Effective Donor Stewardship Calgary Compass 2012 May 16, 2012 Sally Flintoft, CEO Calgary Health Trust

What is meaningful and impactful stewardship? Personalized Carefully managed Tells a story Further engages the donor Authentic Timely Most important: Be Creative and Unique Donors want to see and feel the impact of their contributions and know they’ve made a difference.

Why is it important? Makes the organization accountable – donors need to know that their gifts are being used as intended Engages the donor and builds a relationship of trust Motivates donors Meaningful stewardship leads to the next (and often) bigger gift Good stewardship is cultivation! Stewardship = decreased attrition = increased fundraising revenue It costs less to keep your current donors than acquiring new ones.

Creating a Culture Good donor stewardship is the responsibility of everyone in the organization. The stewardship team will coordinate and provide tools, but it must be engrained in the culture of the organization. Multiple touches – CEO, development officer, volunteer, beneficiary Involve all staff in making thank-you phone calls Involve all staff in signing thank you cards for certain donors or occasions Research how other charities respond to a donation and share these results with your staff to build awareness Social Media Stewardship is an organizational priority.

Donor Matrix Donor matrix – simply a guide. Every donor is different and will want or expect their gift to be recognized differently. Ask them? How they would like their gift to be recognized?

Examples Donor Walls Naming Opportunities Clubs and Societies – cumulative giving New donor packages Loyal donor lecture series Phone calls Thank you letters from recipients of staff education funding Video / DVD Personal meetings Birthday / Holiday cards Bound copy of research for long-term endowment donors Private dinners – include their family and close contacts What does your donor want?

Individualized Stewardship Reports Used for major donors or programs who have received a large volume of donations

Hand Delivery of Receipts and Reports Planned Giving Officer Major Gift Officers CEO Coordination of task Feedback received

Tracking Weekly reports run by Donor Relations on major gifts received and open actions Ensure that processes are in place so that smaller donations do not fall through the cracks, then focus attention on being creative with larger donations Follow-up with the relationship manager or gift solicitor to assist in gift recognition and to create a stewardship plan for that donor

Using Your Imagination Once the processes are in place to ensure that no donor “falls through the cracks” then you are free to use your imagination when stewarding major gift donors Encourage staff to think outside the box, present unique ideas that are meaningful to their individual donors, make it creative! Meaningful and creative stewardship does NOT have to cost a lot of money!

Difficulties ensure funds are spent as intended in a timely manner by the appropriate programs ensure stewardship programs can be maintained through staff turnover and transition

Other Thoughts Do you survey your donors? Can you link your donor to the beneficiary?