1. Donor Stewardship & Communication
Rachel Moury
Director of Donor Relations
University Development & Alumni Relations
Penn State Hershey Medical Center
Penn State College of Medicine
engage.pennstatehershey.org

2. University Development and Alumni Relations
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Penn State College of Medicine
38-PERSON STAFF THAT SUPPORTS:
Major Giving
Annual Giving
Alumni Relations
Children’s Health
Operations
Gift Processing
Prospect Management
Data Analysis & Reporting
Event Planning
Communications & Stewardship

3. By the Numbers (FY-15) OUR DONORS: ~ 110,000 donors Alumni (~26,000)
Friends (~80,000)
Corps./Fdns./Orgs. (~4,400)
~ 110,000 donors
A little more than $36 million
>375 endowed, annually funded or pending accounts that require some type of management or oversight; just over 200 of these have a living stewardship contact
Endowments expenditures made at the department level (25-30 different departments)
BUT…
We saw a decrease in almost every donor and dollar category from last year to this year.
Rationale – Understandable coming out of a seven-year campaign, but when we evaluate, we must do much better with donor retention.
Maybe you’re in the same boat, trying to figure out the best ways to retain your donors. Good stewardship—or great stewardship—provides the foundation.

4. Stewardship & Donor Relations: Not just ‘tomayto|tomahto’
Tied to the gift
Happens after it is received
Reactive
A fundamental part of donor relations
Donor Relations:
In anticipation of a gift
Preparation for a long term relationship
Proactive
Much more robust and dynamic
Acknowledgment
Reporting
Recognition
Engagement
Not just a semantic debate…there really is an important distinction.
Remember geometry class: all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares?
Stewardship – tied to the gift; happens after it’s received; reactive; fairly static; a fundamental part of donor relations
Donor Relations – in anticipation of the gift and in preparation for a long-term relationship; much more robust and dynamic

5. SWOT Analysis
Taking stock of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

6. STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES INTERNAL EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Timely gift acknowledgments
Positive team (resourceful)
Student scholarship reporting/engagement
Clear communications
Creative thinking
INTERNAL
Baseline metrics
Stewardship calendar
Consistency of endowment reports
Time management (waiting on other departments to get work done)
EXTERNAL
Adding impact reports to annual endowment reports
Recognize first-time donors and consistent donors to build loyalty
More robust digital communications
Build donor relations structure
Confusion with branding/identity related to new health entity
Lack of resources (financial and personnel)
-Review your people (donors and prospects)
-Review your funds (endowed and annual fund)
-What tools do you need to help your organization meet opportunities and mitigate threats?
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS

7. Basic Elements of Donor Relations
Acknowledgment
Reporting
Recognition
Engagement
Lynne Wester, Donor Relations Guru, calls these the Four Pillars in her book.

8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments are personalized at an appropriate level
Acknowledgments are mailed in a timely manner
Acknowledgments are updated regularly
First time donors receive special acknowledgments
Memorial and honorific gifts are acknowledged appropriately
Usually this is at the lowest gift club level.
Within one week of receipt of gift.
Acknowledgment letters should be revised on a regular schedule (at least quarterly) or when there is newsworthy information to include.
Letters to both the donor and the honoree

9. STEWARDSHIP & IMPACT REPORTING
Annual Fund Reporting
Current Use/Expandable Reporting
Endowed Fund Reporting
Philanthropic/Priority Reports
Scholarship thank-you letters and other interactions
Other recipient communications
Do you report to leadership donors to the Annual Fund what their giving supports?
Do you provide reports to donors who make gifts for current use?
At a minimum, you should write to endowed fund donors annually, including how the fund was utilized and ideally a report of the fund value.
Have you identified priority donors among your endowed funds? Do you proved a more in-depth report to these donors?
Do your scholarship recipients communicate with the donors who funded their scholarship? (Bonus is you’re using Skype or other video communications to personalize this.)
Do recipients of endowed faculty positions, research grants, internships, stipends, etc. send a letter of appreciation to the donor?

10. RECOGNITION You have clearly defined donor societies
Naming policies are clearly identified and there is a protocol for signage and dedications.
Media relations
Donor listing or honor roll
Meaningful member benefits associated with each level; recognition for both annual and lifetime giving
Do you utilize the media (both in-house and external) to publicize major gifts, awards, and other donor accomplishments?
Your institution maintains a donor listing. It may be print, online, or electronic in a place where it is visible to the campus community as well as visitors.

11. DONOR ENGAGEMENT
Donor Relations produces a newsletter highlighting donor impact
Social Media is utilized to recognize donor support
Opportunities for your donors to gather
Active opportunities to engage
Survey
This could be on the website, Facebook, Twitter, or other online forms of communications.
Events are an opportunity to spread your message, for donors to rub shoulders with one another, and to raise sights. Do you provide these opportunities throughout the year and in different geographic regions?
Do you offer donors active opportunities to engage with your institution (e.g., speaking engagements, hosting events, etc.)
Do you survey your donors about preferred methods of contact, frequency of communication, naming preferences, and other outreach?

12. Share a success story Share a roadblock
Of the basic, fundamental elements of donor relations, in which area does your organization have the greatest strength?
What are your greatest challenges?
Acknowledgment
Reporting
Recognition
Engagement
Share a success story Share a roadblock

13. Setting Realistic & Measurable Goals
KEY QUESTIONS:
What do your donors EXPECT regarding their investment?
What do your donors NEED to make them feel valued?
What do your donors WANT in order to be inspired?
What one new thing can you successfully implement this year to improve your donor relations?
-Who are your donors, and what do they need/expect/want?
-How can you systematize or simplify something you're already doing to free up resources and time to strengthen an area of your donor relations program that needs work?

14. Identifying & Leveraging Resources for Success
INTERNAL PARTNERS:
Data Analyst/Ops. Mgr./Prospect Researcher
Marketing
Facilities
Volunteer Networks
CEO, Exec. Dir. and/or Board Members
COLLEAGUES
TECHNOLOGY
Identifying & Leveraging Resources for Success
-Who are your internal partners?
-Communications/technology/operational resources?
-Engaging volunteer networks?

15. Resources
In addition to the organizations coordinating this conference and, of course, each other…
Academic Impressions – academicimpressions.com
Revitalizing Your Donor Relations Program, Atlanta, GA – November 16-18
Top Articles and White Papers of 2015 – “Why Donor Relations is the Next Game-Changer”
Webcasts
Donor Relations Guru (Lynne Wester) – donorrelationsguru.com | | LinkedIn: Donor Relations Guru
The 4 Pillars of Donor Relations
Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP) – adrp.net
CASE – case.org

16. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?