Basics of Donor Relations Your Map to an Effective Donor Relations Program CASE District IV Conference Ft. Worth, Texas March 24, 2013 Cynthia Uviedo Donor Relations Officer Trinity University Effective Donor Relations

Overview/Road Map  What is Donor Relations and why is it important  Assessing your organization’s DR activities  Getting started  Ideas and Samples  Q & A

Donor Relations T he comprehensive effort of any nonprofit that seeks philanthropic support to ensure that donors experience high-quality interactions with the organization that foster long-term engagement and investment. This effort is commonly thought to have four elements:  Gift acceptance and management  Acknowledgment  Donor recognition  Reporting Source: Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP.net)

Stewardship Reporting element is commonly referred to as stewardship. Historically, defined as the safeguarding of the assets of others. Activities associated with stewardship are focused on ensuring that the funds provided by donors are utilized in the way intended as conveyed in gift agreements and fund terms. By this definition, stewardship is a function inherently internal to an organization, rather than a donor-facing, external function. Source: Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP.net)

Stewardship Noun 1. a process whereby an organization seeks to be worthy of continued philanthropic support, including the acknowledgment of gifts, donor recognition, the honoring of donor intent, prudent investment of gifts, and the effective and efficient use of funds to further the mission of the organization 2. the position or work of a steward Source: AFP Fundraising Directory,

Fundraising Cycle Identify CultivateSolicitSteward

Donor Relations Cycle Donor Makes Contribution AcknowledgeAppreciateAccountAsk Again Janet L. Hedrick, "Effective Donor Relations"

Why is Donor Relations Important?  Cost of acquiring new donors  Why do donors stop supporting your organization

Assess Where You Are

Start Behind the Scenes Gift Acceptance and Management  Policies and procedures  Process for review of gifts – can we do what the donor wants us to do?  Structure for giving opportunities  Process for tracking gifts as they are expended

Assess Where You Are Start Behind the Scenes Acknowledgement  Private communication  Accurate, timely, and meaningful expressions of gratitude  Includes receipting and personalized, written correspondence

Assess Where You Are Start Behind the Scenes Donor Recognition  Giving societies, Honor Rolls  Donor walls, named space signage  Internal and external publicity  Donor recognition events, engagement opportunities

Assess Where You Are Start Behind the Scenes Reporting  Stewardship  What is the impact of the donor’s gift on the mission of your organization  Qualitative  Quantitative

Getting Started on the Donor Relations Road

Gift Acceptance and Management  MOU/Gift Agreement templates  Who’s authorize to sign  Include Business Office, Fiscal Affairs  How are donor’s intent tracked  Who is tracking  Important – information feeds into reporting  Review

Acknowledgement  Top-level acknowledgements/thank you letters from President, Chancellor, Dean, Headmaster, Board members  From someone benefitting from the gift  Student  Faculty member  Parent

Sample of student thank you letter

Donor Recognition  Process of expressing gratitude for a contribution in a public way  Signage  Named opportunities  Special presentation  Appreciation events  Gifts

Signage/Named Opportunities Donor Recognition

Scholarship Events  Seated dinner for endowed scholarship donors  Reception for annual fund donors  Photo with donors  Student speaker; donor/Board speaker  Keep program short; time to interact with students

Appreciation Events

Special Presentation

Appreciation Events  Heritage Society Luncheon  Special events for large donors  Thank-a-thon

Gifts

Publicity  Articles in your alumni magazine, website, e-newsletter  For transformational gifts, news releases to the media  Recognition among their peers  Events  Special publications for giving societies

Recognition Caveats  Donor Honor Roll debate  Know your donors and their expectations  Recognition Preferences:  Expectants  Moderates  Frugal  Secretive  Anonymous – clarify what it means to each donor Laura Fredricks, “Developing Major Gifts: Turning Small Donors into Big Contributors”

 Stewardship/Endowment Reports  Principal  Market Value of Endowment  Gifts received  Distributions from endowment  How funds were used  Scholarships - name and information on scholarship recipient  Professorships/faculty support – activity summary of faculty member  Lectures/programs – summary of events supported Reporting

Sample Endowment Report

Reporting  Annual Reports  Reports on unrestricted gifts  Show overall impact on your organization  **Communication is key!  Reconnecting with donors on a regular basis  Reminding them about what their gift is doing

Beware of DR pitfalls  If implementing a program with existing staff, be reasonable about expectations. Start with one new project per year to see how it impacts other work.  If starting with someone dedicated to DR only, don’t dump all the “extra stuff” on them. Discuss with the Development team about what it the expectation for this person. Caution with special events!

Questions?

Donor Relations Resources  Association of Donor Relations Professionals ADRP.net  Donor Relations Guru – Lynne Wester donorrelationsguru.com  Effective Donor Relations by Janet Hedrick (AFP Nonprofit Essentials series)

Cynthia Uviedo Trinity University