How to create donation tiers using your giving history

You’re setting up a donation form and need to choose the suggested amounts. Will $25, $50, and $100 feel right to your supporters—or would a different set make it easier to give a little more?

Donation tiers can show what different gifts make possible, but the amounts work best when they reflect your own giving history. This guide walks through choosing, naming, and describing your tiers, with a free template you can adapt for your next appeal.

In this guide, we’ll show you how. Plus, we’ve included a free donation tier template any nonprofit can use.

Key takeaways

• Use your nonprofit’s data 📊 Build giving tiers based on your organization’s actual data so they resonate with your support base.
• Set three to five donation tiers 💰 Offer enough options to accommodate different budgets without overwhelming donors.
• Separate monthly giving 📆 The average recurring gift amount is usually lower than the average one-time gift amount, so create separate sets of giving tiers for each.
• Name your tiers 📒 Choose names for your tiers based on your mission, campaign, or the impact of each donation amount.
• Highlight donor benefits 💛 Explain what donors can expect at each giving level.
• Choose the right tools 🧈 Use a fundraising platform like Givebutter that lets you customize donation tiers, create separate tiers for one-time and recurring giving, and keep all your giving data in one place, ready when you need it to build your tiers.

What are donation tiers?

Donation tiers are preset gift amounts that nonprofits add to their donation forms. Each tier typically includes a suggested amount and may feature a name, impact description, or donor benefit.

Preset gift suggestions help donors decide how much to give and can also highlight impact, build community, and encourage higher giving.

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How to set your donation tier amounts

Effective donation tiers aren’t one-size-fits-all, but creating them doesn’t have to be complicated. Below, we’ve broken it down into three easy steps any nonprofit can follow.

Step 1: Start with your real giving data 📊

Instead of basing your giving tiers on nonprofit benchmarks, use your own data as a foundation. This makes your giving tiers more likely to resonate with your existing support base.

Pull the last 12 months of giving data and find your median gift amount. Using this figure prevents one-time large or small gifts from skewing your average. Givebutter Plus makes this easy with prebuilt giving data reports.

💡 Pro tip: If you’re a new nonprofit without much giving data, Givebutter's suggested donation amounts can help. They use your campaign type and cause category, along with data from similar Givebutter campaigns, to recommend starting amounts.

Step 2: Build 3 to 5 tiers around a strong middle option 🎯

Use your median donation amount as your middle tier. Then set a higher amount at 1.5x or 2x your median gift and a lower amount around 50% of your median gift as a more approachable option. Aim for five tiers or fewer to prevent decision overwhelm.

Let donors enter a custom donation amount through an “Other” option so they can give what fits their budget.

Here are some example tiers to help you get started. Just remember to build yours using your own nonprofit data.

💡 Pro tip: Review your giving data twice a year and update your donation tiers as your median gift amount changes.

Learn more

Get our donation form template with 10 real examples →

Step 3: Create separate monthly giving tiers 🔁

Treat one-time gifts and recurring gifts as separate sets of donation tiers. Recurring donors usually give smaller amounts per transaction, even though they often give more over the year. Setting the same suggested amounts for both could make monthly giving feel too expensive.

Review your recurring gift data separately from your one-time gift data, and create a set of donation tiers for each. This lets you tailor donation amounts for each giving frequency.

💡 Pro tip: With Givebutter, donors can manage their gifts in the donor portal.

More to explore

Start a thriving monthly giving program →

How to name & describe each giving level

The right names and descriptions make your donation tiers more memorable and show your supporters how donations translate to impact.

Here’s how to create branded giving tiers that resonate and boost donations.

Tie every amount to a tangible outcome 🌱

Explain what each giving tier will achieve for your nonprofit. Specific examples help supporters visualize how their gifts contribute to your mission.

Keep descriptions honest, clear, and concise. On Givebutter, amount descriptions have a 160-character limit to make them easy to scan.

