Engaging in an “Always-On” Sustainer Mindset

If you’re like most organizations, you hold a sustainer drive once or twice a year. During these campaigns, you’ll be laser-focused on recruiting new monthly donors and upgrading current sustainers to a higher level of commitment. You’ll have an articulated goal. You’ll shine a bright light on the importance of sustained giving.

And then … You’ll move on.

Too often, we confine this crucial form of giving to one or two campaigns a year. Sustainer giving is the key to a sustainable revenue stream. And in a world of decreased donor conversion and lower retention rates, recurring gifts are more important than ever.

At Mal Warwick Donordigital, we’ve seen time and time again how a solid monthly giving program can help organizations weather the storm through times of donor hardship and uncertainty.

That’s why the savviest fundraisers are changing their mindset — reframing how they fundamentally think about monthly giving.

What does an “Always-on” mindset mean?

An “always-on” sustainer mindset forces us to think outside the confines of our campaigns to elevate monthly giving all year long. It means embracing sustainers as the heart of our program and aligning our efforts and strategies accordingly. An always-on mindset doesn’t mean abandoning bi-annual sustainer campaigns — it means prioritizing monthly giving the other ten months of the year, too!

What does an “always-on” mindset look like in practice?

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. To bring this new mindset to life, we’ll need to make tangible changes to our fundraising strategies and tactics. Here are a few ways you can implement this in your non-profit:

 1. Promote monthly asks year-round

We suggest promoting a monthly ask in at least one email per campaign. This could be as simple and passive as a P.S. or a call-out box raising awareness about your sustainer program — or it could mean reformatting your appeal to a true monthly ask. We suggest a mid-campaign email rather than a kick-off or deadline message.

 2. Consider defaulting donation pages to a monthly ask.

*Any change to your donation pages should be tested, as it has the potential to impact conversions and immediate revenue, especially during important campaigns.

Start with pages that aren’t connected to a direct ask, like your home screen donate button. Promoting a monthly gift as the default option tells donors how important monthly giving is to your organization and makes a powerful statement about the best way to support your mission.

Defaulting to a monthly ask also changes your supporters’ mindset. Donors who land on your page won’t ask themselves, “Why should I become a sustainer?” They’ll ask themselves, “Why not?”

3. Retarget recent one-time donors with monthly asks wherever possible.

Meta, display, and email are all great ways to put a monthly ask in front of recent donors.

Be careful not to turn donors off. Your messages should relay gratitude (lots of gratitude), create a sense of community, promote your member benefits, and demonstrate impact.

Although you may not see many direct conversions from these efforts, your donors will be primed to consider a monthly gift the next time they give.

Sustainer giving is too important not to consider all year long. Your monthly donors have already embraced an always-on mindset with their recurring giving – now it’s your turn!