Why Donor Retention Should Be Priority #1 in January

Congratulations, you’ve made it through giving season! Did you know that 30% of donation volume on Classy takes place between Giving Tuesday and December 31? This past Giving Tuesday, we saw a 37% increase in new recurring dollars raised. This spike in donation volume comes with a bounty of new donors, and how you nurture your giving season donors plays a major role in your long-term success. 

Why Is January so Important for Donor Retention?

Our donor retention data reinforces the importance of prioritizing donor stewardship immediately following giving season: 

• Monthly recurring donors are 1.4X as likely to churn in January than any other month
• 23% of donors on average churn after 6 months from their first donation
• Events are the campaign type most likely to lead to high churn rates within the first month after a first donation is made

Review the following signals given by donors who are at risk of churning to establish a stewardship strategy to keep them engaged.

The Four Signs That Your Recurring Donors Might Churn

We found that the average one-time gift with Classy Pay is $189, and the average recurring monthly gift is $31. Even if the recurring donor only donates for a year, that is still double the amount of the Classy Pay one-time donation.

Given the value of recurring donors, you need to pay close attention to when they might be at risk of churning. If you’re able to see these red flags early, you can take action and re-engage your donors before they move on. We’ve also included suggestions on how to take action to keep your supporters engaged. 

🚩 Email Engagement: You notice the open or click-through rates of recurring donors are dipping.

✅ Consider adjusting your email cadence or reaching out to these recurring donors personally, with a phone call or handwritten note, and thank them for their ongoing commitment.

🚩 Credit Cards: Your recurring donors’ credit cards have or are about to expire. 

✅ Pull a report to identify which ones are nearing expiration dates. Send a message to update their subscription with a new credit card.

🚩 Willful Downgrades: The donor voluntarily decreases their monthly commitment.

✅ Keep your message positive and share the link between their gift and the impact it makes on your beneficiaries.  

🚩 Giving History: Analyze your pool of recurring donors and understand your supporters’ giving patterns. 

✅ Deepen their relationship with your organization with messages about your programs and work to fulfill your mission. 

Inspire Your New Donors to Continue Giving 

It takes more time and resources to acquire a new donor than to keep one you already have. Create a donor retention strategy that nurtures your donors so they continue to be passionate supporters of your cause. 

Our recent LinkedIn post shares five ways to retain year-end donors in the new year. Integrating these tactics into your fundraising strategy will help keep your donors engaged and remain top of mind with supporters for your long-term success. 

Recurring Giving is a Powerful Tool for Retention

Join us on January 25 for a live webinar with Pursuant, How to Grow Relationships & Recurring Giving With Year-End Donors. This live webinar of industry experts will share tips and tricks for converting year-end donors to year-over-year sustainers.

“When launching or growing your recurring giving program, building a community around a common cause through regular multi-platform communication keeps donors engaged and interested.” – Kim Richardson, Pursuant

Classy is a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about. Classy's platform provides powerful and intuitive digital fundraising tools to convert and retain donors.

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