Sustainer programs a viable long-term fundraising method: report

Millennials are an ideal target for this fundraising method

Non-Profits & Charities

By Allie Sanchez

A new report by the Blackbaud Institute for Philanthropic Impact revealed that sustainer programs are more likely to increase a non-profit’s fundraising capability over a longer period of time.

A sustainer program is a gift program that lets donors give to their chosen charities automatically at regular time intervals.

Sustainers in Focus, the Blackbaud report, is an ongoing study of the viability of such programs in supporting charities over the long term. In its first instalment, the study revealed that such programs were able to at least double average gift size and retention.

Report author Chuck Longfield said this helps non-profits by doubling revenue from the same donor base. This fundraising method is more popular in Europe, but is gaining traction in the US.

Further, Longfield said sustainer programs are able to improve the sustainability of charities by helping them retain more donors, improve value, and broaden its base of like donors.

The report also revealed that the average two year revenue growth between pre- and post-sustainer conversion reached triple digit levels.

Some sectors posted the following growth: public and society benefit organizations—250% to 300%; human service organizations—200% to 250%; higher education organizations—150% to 300%; and environmental organizations—150% to 190%.

Longfield thus noted that the uniformity in growth patterns enumerated above show that this fundraising method works across different sectors.

Further, he said that millennials are comfortable in contributing to such a donor program, as their spending habits reveal they are more likely to give donations in small tranches over a sustained period of time rather than give a huge chunk of money in one go. Citing the growth in monthly subscription based services, such as Netflix and Spotify, he said younger givers are the best donors to tap for such a fundraising method.  

 

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