Stewardship

Stewardship is more than saying “thanks” or recognizing a person for their contribution. It is an offered opportunity to stay involved and informed to the organization. It creates a deeper relationship with the donor and fosters advocates and promoters for a cause. These helpful hints can lead an organization in the right direction:

• Begin to involve donors with their first gift
• Communicate with your donors
• Allocate a budget toward stewardship activities if possible
• Align appropriate stewardship practices with the budget and image of the organization
• Determine the kind of involvement the donors want to have
• Try to mix stewardship activities with donor outreach efforts. This allows current and potential donors have an opportunity to interact
• Tie stewardship outreach to the organization's mission
• Focus on the intangible benefits
• Maintain stewardship with longtime and generous donors, even if the gift falls
• Keep all previous large gift donors (even one time only gifts) informed and a part of your database, unless you hear otherwise
• Establish a relationship between donors and program staff whenever possible

Stewardship completes the process of soliciting major gifts by requiring acknowledgement and follow up to your donors.

CAUTION: Donor Fatigue!

• Many organizations use the same method to fundraise.
• The existence of too many causes/nonprofits.
• Loss of confidence in the nonprofit sector.
• Not treating the donors personally
• Privatization of the public sector, institutions that were once supported by government funds are competing for private funding.

Thanking Donors

Thanking donors seems like something so basic, but more mistakes, with more devastating results for donor loyalty, are made in the thanking of donors than anyplace else. Here are six rules for saying "thank you" that are absolutely essential:

1. Thank a donor immediately. Send out a thank-you note for a gift no later than the day after the gift is received. Nothing is more important than a prompt thank-you.
2. Be humble. Don't act as if or communicate the thought that the organization was expecting the gift as something that was the donor's responsibility to do.
3. Praise the donor's generosity. Do not stint. Let the donor know how important the gift is. 
4. Praise the donor's leadership. Anyone who gives is a leader and should be treated as such, and call attention to the fact that their gift will influence others to give.
5. Thank donors for past support. When today's gift is recieved, remind the donor how appreciative the organization is of past support, but do not talk about future support. Do not say thanks out of one side of the mouth and hint at future requests out of the other.
6. Never let a hint of disappointment show. Never, ever show a lack of gratitude for a gift, whatever its size.

There are two things that must be remembered about saying thanks. Donors expect it, and they deserve it.

-Tony Poderis