Category: Stewardship and Relationships

The planned giving world is inundated with so much legalese and technical jargon, a simple planned giving appeal letter usually reads like a privacy statement sent out by a credit card company. It’s enough to send a corporate lawyer straight to sleep — and those are the folks who write privacy statements! Appeal to emotion.

For years, these individuals have been in the background dressed up at your galas. They have introduced you and your staff to their peers and professional colleagues and have assisted at the registration tables for your events. They highlight articles in newspapers or trade journals relevant to your sector and share them with your communications and development staff. They may even go out of their way to send you marketing materials from other organizations that solicit their hard-earned dollars. But you need to acknowledge donor mortality.

Executive directors looking to host more productive board meetings at small to mid-sized nonprofits with budgets ranging from $1-$10 million. Overall, this will focus on how software can help engage leadership in board meetings.

How does your organization retain its donors? Do you stay in touch frequently, letting them know what’s happening in your quest to make the world a better place. Do you show them how their support is changing lives? Do you keep the bond you initially created with them strong? Do you send thank-you cards or postcards “just because?” Here’s how to really focus on donor stewardship.