How to communicate upcoming payments and auto-renewals for recurring donors and members
Overview
Whenever a recurring credit card payment* is due to be sent to your nonprofit - either for a monthly donation, ongoing pledge, or automatic membership renewal, for example - requirements by credit card companies and some other governing bodies require that your nonprofit sends the donor/member an electronic notification advising them that a payment is going to be charged to them on their credit card, and also make it clear and easy for them to make changes to, or cancel, their recurring payments.
*If you are not processing recurring credit card payments from your donors/members, these requirements do not apply to you.
If you are already notifying your donors/members in advance of their upcoming payments, you are likely already meeting these requirements.
If you are unsure about what you need to do to comply, or need more information on what these new credit card requirements mean for your nonprofit, we suggest that you get in touch with one of the following organizations to learn more:
- The payment processing company (e.g. iATS or Stripe) that your nonprofit works with to process payments from your donors/members into Sumac CRM.
- The credit card company(ies) (e.g. Mastercard, Visa) that your donors/members use to process their payments with your nonprofit.
How you can use Sumac CRM to satisfy these requirements
We want to ensure that your donors/members have a positive experience when they are donating or renewing their membership with you. Here are some suggestions on how you can use Sumac CRM to satisfy these new credit card requirements:
- If you are using Sumac Webforms for accepting online donations and/or membership renewals, our pages are already set up to clearly communicate to donors/members of their recurring payment commitment.
- With Sumac, you can also quickly find and communicate in bulk with your donors/members whose payments are due soon or have just been processed. See below for more recommendations and some sample templates for donors members we’ve made to help you get started.
Recommendations
To help your organization satisfy these new credit card requirements and continue to provide a great experience to your donors and members, consider these recommendations:
- Have a designated email address that donors and/or members can use to contact your organization when they have questions about making adjustments to, or canceling, their recurring payments.
- Review any email templates you are currently using to make sure they clearly inform your donors and members that they have signed up for a recurring donation or membership renewal, and provide them with clear instructions on how to cancel their recurring payment if they wish to. If you need some guidance on how to craft this kind of messaging, review our sample email templates below.
- After someone signs up to authorize recurring payments to your organization (e.g. for a monthly donation or automatic membership renewal), be sure to send them a confirmation email after their sign up, a reminder email in advance of upcoming payments, and a follow-up email after a payment has been taken.
Remember to review the new requirements from Mastercard and Visa to learn more.
Sample Email Templates
For Recurring Donors
For donors with recurring donations or pledges, we've compiled three sample email messages you can use as a jumping off point!
Recurring donation sign-up confirmation message
After a donor has signed up to make recurring donations, Sumac automatically sends a payment receipt by email that outlines the terms of the donation they signed up for (i.e. date, and frequency for recurring payments), but it’s a good idea for you to send your own thank you email that confirms these terms as well.
This email must provide the donor with clear instructions on how to cancel or make adjustments to their recurring donations. For example:
Dear <<Donor Name>>,
Thank you for signing up to be a recurring donor!
On <<sign-up Date>>, you agreed to become a regular recurring donor to our organization. This email confirms that your donation of $<<amount>> will be processed automatically every <<frequency>> months, on the <<day of the month>> day of each month.
If you would like to make adjustments to your recurring donation amount, or cancel your recurring donation, please email us at <<email@yourcharity.com>> to request this change.
Thank you again for becoming a recurring donor to <<Your Organization’s name>> - we greatly appreciate your contribution to our cause.
Reminder for upcoming donation payment
For donors who have signed up for a less frequent recurring donation schedule (i.e. 6 months or more between each payment) you must send the donor a reminder email in advance of their next payment letting them know that a payment will be taken soon. Credit card companies require that you send this reminder email within 3-7 days of their next payment date.
This email must provide the donor with clear instructions on how to cancel or make adjustments to their recurring donations. For example:
Dear <<Donor Name>>,
This is a reminder that you have an upcoming payment of $<<amount>> for your recurring donation commitment. This payment will be taken automatically. No further action is required.
