One-Time Donors vs. Sustaining Members: Understanding the Difference

If you’re running a nonprofit with a small team, you’ve likely wrestled with the question: should you chase the thrill of one-time gifts or cultivate a dependable base of sustaining members? Here’s the reality—both matter, but they play fundamentally different roles in your fundraising strategy. Grasping these differences isn’t academic theory; it’s essential for building stability while keeping your team energized and focused.

One-time donors jump in with single gifts, often sparked by emotion or urgency. Sustaining members (sometimes called recurring or monthly donors) make regular commitments, forging ongoing partnerships with your cause. Why does this distinction matter? Single gifts power short-term campaigns, while recurring contributions build the financial stability that’s increasingly vital as donor acquisition costs climb across the sector.

Defining the Donor Types

Let’s get clear on what we’re comparing.

One-time donors contribute once, typically responding to events like GivingTuesday, emergency appeals, or compelling social media stories. These gifts meet urgent needs and introduce new supporters to your work, but they usually reflect impulse rather than sustained commitment.

Sustaining members establish automated, repeating donations—usually monthly contributions like $50 per month. CharityEngine data shows that 94% of recurring donors prefer monthly giving, though some choose quarterly or annual schedules. This pattern signals deeper mission alignment rather than fleeting enthusiasm.

Here’s where it gets interesting: one-time gifts typically start larger but have shorter donor lifetimes (averaging just 1.68 years), while sustainers remain engaged much longer—often exceeding 8 years (CharityEngine).

Protip: Set recurring options as the default on your donation forms to encourage one-time givers toward sustaining status. Funraise users see measurable increases in monthly conversions with this straightforward design tweak.

The Numbers Tell a Story

Comparing these donor types side-by-side reveals dramatic differences:

For small teams deciding where to invest limited time and energy, these metrics aren’t just interesting—they’re critical. Sustaining members offer resilient funding that helps weather economic uncertainty and plan programs with confidence.

What Each Type Brings to Your Mission

One-time donors deliver quick cash infusions perfect for time-sensitive needs like disaster relief or matching campaigns. They dramatically expand your reach, especially through viral efforts that attract fresh audiences. The catch? You’ll need constant acquisition work to replace the 70% of donors who give only once (CharityEngine).

Sustaining members provide predictable revenue that enables long-term planning—absolutely crucial for small U.S. teams without large development departments. They cultivate genuine loyalty, with recurring donors contributing 42% more annually than their one-time counterparts according to Funraise’s research.

Monthly giving programs deliver benefits beyond the spreadsheet:

• stronger relationships develop through regular impact updates that maintain connection,
• lower fundraising overhead since you’re not perpetually hunting new donors,
• higher lifetime value from engagement spanning years rather than months.

Funraise customers report 52% average recurring revenue growth year-over-year (Funraise Growth Statistics), significantly exceeding industry benchmarks and proving what’s achievable when you prioritize monthly giving.

Protip: Calculate your donor retention rate using this formula: (repeat givers / prior year donors × 100). Below 45%? Shifting focus toward sustaining members could revolutionize your financial stability.

The Sobering Statistics

Industry data reveals patterns every nonprofit leader needs to understand. Overall, 70% of donors give only once, and new donor retention has plummeted to just 13.8%—down 4.6 percentage points year-over-year (CharityEngine, DonorDock). That’s concerning.

The encouraging news? Recurring donors retain at 84.3% after seven-plus gifts, compared to only 18.6% for one-time contributors (CharityEngine). That gap is enormous.

Funraise’s platform data shows organizations using their recurring giving tools achieve 1000% monthly donor growth in some cases, like One Tail at a Time, alongside that 52% recurring revenue growth rate (Funraise Growth Statistics). Comparing the $287 per year from monthly givers versus $192 from one-time donors (M+R Benchmarks via Funraise) makes the strategic path forward obvious.

AI Prompt: Design Your Donor Conversion Strategy

Ready to craft a plan tailored to your nonprofit? Copy this prompt into ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity—or explore our specialized tools and calculators built specifically for nonprofit marketers:

"I run a [NONPROFIT TYPE] serving [TARGET COMMUNITY]. We currently have [NUMBER] one-time donors and [NUMBER] sustaining members. Our average one-time gift is $[AMOUNT]. Create a 90-day conversion strategy to upgrade one-time donors to monthly giving, including email sequences, messaging themes, and success metrics tailored to our mission of [MISSION STATEMENT]."

This prompt generates actionable steps customized to your situation, saving hours of strategy development.

Converting One-Timers to Sustainers

Success demands diversified approaches rather than generic appeals.

Emotional storytelling resonates powerfully after the initial gift. Share ongoing impact updates that forge connections beyond the transaction. Don’t just thank donors—demonstrate what their support accomplished.

Incentives work for many contributors. Provide exclusive perks like VIP updates, insider newsletters, or mission-related merchandise for sustaining members. Make the monthly giving club feel genuinely special.

Form optimization yields quick wins. Set monthly giving as the default on donation pages. Organizations using Funraise’s conversion-optimized pop-ups see 12.1% lift in monthly commitments (Funraise Growth Statistics).

Follow-up automation transforms thank-you moments into upgrade opportunities. Leverage receipts, text messages, and follow-up emails with one-click upgrade options.

Here’s an unconventional approach table:

These creative approaches respect donor intelligence while making monthly giving meaningful rather than transactional.

Keeping Donors Connected

Retention tactics should differ by donor type. For one-time donors, prompt thanks plus second-gift nudges yield 38.1% retention rates (CharityEngine, DonorDock). Segment by past behavior for targeted re-engagement instead of blanket appeals.

For sustaining members, consistent updates plus feedback loops maintain that impressive 90% retention rate (Bloomerang). Automate communications showcasing sustained impact while personalizing whenever feasible.

Essential retention practices include:

• gratitude beyond “thank you”—detail specific outcomes their gift enabled,
• segmentation—customize messaging for lapsed versus active contributors,
• surveys—implement feedback to combat donation fatigue.

Here’s an unconventional idea: Thank cancellations gracefully. Chive Charities maintains 97% retention partly by treating exits positively (Funraise case study), converting pauses into future opportunities rather than burning bridges.

Protip: Implement card updaters and expiration alerts to prevent accidental churn. Funraise’s built-in tools address the silent attrition that undermines many monthly programs.

Your Roadmap Forward

Start small by analyzing your donor file for upgrade potential. Funraise users can access reports revealing segments most ready for recurring conversion. Without specialized software, you can test AI-suggested giving frequencies for potential 27% conversion lifts (FundraiseUp).

Your practical roadmap:

1. Audit retention: Calculate your rate and compare to benchmarks,
2. Launch a named program: Develop a mission-tied identity like “Sustainers Society”,
3. Measure your ratio: Track one-time versus recurring donors; aim for ratios below 1.0 as loyalty improves.

Organizations using Funraise enable 3x online revenue growth through seamless recurring giving tools (Funraise Growth Statistics). With a free tier requiring no commitments, small nonprofits can test these strategies without budget constraints.

The choice between emphasizing one-time donors versus sustaining members isn’t either/or—it’s about strategic balance. But if you’re working with a small team and want to build impact without burnout, the data speaks clearly: investing in monthly giving programs creates the stable foundation your mission deserves.