5 Strategies to Turn End-of-Year Donors Into Second-Time Givers

The giving season is over! Now it’s time for a deep breath — and a clear-eyed evaluation of your second gift strategy, meaning the deliberate steps you take to turn a first-time donor into a repeat giver.

Only about 14% of donors acquired in one year are retained into the next, according to Fundraising Effectiveness Project data — underscoring how difficult it is to convert first-time gifts into ongoing support.

Because of the amount of giving that happens during the giving season, the start of the new year is an important time to evaluate and ensure that your second gift strategy is working for your donors.

Why Focus on the Second Gift Strategy in January

A lot of research shows how even a modest increase in new donor retention can make a dramatic improvement to donor files and drastically increase donor lifetime value (LTV).

There are several keys to getting a second gift from donors, but it starts with the belief that the second gift is not guaranteed — in fact, the vast majority of donors who give your organization a gift will never give another one.

Additionally, the 90 days after the first gift are incredibly important to getting a second gift. Timing matters because of the science showing that giving makes us as humans feel good. There is a real emotional high associated with donating because people know they’re doing something meaningful.

Beyond timing — and embracing the fact that the second gift is not automatically going to happen — it is important to address the elephant in the room: Trust in organizations and institutions is decreasing. Nonprofits have rebounded after multiple years of declining trust, with about 57% of people expressing trust in 2024 and 2025. This stabilization is encouraging, but it also shows that a large group of people remains skeptical of nonprofits.

A second gift strategy is not necessarily seasonal, but evaluating it in January is important for a couple of key reasons:

1. It increases the probability of converting Giving Season donors. A significant number of people give at the end of the year — from GivingTuesday to holiday bonuses, tax benefits, and increased exposure to nonprofit appeals. This influx often means a surge of new donors entering your file.
2. It allows time to evolve efforts throughout the year. Evaluating your strategy early gives you time to adjust as the year unfolds. While much remains consistent year over year, each donor cohort has unique characteristics worth accounting for in your second-gift approach.

5 Strategies to Make a Big Impact on Second Gift Conversions

Second gifts happen because you’ve created the conditions for them to happen. Here are five strategies designed to improve second-gift conversions while year-end donors still remember why they gave in the first place.

1. The Thank-You Blitz (If You Haven’t Already)

If you haven't properly thanked your December donors, stop everything and do this first. The 48-hour window has passed, but the principle still holds: Exceptional gratitude drives retention.

Here's what “exceptional” looks like across channels:

Email. Your automated receipt doesn’t count as a thank-you. Send a real message from a real person — your executive director, a program director, or someone whose name carries weight. Be specific about impact — “Your $50 gift will provide three families with emergency food assistance this month.” beats “Your generous support helps us serve the community.” every single time.

Direct mail. Send a thank-you card in the mail. Handwritten if possible. If volume makes that impossible, at least make it look handwritten. Include a photo that creates an emotional connection. Reference their gift amount. Make it personal enough that they know this wasn’t a mass mailing — even if it was.

Phone. For gifts above your threshold (maybe $250, maybe $500), pick up the phone. This isn’t to ask for anything or to survey them — just say “thank you.” 

“Hi Sarah, this is Joe from [organization]. I’m calling because you made a $500 gift to our December campaign, and I wanted to personally thank you. Because of donors like you, we’re able to [specific impact]. Do you have any questions about our work?”

2. Build a 90-Day Impact Journey

People usually give because something moved them — a story, a statistic, an image, or a moment of connection. That emotional high fades fast. To get a second gift, you have to keep that something visible and real.

Don’t wait for your full annual report in June. General donors care more about the impact they helped make now, while they still remember giving. This also goes a long way in building trust.

Weeks 2-3: Send an email with a photo or short video showing the program they supported in action. Us a subject line like “Your gift is already at work.” Keep it visual. Keep it short. Show, don’t tell.

Weeks 4-6: Share a beneficiary story. Not “we helped 500 families.” — that’s a statistic. Tell them about Maria, the single mom who received job training through the program they funded. Show her face. Quote her words. Make it real.

Weeks 8-10: Send a direct mail piece with an impact update. Include numbers: “In the two months since you gave, we’ve provided 1,200 meals, trained 45 job seekers, and placed 12 people in full-time employment.” Pair the data with a story. Data proves impact. Stories make people feel it.

Week 12: Invite them to see it firsthand — a virtual tour, in-person site visit, volunteer opportunity, or webinar with program staff. Give them a way to go deeper.

3. Create a Second-Gift Moment

Yes, giving is cyclical, but that doesn’t mean you say “thank you” and then go radio silent for 10 months. When that happens, donors have forgotten why they cared in the first place by the time you ask again.

Create an intentional second-gift opportunity every 90-ish days. Make it feel different from a general annual fund or year-end campaign. Make it specific and tangible. Try this over the next few months:

• Consider a Valentine’s Day or Presidents’ Day campaigns, or a matching gift opportunity in February: “A generous donor will match the next $10,000 in gifts to our youth program. Will you help us reach this goal?”
• In March, try spring campaigns, program-specific needs, or mid-year pushes. Segmentation is critical here. December first-time donors should receive different messaging than longtime supporters. Acknowledge that they’re new: “You joined our community in December. We’re so glad you’re here. Now we need your help with [specific need].”
• Tax-season appeals can work in April if framed carefully, as can Earth Day campaigns for environmental organizations or milestone-based program updates.

4. Build Community, Not Just a Donor List

Most people don’t give to organizations. They give to communities that support causes they belong to. Community is conversational, authentic, and two-way. For new donors, do they know where your organization creates these spaces? Is there a Facebook group? Does your executive director host YouTube Lives? Is there a podcast, blog, or volunteer WhatsApp chat?

If the answer is “no,” create one this year — and make sure donors are regularly invited to participate.

5. Ask for a Monthly Gift

The easiest second gift to secure is one that happens automatically. Monthly giving programs turn one-time donors into sustained supporters with predictable revenue. Converting a donor into a sustainer with a modest monthly gift doesn’t cannibalize other giving — it gives them a reliable way to invest in a cause they care about.

Ask at the end of the 90-day impact journey — after strong stewardship, visible impact, and trust-building.

Don’t ask donors to commit to their original gift amount monthly. If they gave $100, suggest $10 per month. “Your $100 gift made an incredible impact. Would you consider becoming a monthly partner with just $10 a month? That’s less than a streaming subscription, but it provides consistent support for families in need.” Framing matters.

Emphasize convenience (“set it and forget it”) and impact (“monthly gifts allow us to plan programs more effectively”). Position monthly giving as an upgrade, not just another ask, and clearly communicate what donors receive in return.

Take a Short Moment

Fundraising is tiring. The giving season can be exhausting — mentally and physically — both at work and in life outside of it. Take a moment at the start of the year, pour a cup of coffee, and celebrate the work you’ve done to acquire new donors. Put yourself in their shoes. When was the last time you gave to a new organization? Why did you keep giving — or why did you stop?

The difference between building sustainable funding and staying stuck on the acquisition treadmill comes down to what you do with first-time donors in the first 90 to 120 days. For many fundraisers, January brings a surge of new donors.

Thank them exceptionally. Show them impact relentlessly. Create second-gift moments strategically. Build community intentionally. Convert to monthly giving systematically.

Donors often just need a reason to give again — so give them one.

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