Nearly a third more, simply because someone invited them to give again.

It makes me ask the question – how much of that "over and above" giving is your organization leaving on the table right now?

The value isn't where most leaders think it is

Here's a truth most nonprofit leaders underestimate: your recurring donors are worth more than you think. There are several ways to grow the value of a recurring donor over the life of that relationship, and over the coming months I want to walk through each of them, one at a time.

Today we start with the first, and the most accessible to almost any organization: inviting your recurring donors to give additional one-time gifts.

Most nonprofit leaders think of a recurring donor as "handled." The gift is set up, the card is on file, the monthly revenue is predictable. Set it and forget it.

But consider this: 97% of the value from a sustaining donor comes after their first recurring gift. The monthly gift is just the beginning of the relationship, not the sum of it. And one of the clearest ways that value shows up is in extra gifts.

Your recurring donors are, in many cases, your most generous one-time donors. They've already told you they believe in your mission – they've committed to it month after month. That commitment doesn't make them less likely to respond to a timely appeal. It makes them more likely.

💡 Takeaway: A recurring gift is the start of a relationship, not the totality of it. Your sustainers are among the most bought-in donors you have – and often the most responsive to well-timed, specific asks for extra gifts.

The two mistakes organizations make

When it comes to asking recurring donors for extra gifts, I see nonprofits err in one of two directions.

Mistake #1: Asking too much.

Some organizations make no distinction at all between how they appeal to recurring donors versus one-time donors. If the annual plan has 14 appeals, 10 newsletters, and twice-monthly email asks, the sustainer gets all of it – undifferentiated, exactly like everyone else. The result is a faithful monthly partner treated like a stranger, buried under the same volume of general asks as a first-time donor.

Mistake #2: Not asking enough.

The opposite error is more common, and more understandable. Once an organization lands a recurring donor, the thinking goes: this person is already giving – it feels risky to ask for more. So they never ask again.

But that logic misses the point entirely. A recurring donor is, by definition, bought into and passionate about your cause. The data is clear: these donors are often energized when a specific, timely need gives them a way to step up and make an additional impact. Silence doesn't protect the relationship. It just leaves generosity – and impact – on the table.

💡 Takeaway: The goal isn't to ask your sustainers more or less than everyone else. It's to ask them differently – with fewer, better, more relevant invitations that honor the commitment they've already made.

How to ask a sustainer for an extra gift

So how do you thread the needle? Here are three things I'd do.

1. Acknowledge that you know they're a faithful partner.

This can be as simple as a single variable sentence early in the appeal: "As a faithful [Program Name] partner, I knew you'd want to see this…" You're not writing a whole new letter. You're signaling that you see them, and that this ask is coming because of their commitment, not in spite of it.

2. Make it specific and timely – why give, and why give now?

This is just good fundraising, but it matters even more when you're asking a sustainer. They're already giving. So the appeal has to answer the natural question: why another gift, and why now? Choose appeals tied to a real, urgent, time-bound need – a seasonal spike in demand, a disaster, a matching opportunity, a moment when their extra gift can do something their monthly gift alone can't.

3. Use your existing appeals – mostly.

Unless you're running a large or mature program, you don't need to invent custom appeals just for your sustainers. Take the strong, specific appeals you're already sending and tailor them – the acknowledgment sentence up top, a nod to their ongoing partnership. If you do have a larger program or you've been at this a while, that's when it's worth developing appeals crafted specifically for extra-gift asks to recurring donors.

One thing to do this week

If you take away one action from this issue, make it this: look at your calendar and find the next natural, timely moment to invite your recurring donors to give an extra gift – then tailor an existing appeal to them for it.

Not fourteen asks. One good one, aimed at the people who've already shown you they care most.

The organization I opened with saw 27% in over-and-above giving, showing that recurring donors who are bought into the cause respond generously to additional calls for support.

The average recurring donor gives roughly 25% more in one-time gifts on top of their annual recurring total. That's not a rounding error. For most programs, it's the difference between a recurring base and a growing one.

Until next week… Surf's Up! 🌊

  - Dave

P.S. Curious where your own program stands? The free Sustainable Giving Self-Assessment is a quick way to see how you're doing and where your biggest opportunities are. 👉 Take the assessment here