With GivingTuesday in November and year-end donations in December, January is a great time for nonprofits to focus on donor retention. GivingTuesday donors contributed an amazing $2.7 billion in 2021, however, most GivingTuesday donors are one-time donors. The same is true for year-end donations. While it might seem impossible to do, turning one-time donors into monthly donors is a crucial part of any nonprofit’s success.
Here are some strategies you can use to turn your GivingTuesday and year-end donors into monthly donors:
Identify and segment your audience
First, make sure you’re identifying which donors came from GivingTuesday or year-end donations. You’ll also want to make sure you know which of those donors are contributing monthly versus giving one-time gifts.
By segmenting your audience appropriately, you can create campaigns that feel personalized, special, and tailored to your GivingTuesday and year-end donors. You’ll also make it easier for you to track and monitor the success of your campaigns.
For nonprofits using the RoundUp App, you can easily see which donors registered are one-time, monthly, or RoundUp donors in the admin dashboard. This makes it easy for you to download your donor list, add it to your CRM and start segmenting your audience.
Send a personalized thank you or welcome email
Perhaps the simplest way to turn one-time donors into monthly donors is by acknowledging their donations with a personalized thank you. You likely already acknowledge the contributions you receive through automatic emails or tax receipts. In addition to these types of emails, it is a good idea to send personalized thank you emails and welcome emails.
These emails can be fun, friendly, and informative. While you should still include personal details like their name and donation amount, make sure these emails seem less automatic and more conversational.
You might include some details about your organization, personal quotes from people you help, or sincere thank you messages. Whichever path you choose, make sure each one is connected back to the core mission of your nonprofit.
Show them the impact of their donations
Another way to convert one-time donors into monthly donors is by showing them the impact their donations have! As you’re wrapping up the year and compiling your annual reports, successes, and planning for next year, let your donors know how they helped.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to accomplish this:
First, gather your GivingTuesday and end-of-year stats and personal stories in one place.
Start by gathering up all the stats you can on your GivingTuesday and end-of-year giving. Include details on the total amount donated, how those donations were used, how many donors were new, or whatever else you find important! Make sure to also gather any personal stories you have too, as these stories will connect best with new donors.
Next, write an article with your data and personal stories interwoven.
The best place to start is by writing an article that weaves together your data and personal stories. By starting with the big picture, you’ll make it easier to tell the story of how GivingTuesday and end of the year giving helped your organization.
You can include success stories, personal accounts from donors or community members helped, and even some detailed data on the donations you received like total sum, average amount given, or the number of unique donations made.
Finally, share your campaign on all available channels.
Once you’ve created a long-form version of your whole story, it’s time to start editing and sharing. You can use your article as a springboard for different assets you can share on social media, including:
- Short videos
- compelling infographics
- stunning graphics
Connect donors directly to your article and success stories through newsletters or individual email campaigns. Update your website and donation pages with these new facts, figures, and statistics!
Start a matching campaign
Matching campaigns are great ways for organizations of all types to convert one-time donors into monthly donors. The ask is clear cut and compelling: by agreeing to donate monthly you’ll match that donation, doubling the donation and doubling the good!
Another type of appealing matching campaign is those with a deadline to give. By proposing a time-sensitive campaign or challenge to your one-time donors, you’re giving them a tight deadline and encouraging them to take action now to get the most out of their donation.
Ask them directly
Often nonprofits worry about being too direct with their asks to donors. There’s a good reason too: they don’t want to scare off potential donors by being too pushy. However, sometimes a direct ask simply works best.
Start by acknowledging and thanking your audience for their past donation on GivingTuesday or at the end of the year. Then, make a direct ask for monthly donations. You might start by asking them to contribute a small monthly amount or by asking them to contribute whatever the average donor contributes per month. Acknowledge that you’re asking for a monthly donation and provide solid reasons why they should contribute.
By being direct and personal with your donors, you’re giving them transparency into your organization while connecting them directly with your cause. You might also want to include how their monthly donations are used, what impact they have on your cause, and how grateful you are to have them as donors.
Take the stress out of giving
Many donors prefer making one-time contributions, like those given during GivingTuesday or during year-end giving, because they find one-time giving less stressful. These types of donors often know exactly how much they’ve spent during the year and how much they have left to give.
RoundUp App makes donating effortless by offering three convenient ways to donate:
- One-time
- Monthly
- RoundUp donations
We also make it super easy for donors to find nonprofits to donate to, pick a donation type they like, and set up recurring donations. One way we do this is by creating suggested donation brackets ($10, $25, $50), including a “most popular” donation type. Another way we take the stress out of donating is by giving donors more control over how much they’re willing to spend in a month allowing donors to set a maximum donation limit. Additionally, we give donors a stress-free and effortless way of donating by rounding up their purchases so they don’t feel the pain of a big gift.
A nonprofit’s goal should be to make the process of donating frictionless. By giving your audience multiple donation options and including information on the most popular forms of donating, you’re taking the stress out of giving and making it easier for potential donors to start donating.
Connect it all to your cause
Whatever strategies you end up using, it’s important that each and every ask you make is personalized, specific, and connects back to your nonprofit’s mission or cause. The key to turning year-end or GivingTuesday donors into monthly donors is acknowledging their contribution, highlighting its impact, and making donors feel like they’re part of the solution. By keeping things personal, factual, engaging, and direct, you’ll make it even easier to turn one-time donors into monthly donors.
