By Neha Sandesh, Marketing Coordinator at CharityEngine, the only all-in-one nonprofit CRM built to help you start, build, and sustain a successful monthly giving program.

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When supporters land on your donation page, they don’t calculate how much to give. They choose from the options you display to them. Poorly structured ask amounts that are too low or too high can result in lower-than-average gifts, or donors abandoning your form altogether. That’s where smart ask amounts come into play!

Smart ask amounts are AI-driven, personalized gift suggestions that help guide donors towards giving meaningful amounts based on their donor history, giving patterns, demographics, wealth markers, and more.

By tailoring donation requests to specific donors instead of using a one-size-fits-all methodology, nonprofits have seen a 12% increase in average donation size and a 62% increase in average gift size year-over-year. Smart ask amounts reduce friction in the donor journey and lessen the risk of donors abandoning their gift altogether.

The time to start tailoring your donation asks is now! Here are 6 best practices for your nonprofit to implement when using AI to set up smart ask amounts:

1) Limit Ask Amounts to 3-5 Options

Beware of giving donors too many giving options that will overwhelm them or even discourage them from following through on the donation.

3-5 suggested amounts in a logical progression is a sweet spot for donors to have options to choose from, without giving them so many that they feel conflicted.

2) Always Include an “Other” Option

Smart Ask Amounts should guide donors to making their decision, not restrict them.

An “Other” option allows donors to give beyond the parameters of the suggested amounts and gives them a sense of autonomy when making their decision.

3) Adjust Ask Amounts Over Time Based on Donor History 

The purpose of smart ask amounts is to ditch the “one-size-fits-all” approach and target your donors with knowledge of their giving patterns to optimize the ask. Your CRM is a great place to quickly analyze donor history and make intelligent suggestions fueled by data.

Here are some examples of how to tailor asks by donor type:

• First-time donors: tailor ask at a lower amount, so as not to overwhelm new donors
• Repeat donors: increase ask by 10-25% more than the last gift
• Lapsed donors: anchor slightly below their previous giving level to gently encourage them to begin giving again

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Feeling behind on AI? You’re not alone, and you’re not too late! The Nonprofit AI Playbook for Smarter Fundraising shows you how nonprofits can start using AI right now to improve donor engagement and fundraising.

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4) Put Monthly Giving at the Forefront of Your Donation Page

 The opportunity for donors to become monthly givers should be front and center when making the ask.

Providing suggested one-time amounts is important, but encouraging repeated, consistent donations helps nonprofits grow their revenue sustainably and predictably.

Provide options for donors to give monthly at a lower amount than a large one-time donation.

Effective monthly giving ask ranges include: $15 / $25 / $50 a month.

5) Tie Your Suggested Ask Amounts to Real Impact

 When presenting your suggested ask amounts, tie them to real impact so that donors understand the value of their gifts.

Here’s an example of how you can frame your ask amounts:

• $50 provides meals for a family for one week
• $100 funds a week of programming
• $200 supports a day of services

 6) Test and Refine Your Strategy Over Time

The purpose of smart ask amounts is to tailor your strategy over time and personalize donation requests based on their continued behavior.

Consider testing different aspects of the ask, such as anchor amounts and monthly vs. one-time asks, and be sure to track conversion rates and median gift amounts as you refine your strategy.

Smart ask amounts are not about pushing donors to give more, but to make the request personalized and tailored to donors based on their behaviors and previous giving history. When donors feel like the process of giving is seamless, they’re far more likely to give – and to come back.