Stewardship 101 2020

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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Maximizing Your Stewardship Program
Key Fundamentals and Best Practices for Successful Donor Engagement
Bob Thomas
Executive Director
Advancement Marketing & Communications
2020

2
Agenda
 The Fundraising Continuum
 Some Donor Insights
 Donor Expectations
 The Stewardship Process
 Setting the Right Priorities
 Measuring Success

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The Fundraising Continuum
Identification
Qualification
CultivationSolicitation
Stewardship

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Why do Donors Give?
 They Want to Make Meaningful Change
 They Want to Help Others
 They Believe in Your Organization’s Mission/Goals
 They Trust Your Organization

5
Why Do They Stop Giving?
 They Stop Trusting Your Organization
 You Don’t Use their Gifts in the Way that was Intended
 Your Organization’s Mission or Goals Change
 Change in Personal Financial Position
 Lack of Appropriate Recognition

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What do Donors Expect?
 Prompt, Personalized Acknowledgment of their Gifts
 That the gift was received and you were pleased to get it
 Knowledge that their Gift Was Put to Work as Intended
 Greater accountability on how donations are being used
 The project or program the gift was sent to is having the desired effect
 Formal Stewardship Report
 Organizational Publications Such as an Annual Report
 Measurable Results on their Gifts at Work Prior to Being Asked for Another
Contribution
Donor Centered Fundraising(2003), Penelope Burk

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What do Donors Expect? (continued)
 Top Donors Want to Feel Like an ‘Insider’
 Stewardship is Not Equal
 Treatment that Indicates the Donor is a “Special Friend”
 More Information on What the Organization is Doing
 Memo from Staff Member or Volunteer Working in the Field
 Personal Update from or Access to CEO Or Board Member

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Stewardship Elements
 Acknowledge and Thank
 Publicly Recognize
 Report on Impact
 Engage

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Some Sample Stewardship Tools
 New Member Welcome Packets
 Honor Rolls of Donors and Annual Reports
 Cards and Letters
 Anniversary, Birthday, Holiday cards hand signed by key players
 Recognition Gifts
 Depending on commitment size
 Events to Recognize Donors
 Special Reports from Organizational Leadership
 Invitations to other Special Events, Annual Meetings, etc.
 Advance Ticket Sales, Special Seating
 Advance Notices of Upcoming Events, ‘Inside’ Information
Donor Stewardship Done Right 2010, Katherine Swank, JD

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10 Steps to Better Stewardship
1. Develop your stewardship “stump speech”
 How are gifts being used?
 $1,000 allows us to…
2. Map your donor stewardship process to look for weaknesses
and opportunities

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10 Steps to Better Stewardship (continued)
 Develop a System to get “Personalized” Thank You Letters Out
in Less than One Week –Make it Timely
 Refresh Content of Thank You Letters, Segmenting for Donors
Giving to Different Programs –Make it Sincere
 Personally Thank a Donor Every Day (More than Good
Stewardship, it’s Good for Fundraiser Morale)

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10 Steps to Better Stewardship (continued)
 Tier Your Stewardship Where Appropriate: Provide Special
Access or Special Privileges for your Top Donors
 Create Ways for your Donors to “Experience” your
Organization (easier for some than others)
 Personalize Your Asks –Especially for Donors/Non-Donors
 Continuously Evaluate Your Stewardship Practices
 Don’t be Satisfied Until Your Donors Expectations of You are
Exceeded

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Assessing Your Stewardship Efforts
 Do You Have a Written Plan?
 Does Your Plan Include Written, Phone and In-Person Components?
 Do You Have a Dedicated Budget for Stewardship?
 Do You Look For Ways to Better Acknowledge, Recognize, and Report to Donors?
 Do You Gather Donor Feedback?
 Do You Network With Others to Exchange Ideas?
 Do You Gather Examples of Great Stewardship Components on a Periodic Basis?
 Are you Measuring Your Results?
Donor Stewardship Done Right 2010, Katherine Swank, JD

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Measuring Success:
A Summary of MSU’s Donor Survey

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Guiding Questions of Research Project
 How do donors feel about their gift(s) to MSU?
 What are donor feelings about how gifts are
acknowledged/recognized?
 If a donor has established an endowment with MSU, how do
they feel about communication regarding that endowment?
 How do MSU’s stewardship practices compare to those of
other philanthropic organizations donors support?

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INSERT A FEW SLIDES FROM RESEARCH

26 www.simpsonscarborough.com
Mementos – Agreement Levels
Scale: 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Agree, 4=Strongly Agree
Please indicate your level of agreement with each of these statements.
22%
13%
5%
3%
54%
46%
19%
13%
19%
32%
54%
58%
5%
9%
23%
26%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
% of Respondents
I generally keep my
mementos in prominent
positions in my home or office
I generally value the
mementos I receive
Delivery of mementos as important
as mementos themselves
I would like to have the
memento personally delivered
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

27 www.simpsonscarborough.com
Mementos - Location of Last Memento Received
What is the exact location within your home or office of the last memento you received from the University in acknowledgement of
your support? (N=679)
What is the exact location of the last memento you received
from the University in acknowledgement of your support?
Top Mentions
Location Number of Mentions
office 142
home office 97
bookshelf 89
desk 87
living room 71
shelf 54
den 43
family room 36
wall 36
home 24
library 23
mantel/fireplace 18
study 17
display case 17
with other MSU memorabilia 15
kitchen 13
bedroom 12
table 11

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Summary
 Audit your Program
 Build your Plan
 Make it Personal
 Thank – Thank – Thank your Donors
 Measure your Efforts

Stewardship 101 2020

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