Donor Stewardship Starts With The Ask, Not The Gift

Many fundraisers believe that stewardship begins when a donor has made a gift.

Not a good idea.

Today’s donors are more sophisticated than ever before and are frequently being advised by attorneys, accountants, and financial planners on the nature, use, and outcomes being driven by their philanthropic activity. The expectations of non-profit organizations by donors has never been higher or more complex. As such, it is critically important to have meaningful conversations about outcomes being driven by philanthropy well in advance to the gift actually being made.

A quick scan of the headlines will demonstrate high profile donors making and then rescinding large gifts to organizations causing embarrassment or worse for all parties involved. Stewardship is not just about a thank you letter. It is also about establishing realistic expectations in terms of the payment schedule, assets to be contributed, investment of those funds, and specific use of the gift. This is a different kind of conversation than most professional fundraisers are used to having with their donors. And, it requires an entirely different approach to gift documentation as well as reporting to the donor on the use of funds.

• When do you begin the process?
• How do you begin?
• Are you on target?
• The donor pyramid
• Relations
• Cultivation
• Retention

Look for an email 3 days after the webinar for plenty of downloads, including:

• Planned Giving Pocket Guide for Board Members (PDF).
• A simple 12-Month Planned Giving Marketing Plan and Template.
• Intention form samples and letters (Adobe InDesign required on a few Intention Forms)
• Planned Gift Comparison Chart (PDF).
• Planned Gift Donor Characteristics Table.