Donor Stewardship Tips
What is Donor Stewardship?
Donor Stewardship is about effectively caring for your donors in a way that allows you to foster long-term relationships with them that are beneficial to everyone involved. This means conveying how much you really appreciate each donor’s contribution to your organization and how much you care about them as members of your community.
Following an effective stewardship plan can help you to create strong personal connections between your donors and your mision, transitioning them from supporters to integral members of your organization.
Post-The Big Give Donor Stewardship Tips
Showing genuine, timely, and regular donor appreciation is a huge part of maintaining strong relationships with your supporters! A “thank you” message following a donation for The Big Give should be your standard practices. On your The Big Give profile editor, you will be able to create a custom “Thank You” message during your The Big Give profile completion process. However, the gratitude should not stop there! Hand-written thank yous and thank-you calls can be even more impactful and everlasting! In addition to the standardized thank you message that is included with your donor’s online donation receipt, consider sending out a more personalized message a few weeks to a month after The Big Give.
This email should include your donor’s name and other personalized features. Tell them how their gift is changing or improving the services you provide as a nonprofit. If possible, show them the impact their gift is making with concrete images or stories.
You can start this dialogue by asking your donors how they prefer to be contacted (phone, email, text message, etc.) and then proceed to contact them in that way. Showing initial respect for their preferences will go a long way.
Ask your donors for feedback and be a responsive and active listener by monitoring your social channels and emails to keep track of popular suggestions. Make sure you follow up with your donors and inform them of how you are using your feedback to move forward.
After The Big Give schedule regular touch points on your annual calendar to ensure that you are staying constantly engaged with your donors.
- Make it a point to share images and updates on projects that your donors’ contributions are directly helping to fund.
- Organize reminders to reach out to your supporters on special dates, like anniversaries, birthdays, or major milestones for your organization.
Want to learn even more about Donor Stewardship? Check out our 8-Step Donor Stewardship Guide for Nonprofits here!