Recurring Giving: Why Most Programs Plateau and How to Build One That Grows - Dave Raley, The Center for Sustainable Giving

<p>Dave Raley, Founder and CEO of The Center for Sustainable Giving, says recurring giving programs do not grow on technology pixie dust. Recurring giving has changed with the subscription economy, but too many charities still treat it as a checkbox.</p><p>The average recurring donor retention rate is between 78 and 84%, yet a recurring program can still plateau when nobody owns it or donors have no reason to stay. Dave explains how to make recurring giving a full-fledged discipline, not a side project.</p><p>In this episode:</p><ul><li><p>What The Joshua Fund changed to grow from about 1,900 to more than 4,000 recurring donors in two years</p></li><li><p>Why Netflix and Spotify spend heavily to acquire subscribers, and what that says about donor lifetime value</p></li><li><p>The difference between voluntary and involuntary churn, including the 20 to 25% of cards that go bad each year</p></li><li><p>Why a $1,500 to $3,000 recurring donor is worth a call when a payment fails</p></li><li><p>The &quot;how many and how much&quot; questions to answer by the end of today before assessing six technology criteria</p></li></ul><p>You will leave with a way to identify the owner of your program, define a recurring value proposition, and start reducing churn with the resources you already have. Technology can be a barrier or an ally, but it will not grow the program for you.</p><p>Episode highlights: (0:00) Why recurring programs stop growing (1:06) Why resilient programs still plateau (3:44) Quick wins for a stagnant program (5:11) What Netflix and Spotify reveal (7:38) When recurring giving becomes core strategy (9:50) Who owns recurring giving? (12:49) A value proposition donors want to keep (15:08) Reducing churn and winning donors back (18:24) Growth without a big tech stack (21:20) First steps toward sustainable growth (24:42) Start with the program, not the technology</p><p>Guest: Dave Raley, Founder and CEO, The Center for Sustainable Giving</p><p>Full transcript and show notes: <a href="https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-pulse-recurring-giving"><u>https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-pulse-recurring-giving</u></a> More episodes and the monthly newsletter: <a href="https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/"><u>https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/</u></a></p><p>If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.</p><p>Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.</p>