Defaulting to a recurring gift option ??

Today’s test is simple on the surface but with a nuanced outcome.

On their donation page, this organization lowered the gift array amounts and defaulted to a recurring gift rather than a one-time gift.

Let’s take a look at how changing the default gift type and amount impacted their program.

Hypothesis

Defaulting to a recurring gift and emphasizing its broader impact for donors will increase the number of recurring donations.?

Why might this work?

Because the default recurring gift amount is much lower than the one-time gift, it presents a more manageable commitment and highlights the significance of ongoing support, encouraging more donors to commit to long-term giving.

Control

Treatment

Results

Defaulting to a recurring gift resulted in 20 conversions compared to 0 in the Control group.? Because we like to look at % change, you could say it led to an infinitely higher recurring donor conversion rate!

There’s one important thing to note here: the treatment had few total transactions when you include one-time gifts. But this organization understands the longer-term impact of recurring giving.

This organization’s recurring donors are 247% more likely to retain than their one-time donors. So even though they had fewer total donors in the treatment, those recurring gifts will yield greater revenue this year and retain better into the following year.

Some tips for testing this (and other) ideas

1. Test variations of impact messaging to determine the most effective approach for driving recurring donations.
2. Experiment with different recurring gift amounts to find the most appealing option for donors.
3. Track the performance of recurring donors to assess their impact on retention and overall organizational goals.

A/B testing is the primary way to cut through subjectivity and let your donors tell you exactly what works to improve results. Discover the power of a/b testing and start building your own testing program through this data-driven training course. Click to learn more!