This document discusses strategies for establishing and maintaining a sustaining donor program. Some key benefits of sustaining donors include more reliable cash flow throughout the year, high renewal rates, and larger total gifts compared to single donations. Challenges include initial disruption of cash flow and accounting issues. Sample programs from nonprofits are provided that focus on recruitment, stewardship such as thank you gifts, and asking existing donors to upgrade contributions. The document concludes with tips on managing sustaining donors within a donor database.

1. Recruiting, Upgrading and
Tracking Sustainers in Your
Databank
Presented by Karen Graham

2. Advantages to your organization of
a sustaining donor program
Cash flow is more even and reliable throughout the
year
Sustainers have high renewal rates compared to those
who give single gifts
Sustainers give larger total gifts. It’s easier to come up
with $5/month ($60/year) than a $50 single gift.

3. Pitfalls
Cash flow in first year is disrupted. If you’re used to getting
most of your money in a lump sum, this will delay
collecting the full amount (but the total will be larger)
Accounting issues…e.g. there isn’t agreement among
auditors on to what extent you can count a perpetual gift as
accounts receivable.
Culture change: how you set goals and define fundraising
success. You won’t collect as much cash by the end of the
appeal. Reward fundraisers for sustaining gifts.
Higher per-transaction costs, if you pay a flat $ amount per
transaction, 12 times a year vs. once. (Net is still higher.)

4. Here’s what my network said

5. Sample programs

6. Sample programs: Wisconsin
League of Conservation Voters
Did 6 week staff recruitment drive, goal was to recruit
new sustainers and upgrade current sustainers. Staff
could earn points and redeem for prizes.
Tried mail upgrade, low response.

7. Sample programs: WDCB Public
Radio
Most popular is $10/month, also $5/month.
They don’t do upgrades (yet).
Do send a thank you gift on the sustainer’s anniversary,
push T-shirts for branding and identity. They knew the
annual renewal premiums were important to members,
worried people would be reluctant to commit if they had to
give up the premiums. About 50% still accept the
premiums and the rest either decline or ignore the offer.
Their development director estimates that people who are
giving $5/month ($60/year) would only give $20 on average
as a single annual gift.

8. Sample programs: Washington
League of Conservation Voters
They currently have 32 monthly donors. Working on a
plan to upgrade them.
Got 1/3 of monthly donors by direct mail, 1/3 at annual
events, 1/3 from personal visits with major donors.
Send hand written thank you’s and year end summary.
They don’t mail monthly donors any appeals, but do
include them on all emails.
Kelly’s advice is to set them all to process on the same
day, 1st or 15th of the month.

9. Getting the donors
Make it a priority. Ask at every opportunity: online
donation form, events, mailings, enews. Make it the first
option. And/or create a dedicated campaign to get
sustainers.
Premiums sometimes work: VIP tickets, contest, goodies.
Recruitment – use staff, board, membership to recruit
others.
Personal ask, by phone or face to face, is the most effective.
Emphasize convenience, small payments.

10. Stewardship and upgrades
What are you afraid of? The risk of losing people, by
reminding them of their commitment, is outweighed by
the opportunity to thank and upgrade them.
Regular communication is important: year end tax
receipt/summary and thank you, newsletter
Offer perks: invitations and early registration for events;
include them in your major donor circle based on annual
amount.
Ask for upgrades at the beginning/end of year or on their
anniversary, with a phone call (less likely to cancel, better
response rate)
Special appeals, yes! Use a customized ask.

11. Managing sustainers in your
Databank, option 1
Pulling a list of sustaineres can be tricky…
It helps to create a campaign/keycode for sustaining
gifts.

12. Managing sustainers in your
Databank, option 2
Customize your Contribution Types so Sustaining is
one of them.

13. Managing sustainers in your
Databank, option 3
Add a checkbox in your Personal table to indicate they
are sustainers, maybe year started. You can include
other categories too. (But this has to be manually
updated, it’s not magic.)

14. Managing sustainers in your
Databank, option 4
If you need a lot of detail on history of upgrades, you
can have thedatabank create a custom table with
whatever fields you want.

15. More Resources
Article on ACH/electronic fund transfer from Vanco:
http://www.thedatabank.com/files/thedatabank/files/Wh
y_successful_organizations_offer_ACH.pdf
Article on sustaining gifts from M+R:
http://www.guidestar.org/DisplayArticle.do?articleId=1191
Book by Harvey McKinnon:
http://www.whitelionpress.com/TinyCommitGive.html
Databank Support Center – ask a question or post a tip on
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http://support.thedatabank.com/forums