Retention · May 2026 · 5 min read
New Donor Retention Is 24%. Here's How to Fix Your Second-Gift Problem.
Three in four first-time donors never give again. The second gift is where loyalty is won — and most orgs lose it in the first 90 days.
First-year vs. repeat-donor retention
Source: M+R Benchmarks 2026
The leakiest part of your funnel isn't acquisition — it's the second gift. Only 24% of new online donors come back the next year, versus 66% of repeat donors (M+R Benchmarks 2026). Win the second gift and a donor's lifetime value transforms.
The second gift is won in the first 90 days, and mostly at the thank-you. A fast, specific thank-you that shows the donor exactly what their gift did is the single strongest signal that they made a good decision — and that you'll steward the next one.
Most second gifts are lost to silence: a delayed or generic receipt, then nothing for months. By the time the next appeal lands, the donor barely remembers you. The fix is a deliberate first-90-days sequence: prompt personal thank-you, an impact update, then a soft second ask.
On a small team, that sequence is the first thing to fall behind. So new donors get a tax receipt and a cold shoulder.
Tongba drafts the personal thank-you the moment a gift lands and queues the follow-ups — you approve, it sends. You stop losing the second gift to your own inbox.
Do this with Tongba
Thank-you automation →See how Tongba turns this into approved, personalized donor emails.
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