If donor retention isn’t part of your fundraising strategy, you could be leaving significant revenue on the table. Retaining current donors costs less and delivers more value than constantly acquiring new ones. A solid retention plan strengthens the financial health and long-term sustainability of your organization.

Want to ensure you’re doing all you can to retain donors? Keep reading to learn what donor retention is, why it matters, and how your nonprofit can foster meaningful, lasting donor relationships.

What is Donor Retention?

Donor retention is the practice of engaging and nurturing existing donors so they continue to support your organization year after year. Every nonprofit should track its donor retention rate and implement strategies to keep current donors involved

How Do You Calculate Donor Retention?

To calculate donor retention, divide the number of donors who gave again this year by the number of donors from last year, then multiply by 100.

For example:
If 500 people gave last year, and 200 of them gave again this year:
200 ÷ 500 × 100 = 40% retention rate

How to Track Donor Retention in DonorSnap

If you’re using DonorSnap, no manual math is needed. Simply add the Donor Retention app to your dashboard for a real-time view of your retention progress throughout the year. Keep in mind, your final donor retention rate is calculated at year-end, but ongoing tracking helps you stay on target.

Why Donor Retention Matters

It’s simple: keeping a donor is more cost-effective than acquiring a new one. Plus, retained donors often give more over time and are more likely to become legacy donors. They’re also your biggest advocates—spreading the word about your mission.

Reasons Donors Leave Your Organization

While donor attrition is inevitable in some cases (such as financial hardship), many causes of donor loss are preventable. Donors are more likely to leave if:

• They’re asked for donations too frequently without seeing impact

• They no longer feel connected to your organization

• They believe other organizations are more deserving

• They aren’t thanked enough

• Communication feels impersonal or customer service is poor

Donor Retention Best Practices for Nonprofits

To prevent donor attrition, there are a number of things your nonprofit can do. The following best practices will help you improve your donor retention over time:

• Track retention all year long

• Segment your donors (first-time, repeat, recurring)

• Develop a stewardship plan for first-time donors

• Personalize your communications

• Build a recurring giving program

• Regularly thank donors and share impact

Track donor retention all year long

Industry-wide, the average donor retention rate hovers around 43%. Where does your organization stand? Tracking this regularly helps you stay ahead of potential revenue gaps.

Track your retention rate regularly, year-over-year, and monitor trends on a monthly or quarterly basis. DonorSnap’s Donor Retention app makes this easy by providing real-time retention data. Comparing your current rate to previous years helps you catch potential declines early—and avoid year-end surprises.

Segment your donors (first, repeat, & recurring)

Source: The Nonprofit Recurring Giving Benchmark Report by NextAfter

Not all donors are the same. Segmenting donors by behavior—such as first-time, repeat, and recurring—is essential for targeted stewardship. DonorSnap’s CRM tools make segmentation simple, allowing you to customize communications and strategies for each group.

Let’s break down how to approach each segment:

Steward First-Time Donors

First-time donors have an average retention rate of just 20%. To keep them engaged, you need to make a strong first impression.

• Send a welcome email series or welcome packet (Tip: Use DonorSnap’s Automated Task Manager to automate this)

• Write handwritten thank-you notes, and involve staff or board members to make it personal

• Recognize new donors in newsletters or other public-facing content

The goal is to make new supporters feel seen, appreciated, and connected to your mission from day one.

Personalize Outreach to Repeat Donors

Repeat donors often have a retention rate of 60%—but don’t stop nurturing them once they return. According to nonprofit times, approximately 71 percent of donors feel more engaged with a nonprofit when they receive content that’s personalized. Personalization can be as simple as the following:

• Address donors by name in emails and letters

• Acknowledge volunteer involvement or past giving history

• Survey donors about their communication preferences and stick to them

• Recognize increased giving levels with tailored thank-you messages

In DonorSnap, you can run a Comparative Donation Report by Donor to easily spot giving level changes and respond accordingly.

Set up a recurring giving program

Recurring donors are the most loyal, and recurring giving programs provide predictable revenue. Go beyond simply adding a “monthly” option to your donation form—create a branded, donor-friendly program.

For your recurring giving page, include:

• A creative name for your program

• Impact visuals showing how monthly gifts make a difference

• Clear FAQs (e.g., how to update or cancel recurring donations)

• A donation form with “monthly” as the default frequency

For more tips, check out our blog post: 8 Steps to Setting Up a Monthly Giving Program.

Thank Donors Regularly & Share Impact

The #1 reason donors stop giving? Lack of demonstrated impact. Make sure donors know how their gifts help.

• Use storytelling to highlight specific projects and successes

• Share impact reports, photos, and testimonials

• Thank donors frequently through multiple channels—email, newsletters, social media, and handwritten notes

Remember: consistent gratitude and transparency strengthen donor trust and commitment.

What to do About Lapsed Donors?

While donor attrition is inevitable, you can minimize and respond to it strategically.

• Set up an automated survey for donors who haven’t given in 18+ months to gather insights

• Identify lapsed donors with LYBUNT (Last Year But Unfortunately Not This year) reports

• Launch targeted re-engagement campaigns to win back select lapsed donors

For more on LYBUNT and SYBUNT campaigns, visit: LYBUNT & SYBUNT: 3 Steps to Re-Engage Lapsed Donors.

Final Thoughts

Donor Retention involves thoughtful nurturing of donors based on how long they have been supporting your organization. Nonprofits can benefit from tracking their donor retention rate and segmenting their donors by first-time donors, repeat, or recurring donors. 

First-time donors have the highest risk of attrition so developing a plan to warmly welcome them to your organization will go a long way. Repeat donors are not guaranteed to stay so nonprofits should leverage their CRM data to provide customized experiences and personalized communications.

Recurring donors have the highest retention rates. Beyond adding giving frequency to their donation forms, nonprofits should build and brand a recurring giving program that will entice donors to give monthly.