Center for Sustainable Giving Launches to Help Nonprofits Thrive in the Subscription Economy

As the subscription economy reshapes how people give, The Center for Sustainable Giving launches to equip leaders to grow generosity and cultivate giving programs for the future.

Founded by Dave Raley, speaker, advisor and author of The Rise of Sustainable Giving, The Center for Sustainable Giving serves leaders of the more than 1.9 million registered nonprofit organizations in the United States as well as those around the world seeking to break free from the exhausting cycle of short-term fundraising triage and build toward the long-term health of their organizations.

“Sustainable giving is not a passing trend or a tactic to test and move on from. It is a fundamental shift in how organizations fund their missions, relate to donors, and build for the future,” said Raley, Founder and CEO of The Center for Sustainable Giving. “For the first time, the conditions are aligned for sustainable recurring giving to move from the margins to the center of nonprofit funding—not for a few organizations, but for the sector as a whole.”

In 2024, charitable giving reached a record $592.50 billion, 66% of which was attributed to individual donations (Giving USA 2025). Over the past few years, as the subscription economy has shifted, it has changed what people expect, how they engage and how they commit.

“The rise of the subscription economy has fundamentally reshaped how people relate to ongoing value and recurring commitments,” Raley states. “Donors are no longer limited by habit or technology to one-time expressions of support. They are ready—and often eager—to participate in causes they care about on an ongoing basis.”

While sustainable recurring giving is not new, Raley notes that over the next decade, the convergence of changing donor behavior, the subscription economy and leaders willing to invest in the shift represents $100 billion to $200 billion of additional generosity, according to the Data Commons team at GivingTuesday. This represents resources that could stabilize organizations, deepen impact and fundamentally reshape the sector.

Nathan Chappell, co-author of The Generosity Crisis, sees the launch of The Center for Sustainable Giving as timely and critical: "The generosity crisis is real, and well documented — year after year, fewer people are choosing to give. But this moment also represents a genuine opportunity: not just to grow giving, but to rebuild a culture of generosity that reconnects people to causes and to each other. The Center for Sustainable Giving is exactly the kind of catalyst leaders need right now to help turn the tide."

The Center’s work is organized around four integrated pillars designed to move the sector forward together:

1. Training to equip leaders to grow sustainable giving through immersive learning
2. Advisory through applied strategy and implementation to transform organizations to grow
3. Insights to advance sustainable giving through research, ideas, and thought leadership
4. Partnerships to scale impact and facilitate a healthy ecosystem of providers enabling sustainable giving

“Organizations that learn to lead sustainable recurring giving today are not simply preparing for recurring revenue. They are developing the leadership capacity required to steward generosity,” notes Raley. “Organizations that build sustainable giving well gain stability instead of volatility, loyalty instead of churn, clarity instead of constant urgency, and freedom to plan instead of perpetual reaction.”

Source: Center for Sustainable Giving

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of NonProfit PRO.