Dave Raley is the author of the 2025 new book The Rise of Sustainable Giving. Raley is the founder of Imago Consulting, an advisory firm that helps organizations create growth by increasing recurring giving. He writes a weekly innovation and leadership column called The Wave Report to inspire leaders as they seek to grow themselves and their organizations.
Sustainable recurring giving is more accessible to more nonprofits than at any other time in history. The rise of the subscription economy has changed the game. It started with transforming the way people consume and is now transforming the way people give.
Study after study over the past several years has pointed to one bright spot – the rapid and unprecedented growth of recurring giving. In a conversation with the team at Virtuous, they saw 50 percent growth in recurring giving as a percentage of annual revenue from 2020 to 2024.
Over the past three years, I’ve invested hundreds of hours understanding this trend. I’ve combined 20 years of fundraising experience with a national study and interviews with top fundraisers and subscription experts to understand how nonprofits can take advantage of these shifts to grow resilient recurring giving.
Three years later, the effort has culminated in my new book, The Rise of Sustainable Giving – How the Subscription Economy Is Transforming Recurring Giving and What Nonprofits Can Do to Benefit.
Today, let’s examine one specific question: How can technology help–or hurt–your charity’s ability to grow sustainable recurring giving?
Is Your Tech Stack Ready for Sustainable Giving?
If you’re serious about growing recurring giving, your technology stack (the collection of software tools you use) will either be your greatest ally—or your biggest barrier.
“Technology will either be your biggest barrier or best ally to scaling recurring giving.”
In Chapter 25 of The Rise of Sustainable Giving, I outline the foundational tools every nonprofit needs to support a scalable, donor-friendly subscription giving program. Let’s start with a condensed overview of those key tools, and then we’ll look at six criteria to help you evaluate and upgrade your stack.
Your CRM is the heart of your tech stack. It stores supporter data, tracks giving history, manages segmentation, and powers communication. The best CRMs also integrate with other tools—like your donation platform, email system, and reporting tools—to provide a holistic view of your supporters.
“Your CRM is the most crucial technology decision you will ever make—get it right, and everything else gets easier.”
2. Donation Processor
This handles the actual transactions. Most recurring giving happens through credit cards, ACH, or digital wallets. One critical factor: make sure your processor can migrate secure payment tokens if you switch systems. Losing recurring donors due to poor migration is a painful and avoidable mistake.
3. Donation Platform
This is your public-facing tool—the one donors use to give. It must be simple, intuitive, and mobile-friendly. A seamless experience increases conversions and minimizes churn.
“An easy-to-use donation experience is essential to maximizing subscription giving.”
4. Email Marketing Platform
Email remains the most important channel for cultivating relationships with recurring donors. Your email tool should support automated workflows, triggered campaigns, and rich analytics.
5. Mobile Messaging Tools
While email is king, SMS and mobile messaging are fast-growing channels for donor engagement. These tools often come built into your CRM or marketing platforms, but dedicated options exist, too.
6. Integration & Automation Tools
Your tech tools must work well together. Middleware tools like Zapier make it easy to automate data flow and tasks between platforms—saving your team time and improving consistency.
7. Analytics & Reporting
You can’t grow what you can’t measure. Analytics tools help you understand donor behavior, track retention, and optimize your program over time.
“The four fundamental technologies are your CRM, donation processor, donation platform, and email marketing provider.”
Six Criteria for Evaluating Your Tech Stack
When reviewing your current tools—or selecting new ones—use these six criteria as a guide:
1. Ease of Use
Can your team use the tool without relying on a single tech wizard? Does it create friction or make your life easier? While power and ease don’t always go hand in hand, tools should be usable with reasonable training.
2. Donor Experience
Your technology choices directly affect how donors experience your organization. From smooth signups to timely communications, every detail matters—even the invisible ones, like how your processor handles expired cards.
“The tools you choose shape the experience you deliver for donors.”
3. Capability
Make sure each tool can meet your current needs—and your future ones. Before evaluating tools, document your requirements clearly so you’re making decisions based on needs, not shiny features.
4. Scalability
Will this platform still work when your recurring giving program doubles—or grows 10X? Don’t limit your growth by picking a tool that will only serve you up to a point.
5. Integration
Whether you use an all-in-one platform or “best-in-class” point solutions, your systems must connect. Smooth data flow between your CRM, donation tools, and communication systems is essential.
6. Automation
Can key tasks—like sending a reminder when a donor’s card fails—be automated? The right automation can boost retention and reduce manual workloads.
Start with the Right Foundation
There are plenty of tools that can help your nonprofit grow, but when it comes to recurring giving, your CRM, donation processor, donation platform, and email provider are the essentials. Choose wisely, and your tech will become an engine for sustainable growth.
To help you get started, I’ve created a free guide:
The Sustainable Giving Growth Blueprint – A 25-page roadmap drawn from lessons in The Rise of Sustainable Giving, designed to help you assess and grow your recurring giving program.
You are also welcome to pick up a copy of The Rise of Sustainable Giving either directly at a discount or via Amazon, whichever works best for you.
Dave Raley
Consultant, speaker, and writer Dave Raley is the founder of Imago Consulting, a firm that helps nonprofits and businesses create profitable growth through sustainable innovation. He’s the author of a weekly trendspotting report called The Wave Report, and the co-founder of the Purpose & Profit Podcast—a show about the ideas at the intersection of nonprofit causes and for-profit brands.
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