🎬 See it in action: A youth sports team shares how its giving tiers translate to impact: every $20 provides one child with a jersey, every $40 provides one child with a pair of sneakers, and every $100 covers one child's training camp.

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Pick names that fit your mission 🏷️

Give each donation tier a memorable name that fits your nonprofit's mission or community. Here are three ways to come up with creative names for donor levels, along with when to use each type:

🎬 See it in action: The same youth sports team opts for a mission theme and names their three donation tiers Varsity, All Star, Hall of Fame.

Choose the right donor benefits 🏅

Add an incentive to give by tying every donation tier to specific donor appreciation, and share any donor perks in the description section of your campaign page.

Only promise benefits you can deliver, since you won’t know how many donors will choose each tier in advance.

Here are some common recognition perk ideas and when to use them:

💡 Pro tip: To keep your donation form from getting too cluttered, add your donation tier appreciation examples in your Givebutter campaign page description and your nonprofit website, rather than the actual donation form.

Donation tier example from a real nonprofit

There’s no better source of inspiration than a nonprofit like yours. Below, we’ll break down a real donation tier campaign created with Givebutter's fundraising pages, highlighting what worked and how your nonprofit can apply similar ideas.

Become a GEM: Give Every Month 💎

Metropolitan Performing Arts (MPA) launched its “Give Every Month” (GEM) tiered donation program to support day-to-day operations and future growth. It also offers an annual donation program with higher gift amounts.

💸 Total raised: $32.2K (161% of its fundraising goal)

✨ Why it worked: MPA gave its monthly donation program a memorable name (“GEM”) and built donation tiers around the theme: Amethyst, Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, and Diamond. The campaign page also outlined donor recognition by level, including social media shoutouts, branded merch, and free show tickets.

💛 Make it your own: Include an eye-catching graphic that breaks down the benefits of each donation tier. Feature it front and center on your customizable Givebutter campaign page.

Download your free donation tiers template

Download this free template to create donation tiers tailor-made for your nonprofit.

Use your giving data from the last 12 months to fill in the “Gift data” spreadsheet tab. Then use the tier builder to set suggested amounts for one-time and monthly donations, and customize them in the “Names & perks” tab.

Freebie alert!

Download your free donation tiers template →

Give every donor a level that feels just right

Custom donation tiers encourage giving and help build a strong sense of community. The first step is to base your donation tier amounts on your actual donor data, and the second is to tie each tier to real impact and donor appreciation.

Givebutter makes it easy to create donation tiers for one-time and recurring gifts, or use suggested amounts to set data-informed defaults that fit your campaign. If you want deeper insights into your giving data, Givebutter Plus has you covered with prebuilt reports.

Sign up for your free Givebutter account today and create customized donation tiers based on your actual donation data.

FAQs about donation tiers

What are the different levels of donation?

Nonprofits typically use three to five different donation levels, also called donation tiers or suggested donation amounts:

• Entry-level donors
• Mid-level donors (your median gift amount)
• Stretch-level donors
• Leadership donors

Instead of basing your giving levels on industry benchmarks, base donation levels on your own giving data.

With Givebutter, you can easily view your donation history to determine your giving levels. Givebutter’s suggested amounts can also set defaults based on your campaign type, cause category, and similar Givebutter campaigns.

What are some ideas for donation tiers?

Try naming your donation tiers based on your mission or campaign theme. Or, opt for simple donation tiers (like bronze, silver, and gold), and tie each donation amount to specific impact.

How many donation tiers should you have?

Aim for three to five donation tiers for one-time giving and another three to five for recurring gifts, such as monthly donations.

Offering a few options for each giving frequency helps accommodate different budgets without becoming overwhelming.

What is a suggested donation amount?

A suggested donation is a preset gift amount that nonprofits display on donation forms or websites.

These amounts help supporters quickly decide how much to donate and can encourage higher giving. Include an option for donors to enter their own amount so they aren’t limited to the preset choices.