FND 233 | Now What? Donor Stewardship

The key to donor loyalty? Being loyal to your donors. The donor relationship does not end with asking for funding, however. Stewardship is critically important in that it ensures that the donor has a positive experience, influencing both how the donor will consider future giving and what the donor will say about your institution to other prospective donors. An effective strategy for donor engagement and retention requires consistent planning and continuous action. With this course, you’ll understand how to develop your donor pipeline and move people through it, with techniques like regular contact and growth monitoring.

 KEY CONCEPTS

• Define stewardship.
• Give examples of successful and innovative gift-recognition strategies.
• Establish processes to help you stay on top of prospect and donor engagement, including honoring individual preferences for following up and making sure that you actually do get back in touch.

• Fundraising and development staff
• Marketing/communications staff
• Senior leadership
• Board members, especially serving on fundraising committees