How do I keep donors giving to my charity?

Keep donors giving by thanking them fast, showing what their gift did, staying personal and making a monthly gift easy. Here are the practical steps.

You keep donors giving by thanking them quickly, showing what their gift achieved, staying personal, and making it easy to give again or monthly. There is no magic formula, just a few habits you repeat every month.

Why do donors drop off?

Research from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, run with the Association of Fundraising Professionals in the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, has long shown that donor retention is a weak spot across the sector: many first gifts turn out to be the last.

In the report for 2025, 43.3% of the previous year's donors gave again (43.1% a year earlier), and the number of donors fell by 3.6%. The cause is rarely unhappiness. Most of the time the donor simply hears nothing, or only hears another ask.

So asking is not enough. You also have to give something back: attention, news and gratitude.

1. Say thank you within a day, and mean it

The first reply after a gift is the most important moment in the whole relationship. Send a real message in your own voice, not just a receipt. Use their name, say what the gift makes possible and sign it as a human.

  • Keep it short: three or four sentences are enough.
  • Do not add a new ask to the same email.
  • Call bigger givers if you can. Even one minute counts.

2. Show what the gift changed

Donors give to change something, not to fund your office. Send a short update a few times a year with one story, one photo and one concrete result ("thanks to you 40 families had a hot meal" beats "thank you for your support"). Only use numbers you can back up.

3. Make it personal

Use first names, record how people found you (a fundraiser, an event, a legacy) and adjust your tone. Someone who gave for a friend's marathon is a different donor from someone who has given monthly for five years. Ask what matters to them too: a short survey often produces gold.

4. Offer an easy monthly gift

A recurring gift needs no new decision after the first one. Show it next to the one-off gift, with amounts that mean something ("€10 a month covers a week of school supplies for one child", if that is true). Explain how to pause or change it: that lowers the barrier, not your income.

5. Do not ask too often, or only for money

Mix requests with news, invitations and thanks. A good rule of thumb is that most messages donors get from you contain no ask. Honour every unsubscribe straight away and store their data according to the GDPR.

6. Measure and learn

Once a year, check how many of last year's donors gave again this year. Compare by channel and gift type. One number you repeat every year is worth more than a report you write once.

A simple yearly plan

Put the ideas above into a calendar so they do not depend on goodwill alone. For example: a thank-you within a day of every gift; an update after three months; an invitation to an event or open day in autumn; a year-end summary with thanks; and one clear ask, such as giving monthly.

That is fewer than ten touchpoints, but each one has a reason.

Share the tasks too. One person guards the thank-yous, a second collects stories and photos, a third watches the numbers. That way your relationship with donors does not hang on one volunteer who happens to have time.

In WeGlow

WeGlow supports a few of these steps directly: one-off and monthly gifts, a thank-you email and updates on campaign and fundraiser pages.

The donation form offers one-off and monthly gifts, each with its own amounts and labels per amount. If your organisation fills in a thank-you text, a thank-you email goes out automatically after a gift. On campaign and fundraiser pages you can post updates, including an "impact story" type, so supporters see your progress. The thank-you email only goes out when you write the text, so do that while you set up.

How many contacts per year is right?

There is no fixed rule. Start with a thank-you, two to four updates a year and a small handful of asks, then watch unsubscribes and replies to adjust.

Should I thank every donor personally?

A personal touch on every gift is ideal. Automate the thank-you itself, but call or write by hand to your biggest or most loyal supporters.

What if a donor stops giving?

Ask kindly why, without pressure. A short email with a single question often gets honest answers.

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