Proven Strategies to Make Monthly Giving the Natural Choice

If attracting predictable contribution income from individuals is a goal for you (and it definitely should be unless you’re only seeking to raise money one time), you need to assure your organization is set up to attract and sustain monthly givers.

Why?

One-time campaigns can only take you so far.

Without the knowledge you have a steady stream of income on which to depend, planning ahead becomes difficult. Every year you must go back to square one with your fundraising.

That’s no way to live – paycheck to paycheck.

There is a way to squirrel some funding away for a rainy day.

1. PLAN: “Seed the Clouds” with a Written Strategy to Secure Monthly Giving Commitments

Don’t want to have to be a new rainmaker every single year?

The most effective thing you can do is “seed the clouds” today — with monthly giving commitments you can rely upon all year long – and into the future.

Don’t believe me?

The numbers don’t lie.

• $7,600+ average lifetime value.
• Double one-time gift totals.
• 8+ years giving average.
• 83% annual retention rate vs. 45% for one-time givers.
• 6x higher legacy gift probability.

Monthly givers are your most valuable donors—by a wide margin.

Per the latest data from the M+R Benchmarks and the Neon One Recurring Donor Report, recurring donors have an average lifetime value of more than $7,600 — double what one-time givers contribute.

They give for over eight years on average (compared to two for single-gift donors), stick around at an 83% retention rate (versus 45%), and are six times more likely to include your organization in their will.

Pro Tip: Half of recurring donors also give additional one-time gifts on top of their monthly support. So don’t exclude them from special appeals like giving days, emergencies or challenge campaigns.  Do, however, acknowledge their current commitment – accompanied by your gratitude for their loyalty.

2. PRIME: Give Monthly Giving a Welcoming Home on Your Website

Prime your donors so they already know recurring support is the best way to help you – before they even reach your donation form. Once they arrive, make monthly giving the obvious best choice.

Monthly giving needs a home on your website before it ever shows up on your form.

Do you know 71% of donors who’ve never made a recurring gift say they’d be open to it? Why haven’t they done so? Per the aforementioned reports, it’s simple. No one. Asked. Them.

So, ask!

That means building a dedicated page on your website that explains your monthly giving program and shows the impact at each giving level.

You should also gather testimonials from existing monthly donors to feature where appropriate. And, while you’re at it, why not list the perks of membership?

Link to your donation form from everywhere possible where donors will see it.

This means your website navigation, homepage, emails, and social posts.

When donors arrive at your form having already heard the ask, they’re far more likely to say yes.

Assure your donation form – key to monthly giving growth — is super-easy to use.

On average, only 11% of donors on desktop and 8% on mobile – not strangers, but people who already have given to you — actually complete a subsequent gift once they land on a donation page.

Why do most donors leave your donation form without giving?

For the following reasons, they don’t feel welcome:

1. Confusion about your mission or impact.
2. Friction from long or complicated forms.
3. Distraction from links and cluttered navigation that pull donors away.
4. Fear about whether the page is secure or the organization is trustworthy.
5. Too few payment options that make it inconvenient for the donor to give by their preferred method.

A well-built form answers all five of those concerns before the donor has a chance to leave.

And no matter how wonderful your campaign to acquire or convert monthly donors may be, the truth is that the donor decision actually happens at the donation form.

Pro Tip: If your form leads with a one-time giving amount and buries the monthly option, most donors will never see it. Check out these nine elements to include on your monthly giving forms.

3. PREFERENCE: Make Monthly Giving the Default

Your donation form should open with a simple tab choice between “Monthly” and “One Time” — with monthly listed first and set as the default.

People often look for direction. So, when they see “monthly” is your preference, it will have an impact on their thinking.

Pair this with monthly-specific suggested giving amounts ($10–$100/month is the sweet spot) and impact statements at each level, and you’re showing donors exactly what their recurring commitment makes possible.

Pro Tip: Since 60% of donation form traffic comes from mobile devices, that tab needs to be thumb-friendly and impossible to miss. Ask a few people to test this on Apple and Android devices and give you their feedback.

