Research from the University of Delaware suggests that sustained donations can be had through methods that allow the donors to give through auto-pilot.

"With the holiday season just around the corner and charitable giving on people’s minds, new research from the University of Delaware suggests that for organizations interested in increasing the number of givers and the amount of donations, the solution might be as easy as a simple change in how charitable gifts are made....

“'Thinking creatively about ways to change the choice setting can do wonders. I conducted a study with colleagues at Cornell University where we had members of a church make charitable donations automatically, such as having the money be charged monthly on their credit cards. We found that people gave more to this charity and sustained this giving over time. In essence, these people had selected to set a default on themselves to give more to this charitable cause,' said Messer."--Adam Thomas and Madeline Valinski, the UDaily