Sustainer Day 2026: Building Loyalty, Maximizing Impact

Driving successful recurring giving requires more than strong digital acquisition.  It demands intentional coordination across digital, mail, and phone channels. This session explores how leading teams move donors seamlessly from first click to long-term recurring commitment through integrated, multi-channel strategies. Speakers will share examples of sustainer acquisition campaigns, proven approaches for converting one-time donors into reliable recurring supporters, and tactics for using phone and mail at the right moments in the donor journey. The conversation will also examine how teams build internal partnerships and secure leadership buy-in to support sustained, cross-channel investment. Attendees will leave with a frameworks and ideas they can apply immediately to strengthen and scale their recurring giving programs.

In this lunchtime keynote, Ben Smithee – Chief Growth Officer at NextAfter - will reveal the biggest takeaways from the 2025 Recurring Giving Benchmark Study, an in-depth look at how 140 nonprofits across eight sectors are winning (or losing) recurring donors.

We tested the donor journey from first recurring gift to post-gift cultivation and upgrades, tracking what actually moves people to give consistently. Expect clear benchmarks, surprising patterns, and practical moves you can steal before dessert, so your recurring program becomes a predictable revenue engine, that compounds growth each year.

Key Takeaways:

1. What is working and not working in acquiring recurring donors?

2. What did we see across a study of nearly 140 different nonprofit orgs and 600 gifts?

3. How can you optimize your donation pages, email sequences, and other comms

     to increase recurring giving?

Many nonprofits apply strong sustainer practices- thoughtful acquisition, meaningful stewardship, adaptable donor care and reactivation efforts - but often in isolation. This fragmentation can limit results, even when each component is well executed.

This session presents two case studies in which organizations exceeded established first‑year sustainer retention benchmarks after intentionally integrating best practice elements into a single, coherent system. Rather than introducing new tactics, the focus is on what happens when clarity of vision, operational readiness, and long‑term relationship design come together.

Using the Sustainer Canopy framework, participants will explore how moving away from a loss‑oriented view of retention toward an integrated systems mindset creates resilience, absorbs natural donor lifecycle change, and produces measurable gains. The session offers a practical lens for leaders seeking sustained improvement across mission and causes.

30 Ideas That Wow’d Us is a fast-paced lightning round showcasing standout sustainer strategies that truly moved the needle this year. Panelists will share the ideas, tests, and small shifts that delivered outsized impact in their programs. The kind of wins you can apply right away. Attendees are invited to actively participate by sharing one sustainer idea, test, or insight that wow’d them this year. You may even see your idea reflected as part of the session highlights. Learn from peers, and leave with inspiration and a few prizes along the way.

Full participation in this program is applicable for up to 4 Continuing Education Points in Category 1.B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.