Your monthly donors are the ones who stay.
That’s not just a warm thought. It’s in the numbers. Neon One’s 2026 Recurring Donor Report found that about 79 out of every 100 monthly donors give again the next year. For one-time donors, it’s about 32. And the average monthly donor sticks with you for seven and a half to eight years. A one-time donor? A year and a half to two.
Then there’s this. Virtuous looked at 771 nonprofits and found the average group gets about 21% of its money from recurring gifts. The top groups get 44%. That’s close to half their money in the bank before they send a single appeal.
So if your monthly giving program is still on your someday list, move it up. And if you want a model to learn from, look at what landed in my inbox this morning.
The Email
At 7:40 a.m., I got a note from Melissa Giraud at EmbraceRace. The subject line said, “Your impact doubled. 6 days left.”
If you don’t know EmbraceRace, they help parents and teachers talk about race with the kids in their lives. Their monthly giving program is called the Group Hug Club. (Go ahead, say it out loud. It’s hard not to smile.)
Melissa had news. A donor who asked to stay anonymous gave $7,500. And she’s matching every gift, dollar for dollar, through September 30th.
Why This Campaign Works
First, it’s simple. The email gives you three things you can do, and each one fits on a single line. Join the club and your monthly gift doubles. Make a gift and it doubles. Share with friends and every dollar they give doubles.
Then Melissa sums it up in six words: “Everything counts. Everything doubles. Six days.”
That’s it. You can read the whole email in less than a minute, and you know just what to do.
There’s one smart twist in there, too. If you join the Group Hug Club, your gift gets doubled every month for a whole year. Most matches are one and done. This one gives you a real reason to pick monthly over one time. If you have a match coming up, think hard about putting it to work this way.
Second, it has a real deadline. September 30th shows up in the subject line, in the body, and again in the P.S. Six days is short enough to feel real and long enough to act. A match plus a deadline gives your donor a reason to say yes today, not “I’ll get to it.”
Third, the mission is clear. You know that moment. Your kid asks a big question about race in the checkout line, and your mind goes blank. Every parent has been there, or will be.
EmbraceRace names that moment on their giving page: “Every day, a parent faces a hard conversation about race without a script.” That line got me. I could see it.
The email also tells you what your gift pays for. Guides and toolkits for parents and teachers. Research on what works for kids. Groups where caregivers learn from each other. Not vague. Not fluffy. You can picture the good your gift does.
And that name. Group Hug Club. It sounds like a place you want to be. When your club name makes people smile, it’s doing half your work for you.
Then It Got Personal
Here’s the part that made me grin. I’m already in the Group Hug Club. I give $10 a month, plus I cover the fees, so it comes out to $10.90.
When I clicked, EmbraceRace didn’t ask me to join something I’d already joined. It knew me. The page said, “Boost your impact by increasing your donations,” and it showed my current gift right there. $10.90 a month.
Then it gave me three easy choices. Add $1 and my gift becomes $12. Add $6 and it becomes $17.20. Add $11 and it becomes $22.50. Or pick my own amount.
Look at how small that first step is. One dollar. Anyone can say yes to one dollar.
And then, right in the middle of the ask, a thank you: “Thank you for continuing to cover transaction costs,” with a little red heart. They noticed. It’s a tiny thing. Tiny things are what make donors feel seen.
One more thing I spotted. On the page for new members, “Monthly” is already selected, there’s a photo of three little girls grinning into the camera, and every gift amount is a multiple of seven. $7, $14, $21, all the way to $49. Seven days a week. Every day, a parent faces that talk. Maybe that’s on purpose. Maybe not. Either way, I’m stealing it.
What You Can Steal
- Give your match a job. Tie it to monthly gifts and stretch it over a year.
- Keep your ask to three simple choices.
- Say your deadline three times. Subject line, body, P.S.
- Know who’s reading. Members get an upgrade ask, not a join ask.
- Show your donor what they give now, and make the next step small.
View Pamela Grow's profile
I can’t wait to meet with you personally.
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