Originally posted April 4, 2025 on LinkedIn
If you are new to fundraising, unless someone has trained you on ‘RG’ you might not know, so let’s break it down simply.
A regular giving campaign is a fundraising effort that aims to secure ongoing, automated donations—usually monthly—from supporters. Think of it like a subscription model, but instead of getting a monthly box of wine or socks, you’re helping fund vital programs for a cause you believe in.
The goal? Sustainable income. A reliable stream of support. Something your fundraising team and board can plan around.
Should Your Organisation Start Regular Giving?
Regular giving is not a short-term fundraising fix. If you’re looking for quick revenue, you’d be better off focusing on major donors, corporate partners, government grants or philanthropic foundations.
But if you can take a medium-term view—if you’ve got the financial runway and a board who understands long-term growth—then regular giving can be transformational.
Depending on your acquisition method, it can take up to three years to break even. That might sound daunting. But the result is a stable, predictable, and growing stream of income that helps shield your organisation from funding shocks like policy changes or economic downturns.
Think of it like building a reliable salary base instead of relying on a big freelance cheque once a year.
Here’s what you need:
- An appetite for investment. Face-to-face and phone programs require substantial upfront cost.
- Budget for ad spend if you’re pursuing digital acquisition.
- A team (or partner) who knows how to acquire regular givers effectively.
- A board with a long-term mindset, willing to invest in sustainable growth.
If you’ve got those pieces in place, you’re ready to build something that lasts.
Face-to-Face Regular Giving
Pros:
- High volume.
- Lowest cost per donor acquisition.
Cons:
- Retention can be rough—especially when sign-ups come from pressure, not passion.
- Fundraisers are often paid per sign-up or hourly, both of which come with pressure. High-pressure = high attrition.
- In-house programs often can’t maintain performance due to lack of experience and pressure thresholds. They’re usually more expensive and less effective.
Face-to-face works best when outsourced to a team with specific RG experience. But the trade-off is reputational risk—your organisation is being represented in hundreds of conversations you’ll never hear.
Phone-Based Regular Giving
Pros:
- Often higher retention than face-to-face.
- More space for education and building rapport.
Cons:
- More expensive.
- You need quality leads, which can be costly to generate.
The highest-performing lead type? Leads generated directly from the charity’s own ads—often in a two-step campaign like the ones we run at Happy Fundraising.
Still, the cost of media, lead generation, and calling has risen—and ROI often takes 2–3 years to hit breakeven. Worth it for the long haul, but not an overnight win.
Online (Straight-to-Donation) Regular Giving
Now we’re talking.
Online RG is still in its early days—especially for smaller orgs—but it’s the future.
Why? Because donors live online. They shop, subscribe, and donate online. The next generation won’t think twice about signing up to support a cause with their credit card—if you make the experience great.
Pros:
- Fully controllable, testable, and brand-safe.
- Appeals to digital-native audiences.
- No intermediaries—your org manages the message and experience.
Cons:
- Requires deep digital skill.
- Needs emotional cut-through without in-person connection.
That’s where great content, landing pages, emotional storytelling, and strategic testing come in.
At Happy Fundraising, this is our obsession. We’ve combined 25+ years of RG experience from face-to-face and phone fundraising with digital-first strategies. We’ve trained teams, converted donors ourselves, built systems, and tested everything.
We’re not just helping clients—we’re contributing to a better, smarter industry for everyone.
Ready to Start?
If you’re considering launching a digital regular giving campaign—or want to explore how to make RG work better for your org—we’d love to chat.
👉 Reach out now to discuss campaigns starting after tax time. Spots are limited (we only take on 3 clients at a time), and we’re already booking ahead.
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Let’s build the future of regular giving—together.