Donor retention rate, calculated and improved.
Most organizations chase new donors while quietly losing the ones they already have. Here's the formula, a calculator, and the seven changes that move the number.
The formula
Retention rate = (donors who gave in both years ÷ donors who gave last year) × 100
Count people, not gifts. Someone who gave four times this year is still one retained donor. If 400 households gave last year and 168 of them gave again, you retained 42% and lost 232 donors you already had.
What a good rate looks like.
Sector-wide averages get quoted constantly and travel badly — retention varies enormously between a hospital foundation, a booster club, and a two-person nonprofit. Overall rates in the 40–50% band are common for small and mid-size organizations, with first-time donor retention landing well below that and repeat-donor retention well above it.
The comparison that actually matters is your own prior year. If you were at 38% and you're at 44%, that's a real gain regardless of what any national average says. Track these five numbers together:
- Donor retention rate
- Donors who gave last year and gave again this year ÷ donors who gave last year.
- First-time donor retention
- Same math, limited to people whose first-ever gift was last year. Always the lowest number you have.
- Repeat donor retention
- Limited to people who had already given twice or more. Usually far higher — this is your base.
- Revenue retention
- Dollars from returning donors this year ÷ dollars from those same donors last year. Can exceed 100% when donors upgrade.
- Lapsed donors
- Gave last year, nothing this year. The count that tells you how big the recovery job is.
How to raise the number.
- Move 1
Thank within 48 hours, by a human
The fastest, cheapest retention lever there is. A same-week thank-you from a real person — not an automated receipt — measurably changes whether someone gives again.
- Move 2
Report the outcome, not the total
Donors leave because they never learn what happened. Send one photo and one sentence about what the money did, 60–90 days after the gift.
- Move 3
Separate first-time donors from everyone else
First-year donors churn hardest. Give them their own welcome sequence for 90 days before they land in the general list.
- Move 4
Ask again at the right interval
Most groups either never ask again or ask every three weeks. Two to four asks a year, spaced around real moments, holds the middle.
- Move 5
Offer recurring on the second gift
Monthly donors retain far better than one-time donors. The best moment to offer it is the second gift, not the first.
- Move 6
Fix the lapsing list before it lapses
Anyone 13–18 months out is not lost yet. A short "we noticed you're not in this year's list" note recovers more than a year-end blast.
- Move 7
Keep one clean record per person
Duplicate and stale records make retention look worse than it is and make personal follow-up impossible. Merge and maintain the list quarterly.
Most of these are follow-up work, not strategy work — which is why they get skipped. If you need the ask itself, read how to ask for donations and the donation request letter templates.
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Questions people ask.
How do you calculate donor retention rate?
Divide the number of donors who gave in both the previous period and the current period by the number who gave in the previous period, then multiply by 100. If 400 people gave last year and 168 of them gave again, your retention rate is 42%.
What is a good donor retention rate?
Overall retention in the 40–50% range is common for small and mid-size organizations, first-time donor retention is typically much lower, and repeat donors retain far better. Compare your rate to your own prior year first — sector averages vary widely by cause and organization size.
Why is donor retention more important than acquisition?
Keeping a donor costs a fraction of finding a new one, and returning donors tend to give more than they did the first time. A few points of retention usually beats a new acquisition push on the same budget.
How do you improve donor retention?
Thank quickly and personally, report what the gift accomplished, run a separate welcome sequence for first-time donors, offer monthly giving on the second gift, and reach lapsing donors before the 18-month mark.
What time period should I measure?
Use your fiscal year for the headline number and rolling 12 months for anything you want to watch monthly. Whichever you choose, keep it consistent so the trend means something.
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Read the guideOr browse all fundraising guides.
Or let us run the follow-up.
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