Last year, many nonprofits experienced a surge of new donors in response to sudden funding crises tied to a shifting political climate and changing funding availability. Some organizations call them Surge donors, others Crisis donors, and others Disaster donors. Just to be clear, that’s who we’re talking about in this post. Whatever you call them, lots of supporters stepped up quickly—particularly for public media, environmental, advocacy, and other mission-driven organizations facing unexpected shortfalls.
Now comes the critical question:
How do you turn a one-time, crisis-driven gift into a lasting relationship?
Crisis Donors Are Different (and That’s Not a Bad Thing)
Crisis donors don’t behave like traditionally acquired donors. They gave because:
- Something they value felt at risk
- The need felt immediate and real
- Your message met the moment
What they didn’t do was commit—at least not yet—to a long-term relationship. Retention requires a deliberate shift from urgency to connection.
For additional perspective, CDP’s recent post, “Finding Your Point Break in 2026 — Turning Crisis Donors into Loyal Supporters,” offers a strong framework for how organizations can convert crisis momentum into long-term loyalty.
Step 1: Close the Loop—Quickly and Clearly
Before asking for another gift, show donors what their support accomplished.
High-impact follow-up answers three questions:
- What did my gift help protect or stabilize?
- What changed because I gave?
- Why does this work continue beyond the crisis?
This isn’t a victory lap. It’s reassurance—and an invitation to stay involved.
Step 2: Move from Reaction to Relationship
Once the immediate emergency fades, continued crisis messaging loses its effectiveness. Successful organizations pivot by:
- Reframing the mission beyond the moment
- Demonstrating ongoing need without manufactured urgency
- Helping donors see themselves as part of the future, not just the fix
Crisis may open the door. Relationships keep it open.
Step 3: Let Data Tell You Who’s Likely to Stay
Not every crisis donor will become a long-term supporter—and that’s okay. The mistake is treating them all the same.
With response modeling, nonprofits can:
- Identify which donors are most likely to give again
- Prioritize high-potential donors for deeper engagement
- Avoid over-soliciting donors unlikely to convert
ROI Solutions explores this approach in “Maximizing the Value of Response Modeling in a Challenging Economy,” which highlights how predictive insights help organizations focus effort where it delivers the greatest return.
Tools like MiLo Intelligence enable teams to move from reactive follow-up to predictive strategy—using actual donor behavior to guide retention decisions.
Step 4: Build a Smarter Path to Sustaining Giving
Crisis donors who become sustainers often represent some of the highest lifetime value supporters an organization can acquire—but only if they stay enrolled.
That requires addressing two very different types of churn.
Voluntary Churn
When donors intentionally cancel because:
- The value of monthly giving isn’t clear
- They don’t feel connected to ongoing impact
- Engagement declines over time
MiLo helps organizations predict voluntary churn early, allowing teams to intervene before donors opt out—an approach featured in “Revolutionizing Sustainer Programs: How MiLo Intelligence Delivers Quantifiable Impact for Nonprofits.”
Involuntary Churn
When donors don’t cancel—but their payment method does.
Expired cards, bank declines, and processing failures quietly drain sustainer programs every year. Many organizations underestimate how much recurring revenue they lose this way.
In ROI’s “Bridge Recap: Strategies to Strengthen Your Sustainer Program Lifecycle,” the program lifecycle approach includes protecting sustainer revenue by recovering failed payments—specifically highlighting solutions like our partners at Revaly (formerly known as Flexpay) to reduce involuntary churn and minimize disruption for donors.
Because losing a loyal supporter due to an expired credit card is about as painful—and avoidable—as it gets.
Step 5: Segment, Personalize, Repeat
Crisis donors responded to relevance once. They’ll expect it again.
Strong retention programs prioritize:
- Segmentation based on acquisition source and behavior
- Personalized messaging aligned to donor values
- Consistent, mission-forward storytelling (not nonstop urgency)
When donors feel understood, they stay. When they feel processed, they quietly disappear.
The Bottom Line: Crisis Is a Starting Point, Not a Strategy
The influx of crisis-driven donors wasn’t just a short-term boost—it was an opportunity. Organizations that rely solely on urgency will see these donors fade away. Organizations that invest in data-driven relationship building will emerge stronger, more stable, and more resilient.
Crisis may have brought donors to your door. Strategy determines whether they stay.
A MiLo-Forward Next Step
If your organization acquired a wave of new donors last year, the most important move you can make now is shifting from broad, one-size-fits-all follow-up to predictive, donor-level strategy—so you can prioritize the right donors, choose the right next ask, and protect recurring revenue before it slips away.
That’s exactly what MiLo Intelligence is built to support. MiLo helps nonprofits:
- Identify which crisis donors are most likely to give again (and which are likely to lapse)
- Target high-potential donors for sustainer conversion with smarter timing and messaging
- Predict and reduce voluntary churn using early-warning indicators
- Strengthen sustainer revenue by pairing churn insight with operational strategies that reduce failed payments
If you’re ready to turn last year’s urgency-driven support into a stronger, more resilient donor base, MiLo can help you get there—with insight you can act on, not just dashboards you can admire.
Learn more here: “Revolutionizing Sustainer Programs: How MiLo Intelligence Delivers Quantifiable Impact for Nonprofits.”
Bonus
Pair predictive retention strategy with shared learning. With the latest update on Epiphany Benchmarking, nonprofits can benchmark retention performance against peer organizations and share what’s working (and what isn’t), turning individual wins into sector-wide improvement.
Want to learn more? Let’s Talk!
Bonus Bonus
Are sustainers your thing? Join us at the DMAW Sustainer Day in DC on Wednesday, March 25!