On <<sign up date>>, you agreed to donate $<<amount>> every <<frequency>> months, on the <<date of the month>> day of each month.
If you would like to make adjustments to your recurring donation amount, or cancel your recurring donation, please email us at <<email@yourcharity.com>> to request this change.
Thank you for your recurring donation to <<Your Organization’s name>> - we greatly appreciate your contribution to our cause!
Recurring donation payment receipt message
After a recurring donation payment has been taken, you must send a payment receipt email to confirm to the donor that the payment was successful. This email must provide the donor with clear instructions on how to cancel or make adjustments to their recurring donations.
Note: this message does not need to include an official tax receipt for the donation. Many recurring donors prefer to receive a single tax receipt at the end of the calendar year for the total amount of their annual contributions. You can continue providing an annual tax receipt to donors who prefer this option.
Dear <<Donor Name>>,
Thank you for your payment of $<<amount>> for your recurring donation commitment!
On <<sign up date>>, you agreed to donate $<<amount>> every <<frequency>> months, on the <<date of the month>> day of each month.
If you would like to make adjustments to your recurring donation amount, or cancel your recurring donation, please email us at <<email@yourcharity.com>> to request this change.
Thank you again for your recurring donation to <<Your Organization’s name>> - we greatly appreciate your contribution to our cause
.
For Recurring Members
For Members who have opted in for automatic, recurring membership renewals, we've compiled three sample email messages you can use as a jumping off point.
Automatic membership renewal opt-in confirmation message
After a member has purchased or renewed a membership, and has opted in to have their membership renew automatically in the future, you must send a confirmation email that confirms the terms of their future automatic membership renewal payments.
This email must provide the member with clear instructions on how to cancel or make adjustments to their recurring membership payments. For example:
Dear <<Member Name>>,
Thank you for becoming a member of <<Your Organization name>>!
On <<sign up date>>, you became a <<Membership Type>> Member of our organization, and requested to have your membership renew automatically in the future. This email confirms that your next membership renewal will be processed automatically on <<date of next renewal payment>>.
If you would like to make adjustments or cancel your membership, please email us at <<email@yourcharity.com>> to request this change.
Thank you again for becoming a <<Membership Type>> Member!
Reminder for upcoming renewal payment
For members whose membership renewal frequency is 6 months or more, and who have opted in to have their membership renew automatically, you must send the member a reminder email in advance of their next payment. Credit card companies require that you send this reminder email within 3-7 days of their next payment date.
This email must provide the member with clear instructions on how to cancel or make adjustments to their recurring membership. For example:
Dear <<Member Name>>,
This is a reminder that you have an upcoming membership renewal payment of $<<amount>> coming on <<date of upcoming payment>>. This payment will be taken automatically. No further action is required.
On <<sign up date>>, you became a <<Membership Type>> member of our organization, and requested to have your membership renew automatically in the future.
If you would like to make adjustments or cancel your membership, please email us at <<email@yourcharity.com>> to request this change.
Thank you for being a <<Membership Type>> member - we greatly appreciate your continued membership to <<Your organization name>>!
Recurring renewal payment receipt message
After an automatic membership renewal payment has been taken, you must send a payment receipt email to confirm to the member that the payment was successful. This email must provide the member with clear instructions on how to cancel or make adjustments to their membership.
Dear <<Member Name>>,
Thank you for your membership renewal payment of $<<amount>> on <<renewal date>>!
On <<sign up date>>, you became a <<Membership Type>> member of our organization, and requested to have your membership renew automatically in the future.
If you would like to make adjustments or cancel your membership, please email us at <<email@yourcharity.com>> to request this change.
Thank you for continuing to be a <<Membership Type>> member - we greatly appreciate your membership to <<Your organization name>>!
All of the sample messages above are available for download! See below to download any of these templates, then use your HTML editor to customize according to your organization's preferences, like modifying some wording or adding your logo.
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