Secrets to Stewardship Success
I’m excited to share with you the importance of stewardship and the secrets for success that I've learned in the 15 (or so) years that I've been fundraising in the nonprofit world. Stewardship is one of the most important elements, I believe, to being a successful fundraiser. I hope these tips help you take your stewardship to the next level, or introduce you to stewardship if this is the first time you're exploring the topic.
Before we dive in, I want to explain what stewardship is and what it is not. First, stewardship is usually the most fun activity that fundraisers like to do. It is the opportunity to connect with your donors and supporters that shows your appreciation. You're saying thank you. You're recognizing them for all they've done for your organization. And you're staying in touch with them throughout the year.
What it is not is an opportunity to ask for more funds. I would highly encourage you to keep stewardship efforts completely separate from your fundraising appeals and fundraising activities. The reason why is pretty simple - Anytime you receive a generous gift from someone, you certainly wouldn't want to say “Thanks for your great gift. We really appreciate it. Can you give us more?” Obviously, no one is going to be out there saying those words, but when you attach fundraising to stewardship, it's gently implied. So make sure you keep those activities separate and it's going to help you become a better fundraiser in the long run.
Tip #1: Create a year-long plan
Create a calendar (by month) and write down one thing you're going to do every single month to steward your donors.
These can be activities that you're already doing. You don't necessarily have to recreate the wheel or create a ton of extra work! But incorporating your activities into a calendar ensures that they don't fall off your radar at the end of the day. As long as you do something every single month, that is intentional to connect with your donors, they will realize and appreciate your effort.
Tip #2: Segment your list
You'll hear me talking about this ad nauseam. And I say that because it's just so important! I think it's one of the fundamental pieces of working with your donor base.
You're not going to spend the same amount of time on someone that gives a smaller gift as you are someone that gives a larger gift or perhaps has a potential to give a larger gift.
And I certainly don't mean to minimize those smaller gifts. Every size gift is so important to every single organization, but when it comes to picking the time that you have available to spend, you want to adjust your time spent accordingly.
For the individuals that are at the top of the tier for your organization, give them a little extra time and attention and let them know you really appreciate their support.
Tip #3: Track all of your activities and take notes
This is where your CRM database is going to come in handy. BUT I will tell you, back in the day when I did Walk fundraising, I actually had a huge 3-ring binder (I was known as the binder lady). I had my binder all sorted out - because I segmented my donor list even then!
I would open up the page, make the phone call, take notes right on the page and have that book available every single time I picked up the phone, sent an email, prepared to meet the person (in real life - which we don't do much these days). Also, just before I planned to see them at an event.
I tracked all of my activities and all of my notes because I wanted it fresh in my mind. The next time I connected with them, I could reference our last conversation. And now you have great tech tools that can make this process so much easier, including setting reminders within your database or your calendar to prompt you that it's time to follow up.
If you’re putting a lot of time and effort into your stewardship activities, it's really important to track the progress of your efforts. If you are diligently:
- Calling people
- Sending personalized communications
- Reaching out to ask their opinions and advice
Be sure to track to see if those actions are showing some sort of improvement in whatever data you're tracking for your organization. For example, you could track an increase in gifts, the number of gifts, an increase in your retention rates, or more people showing up to your events and activities.
There's lots of ways to track that information. It's not a one size fits all for every organization by any means, but it is important to make sure the things that you were doing are working.
So next time you plan a stewardship activity, think about what your organization can do and what you can do as a professional fundraiser to really offer exceptional stewardship to the people that care so much about the organization and mission that you represent.
If you’re interested in implementing an annual stewardship plan, but you’re not sure where to start, let’s talk. We would love to help you on the path to getting to know your donors on an individual basis and show them the love.
I want to create a 12-month stewardship plan that will build donor loyalty and engagement!
Check out the video of this blog here:
Meet Stephanie:
Stephanie brings a passion for partnering with nonprofit leaders to adapt, create, and engage with their supporters. Her work focuses on bringing creative and synergistic solutions to her clients so they attract and retain life-long, passionate donors. With over 15 years in the industry, Stephanie specializes in the nitty-gritty details of donor database solutions, big picture fundraising strategies and board engagement campaigns.