What is recurring giving? The nonprofit guide to sustained donations

Recurring giving is a donor commitment to contribute on a set schedule. Learn how recurring gift programs work, how nonprofits set them up, and how to increase recurring donor retention.

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Last updated July 2026 by Fatih

Recurring giving is a donation that repeats automatically on a set schedule, usually monthly, after the donor sets it up once with a saved card or bank account. For the nonprofit it means predictable income; for the donor it removes the need to remember. Programs grow by offering monthly as a clear option on every giving form, choosing the default amount with care, and keeping donors past the first year by recovering failed payments.

Key takeaways

Neon One found recurring donors were retained at 79.11% in 2025, compared with 32.41% for one-time donors.
M+R found 64% of nonprofits still default their main donation page to a one-time gift.
On Givebear, donors can start a monthly gift at the kiosk or a daily, weekly, or monthly gift online, and manage it themselves.

Who this is for: Development directors building a monthly giving program; Treasurers who want a steadier base of income than one-time appeals; Mosques and churches moving regular givers from the plate or box to a monthly gift

Recurring giving is a gift the donor sets up once and that repeats on a schedule, usually monthly, until the donor stops it. The organization charges the saved card or bank account each period without the donor doing anything.

For the organization it turns one decision into a year of income that can be planned for. The hard part is not the sign-up but keeping the gift going: cards expire and banks decline charges, so the platform has to retry and tell the donor when a payment fails.

How do recurring gifts process differently from one-time donations?

A one-time gift is a single charge. A recurring gift saves the payment method and creates a schedule; each period a new charge is made against it. On Givebear this runs on Stripe subscriptions in the organization's own Stripe account.

When a charge fails, Stripe retries it on later days. Givebear emails the donor that the payment failed, when it will be tried again, and a link to update the card, so a gift does not quietly stop because a card expired.

Setting the right default ask amount for recurring gifts

Do not reuse the one-time amounts for the monthly ask. Someone who would give $100 once may not commit to $100 a month but may commit to $25, which is $300 over a year.

Show the monthly option next to the one-time option, not on a later screen. A donor who has to look for it rarely finds it.

Retaining recurring donors past the first year

The first months decide whether a recurring donor stays. Send a welcome email that names the fund they chose, a short update partway through the year about what that fund did, and a year-end statement with their total.

Make changes easy. A donor who can lower or pause the gift in the donor portal is more likely to come back than one who has to email the office and decides to cancel instead.

How does recurring giving work at a donation kiosk?

After choosing a fund and an amount, the donor can switch the gift to monthly on the kiosk. The email they enter for the receipt is used to set up the recurring gift and send the confirmation.

Kiosk recurring gifts appear in the same donor record as online ones, so the team sees each donor's full commitment whichever channel it started in.

Practical use cases

Offer "make it monthly" on the kiosk after the donor picks an amount.
Invite a first-time online donor to give monthly in the thank-you email a few days later.
Set up a daily gift for the last ten nights of Ramadan that ends on its own.
Show the board how much of next year's income is already committed.

Key features

Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly schedules
Optional end after a set number of payments
Card or, where enabled, bank account (ACH) payments
Email to the donor when a payment fails, with a link to update the card
Reminder email before an upcoming renewal
Donor portal to change, pause, or cancel the gift

Common questions

How often can a recurring gift repeat?

On Givebear, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. The donor can also set a number of payments, after which the gift stops on its own, which suits pledges and short campaigns.

How do I reduce recurring gift cancellations?

Let donors change the amount or pause instead of cancelling, keep them informed about what their fund is doing, and make sure failed payments reach the donor quickly with a way to fix them. Many cancellations are about convenience, not loss of interest.

Can donors set up recurring gifts at a donation kiosk?

Yes. Givebear kiosks offer a monthly option after the donor picks a fund and amount. The donor's email is used for the confirmation and for managing the gift later.

What happens when a recurring gift fails?

Stripe retries the charge on a schedule. Givebear emails the donor that the payment failed, when the next attempt is, and a link to update the payment method.

Can recurring gifts be paid by bank account instead of card?

Yes, where the organization's Stripe account has ACH enabled. Bank debits cost less to process than cards, which matters on a gift that repeats every month.

Keep reading

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