4. PAYMENT: Encourage Bank Transfers

It costs you less.

You can definitely accept commitments via credit card, but using ACH (bank transfer) processing typically costs less than 1%, compared to around 3% for credit cards.

Donors stay longer.

The average American keeps their bank account for about 17 years, while credit cards expire every few years and are frequently replaced due to fraud.

Fewer expired cards means fewer failed payments, less drop-off, and stronger long-term retention for your monthly giving program.

Pro Tip: Use a compatible payment platform like Stripe, Givebutter, or CharityEngine to collect and automate transfers safely and efficiently.

5. POP-UP: Consider Using a Checkout Conversion Offer

Yes, the pop-up or lightbox is often maligned, but a timely one can really help grow your monthly giving results.

What you do is present an automated conversion offer right at the time the donor is about to complete a one-time gift. The offer suggests a smaller amount (something easily manageable on a monthly basis) right at the moment they demonstrate giving intent.

A checkout conversion offer can quietly grow your monthly giving program.

Try something like: “Before you finish, would you like to make this a monthly gift instead?”

4aGoodCause  reports that on their platform a pop-up converted 5 out of every 100 one-time donors into monthly givers in 2025. NextAfter tested this, and reported a conversion rate of more than 23%.

Pro Tip: While there’s no single perfect timing for a pop-up, one study found pop-ups with a 4-second delay had the best conversion rate. Don’t stress it, however. Just do it! They performed similarly well with a 20-30 second delay.

6. PITCH: January is the Best Time for a Dedicated Monthly Campaign

Most nonprofits receive the bulk of their one-time gifts at the end of the calendar year.

It just so happens that research shows the best time to convert a one-time gift to monthly is within 30 days of the gift being made. That’s because the donor is still feeling their giving high, and they haven’t forgotten about you.

Segment your mailing list. Include all December donors and exclude all who are already monthly donors. Depending on where the gift was made, you can use email, texts, postcards or even phone calls.

Remember to share the “case” for monthly giving, making it all about the ongoing impact.

Pro Tip: Play off of the “New Year’s Resolutions” custom by asking folks to commit to give back in the new year by making charitable giving a habit. You might even recruit a donor, or group of donors, to offer a challenge grant that will match all monthly commitments up to a certain amount.  Offer testimonials from current monthly donors, explaining why they choose to give back in this way.

Do The Math

If 100 donors each give $100, you’d raise $10,000 if all gifts were one-time.

But if those donors switch to monthly at $10 – $15/month, you’d bring in an additional $20 – $80 per donor – raising your total to $12,000 – $18,000. And that’s all without recruiting a single new donor.

Better yet, your retention rate will likely soar from 20 – 45% to 83% or more. That’s huge!

The six strategies covered here are simple, deliberate ways to not only make monthly giving easier, but also make it the obvious choice.

1. Plan your monthly giving program – in writing.
2. Prime your donors with the “case” for monthly support – before they reach your form.
3. Preference – make monthly the default.
4. Payment options can make it more likely a donor completes their monthly gift.
5. Pop-Up a conversion offer at the moment a donor is poised to make a one-time gift.
6. Pitch monthly giving in January with a dedicated appeal to year-end one-time donors.

One More Pro Tip: Consider monthly giving as a pathway to developing major donors. How? Let’s look at a donor you believe has capacity, but who you don’t feel comfortable approaching for a major gift. Let’s say it’s $1,000. With a monthly giving approach, you can transform the ask into a manageable, budget-friendly gift for the donor. When you ask for $83/month – automatically withdrawn from their account – they don’t have to think so hard. It’s easier for them to get to “yes.”

Remember, giving makes people happy.  They like knowing they’re helping all year long.  They like being more generous than they thought they could be.

Monthly giving elegantly turns casual one-time givers into loyal, dedicated partners. This is good for everyone!

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Related articles:

• Monthly Giving! Not-so-Secret Strategy to Keep Your Nonprofit Afloat Today
• Why Smart Nonprofits Focus on Growing Monthly Giving

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