How KCBI Lifted Recurring Donor Retention by 19% With a Human-First Multichannel Strategy
By Emily Dingeldein
Recurring donors are often the bedrock of a nonprofit. They are steady, committed, and usually incredibly loyal. But what happens when they start quietly slipping away?
That is exactly what KCBI, a Christian radio station in Dallas-Fort Worth, began to see in their data. Even with a strong recurring program, 54 percent of their active donors were giving monthly, they noticed attrition growing.
It was not a crisis yet. But left unchecked, this attrition would eventually mean more work and more expense just to hold their ground. KCBI needed a way to re-engage their monthly donors and strengthen the relationships that sustained their mission.
That is where Amplify stepped in.
The Problem: Retention Was Quietly Slipping
Recurring donors typically retain at very high rates. On average, 86.7 percent of a nonprofit’s recurring donors will continue giving year after year. For many organizations, that is enough to feel confident in letting the program run without much additional investment.
But KCBI’s team wanted to know for sure. Using Avid Insights, we uncovered a concerning trend. Their recurring donor attrition was increasing. Month by month, more donors were quietly slipping away.
Rather than writing it off as inevitable, KCBI partnered with Amplify to design a strategy that would reverse the trend and create even deeper connections with these valuable supporters.
The Strategy: Showing Up Like Humans
One common mistake nonprofits make is thinking they should avoid drawing attention to a donor’s monthly gift. The fear is that reminding them might prompt cancellations.
We believe the opposite is true. The more a donor sees the impact of their gift, the more likely they are to stay.
Together with KCBI, we built a multichannel cultivation plan designed to do one thing well, show monthly donors they are seen, valued, and making a real difference.
The plan included:
📞 Voicemail messages sent twice a month from familiar KCBI voices
💌 Monthly emails celebrating the impact of donors’ gifts
📱 Text messages designed to strengthen personal connection
📬 A physical resource mailed to recurring donors as a tangible thank-you
📣 Meta ads reinforcing the message in the digital space
Every touchpoint reflected KCBI’s tone which is personal, authentic, and gratitude-filled. This was not about adding noise. It was about consistent and meaningful connection.
The Challenge of Multichannel Done Well
Multichannel fundraising is complex. Today it means far more than simply adding email to your direct mail plan. It requires coordination across email, text, voicemail, digital ads, events, websites, and more.
Doing it well also means tailoring your message to each channel and each donor segment. For most teams, this level of personalization feels impossible at scale.
That is where Avid Pathways made the difference. With automation supporting the segmentation and delivery, KCBI’s team was free to focus on the relationships instead of being buried in logistics.
The Result: 19 Percent More Donors Retained
For a program that was already performing well, improving retention was no small task. But KCBI’s human-first strategy delivered.
They saw a 19 percent lift in recurring donor retention.
More donors stayed engaged. More gifts continued month after month. And donors were not just giving, they were connected. They could see where their gift was going and who it was helping.
That connection built trust and kept their commitment strong.
The Takeaway: Retention Grows When Donors Feel Seen
Recurring donors do not want to be invisible. They want to know they matter.
When you show up consistently with care and gratitude, donors are far more likely to stay.
That is the Amplify approach.
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Emily Dingeldein
Client Services
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